Ramen Shop Quick View This Dish has got a Kick to it! Grade: B+

Source: IMDB

Ramen Shop tells a story about a young chef named Masato (Takumi Saitoh), whom recently found his father lying on the floor, dead at his family owned Ramen shop. Masato then goes to Singapore, to visit his uncle so he can learn how to make his famous Pork Rib Bone Soup. Masato also is joined by one whom Masato is a big fan of her food blog, showing Masato many great new dishes. This film is dealing with a few different elements: You have a food element, grieving element, learning about your family's history/secrets, and soul searching element. A few flaws to be made. In the beginning, Masato is having lunch with some random chick, as Masato rushes out of the restaurant as he decides to leave to Singapore. I felt that scene was rushed, I'd like to know whom this chick was as well as what they were discussing too. The language barrier in this film felt very mixed. Disregarding the grandmother, because she refused to side with the Japanese, that's why she only spoked in Mandarin. But how come with flashbacks of Masato's parents, they kept switching from three different languages?! His mom understood English, why not stick with English if she struggled with Japanese? You teach her more Japanese later on, but for better purposes of communication, just converse English since it looks like she understands it. There another incidence between Masato and his Uncle too, just want the language barrier consistent is all. There is two voiceovers when Masato goes to a history museum, I wonder why was there was a technical difficulty there. Lastly, there's one part in the ending that I would not like to be shown, due to the fact it looked extremely corny, not staying basis with the emotional touching ending. Besides those flaws I had, I really enjoyed Ramen Shop. We have a lovely looking film, followed by a solid Score, followed by some pretty good performances and characters. When it comes to cooking films, the food element must be strong, as you're not only satisfied with how good the food is followed by presentation, but it'll inspire you to cook... This was done very well. The dishes looked magnificent across the board, I love the prep scenes very much so, very inspiring and just a lovely way to look at Asian food culture, it was great. Masato grieving over his father's lost, leaving him without two parents. Masato took the grieving process well, as he read in his mothers journal, the history of his parents forbidden love as it lead to Masato's birth. So little moments of how his parents met, as the relationship escalated was rather adorable. When it came to the grandmother stuff, it crushed my heart. Understanding her pain against the Japanese due to a war in the past, causing her to keep a grudge against her Japanese boyfriend... I mean this is your daughter, as she's happy with the man she's dating, can you stop being stubborn and just be happy for her?! T'was sad to watch. Masato's trip made him a stronger man, while also making him a better cook. He took risks, where he promised not to do so, but did anyways because it didn't feel right with him. As a better cook, not only did he learn some new recipes from his family, but his blogger friend really influence his taste and variety in cultures in his dishes. The way the film concludes despite this one part I had, was emotional yet adorable by the final cut. As one whom is a lover of film and cooking, this worked well for me. Overall, Ramen Shop was pretty damn good. Check this one out, it's streaming on Netflix. -Mitch Smietana