Ramen, the Japanese obsession that's gripped Hong Kong

Whenever I eat a bowl of ramen at a ramenya (as opposed to the instant type I cook at home), I think of the scene in my favourite food film, Tampopo. The master - who's been studying ramen for 40 years - is teaching his apprentice the proper way to eat a bowl of ramen.

"First, observe the whole bowl," he says. "Appreciate its gestalt, savour the aromas … Caress the surface with the chopstick tips - to express affection. Poke the pork … gently pick it up and dip it into the soup on the right side of the bowl. What's important here is to apologise to the pork by saying, 'See you soon'. Finally, start eating - the noodles first. At this time, while slurping the noodles, look at the pork. Eye it affectionately …"

He proceeds to eat a bite of shinachiku root, takes three meditative slurps of broth and gives a big sigh, before finally taking a bite of the sliced pork. Of course, this scene is tongue-in-cheek, and aficionados agree that ramen should be eaten hot and fast. The Japanese noisily slurp the noodles into their mouths while at the same time sucking in air, which helps to cool the food. If you try this, be prepared to get soup splashed all over yourself.

Ramen has its origins in China, where alkaline noodles were invented. Adding alkali to the wheat flour noodles gives them a yellow tint and a distinctive springy texture. But the Japanese have come up with many permutations on a dish that is, at its most basic, just noodles in broth. The noodles can be straight or curly, thick, medium or thin. There are endless variations on the broth, which can be made of pork, chicken (or both), fish and kelp, seafood or many other ingredients, and seasoned with salt, soy sauce and miso; some chefs also add chilli. Many ramen chefs layer the flavours by mixing concentrated stocks with the broth. There are all these variations to consider before you even start to think about the toppings, or the differences you find from region to region in Japan.

Ramen is such an obsession in Japan that people queue for hours for a bowl, something that happens at a few shops in Hong Kong.