Ramen

My host mother made ramen for us today.  In America we are used to ramen being the cheap college-student food from the Maruchan package, but this was different.  She bought ramen noodles and cooked her own broth.  The ramen was delicious.  We also had Pari Pari Potato, fried dough filled with cheese and potato.  I found them similar to pierogies.  There was also some kind of seasoning for them which was salty but also a little spicy.  I actually liked it a lot.  The small square bowl on the left had menma, a food made from young bamboo shoots.  It was pretty salty and tasted okay, but the texture was really different from what I am used to eating.  The small plate in the middle of the table had chashu, steamed pork.  This was my last meal at the Shirakawa home which is sad for me, but I'm happy for the week I had here and glad that the food was so good.