Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Taiwan into a Chinese family, after World
War II he moved to Osaka and became a
Japanese citizen. He introduced the first
packet of instant noodles, called Chikin
Ramen, in 1958, to a postwar Japan eager
to turn traditional noodles into a conve-
nience food. He further revolutionized the
industry by introducing Cup Noodles in
1971. Not only is David Chang's hot New
York restaurant named after him (see ),
Elvis Costello also named his latest CD
Momofuku
in tribute to Ando's meal-in-a-
minute invention.
Adding to the museum's delicious
chaos is “Ramen Town,” a small theme
park on two underground floors. The park
itself is a re-creation of 1950s Tokyo, a
period when Japan had not yet become
the modern juggernaut it is today. This
affectionately nostalgic re-creation depicts
vendors hawking sweets and pastries,
replicas of period billboards and store-
fronts, an old game store, and a fortune-
teller's corner. And at the center of it
all there are eight noodle shops, each
one representing one of the best ramen
restaurants in Japan. A visit wouldn't be
complete without a bowl of noodles
washed down with a cup of sake. Bowls on
offer range from noodles in a salty broth to
miso soup and other soy-based soups; dif-
ferent shops, of course, serve distinctly
different noodles, so sample several. The
restaurants are enormously popular;
expect them to be very crowded during
the noon hour. Before you leave, you'll
want to visit the gift shop for some takeout
packages of noodles and perhaps a set of
chopsticks.
2-14-21 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku,
Yokohama 222 (
&
81/45/471-0503
).
0
Shin-Yokohama (30-40 min. from
Tokyo).
L
$$$
Capitol Tokyu Hotel,
2-10-3
Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (
&
800/
888-4747
in the U.S. and Canada, or
03/3581-4511; www.capitoltokyu.com). $$
Park Hotel Tokyo,
1-7-1 Higashi Shim-
bashi, Minato-ku, Ginza, Tokyo (
&
03/6252-
1111;
www.parkhoteltokyo.com).
Food Museums
57
Holland Kaas Museum
Smile and Say “Cheese”
Alkmaar, Netherlands
The lovely village of Alkmaar in North Hol-
land dates from the 10th century; it's an
idyllic town of picturesque canals, draw-
bridges, churches, merchant houses, and
ramparts. Alkmaar's greatest moment in
history came during the Eighty Years War,
in 1573, when people of Alkmaar fought
back against the invading Spanish army
with boiling tar and burning branches.
But that long-ago moment of heroism
aside, Alkmaar is essentially a market town
in the middle of dairy land, and that is
reflected in its two most famous attrac-
tions—its historic Cheese Market and the
Holland Kaas Museum, both located in the
heart of Alkmaar. The cheese museum (
kaas
a traditional weighing house dating back to
1390; in fact, the ground floor is still used as
a weighhouse on market days, every Friday
morning April through September. Exhibits
on the upper floors, however, make it a
great place to learn about dairy production
throughout the centuries, and how it evolved
from farmhouses to factories. The collection
includes old churns, presses, molds, and
other implements, as well as a series of 24
portraits from the 16th century depicting
women in period costumes, all painted in
fastidious detail on wood panels. Children
can participate in a treasure hunt (successful
completion earns them a “diploma” as pro-
fessors in the history of cheese), and there
