The Umami Reader: World's Largest Noodle Bowls
- This week BuzzFeed Food covered Dong Thap in Seattle, Washington, a Vietnamese restaurant that purportedly sells the "World's Largest Bowl of Pho." Made up of three pounds of rice noodles and meat, along with three liters of broth, this massive bowl of pho is definitely a gut bust. But last week, I came across the above video, posted by All Singapore Stuff, of an even bigger bowl of noodle soup (perhaps laksa?). Props to the skinny dude with the bleached half-ponytail slurping down all those noodles! While I'm talking about big bowls of laksa, here's another video of famed Japanese competitive eater, Yuka Kinoshita eating almost 10 pounds of instant laksa in one sitting. Damn, girl! She'd probably have no problem dusting off these mega ohmori meals. (Buzzfeed/All Singapore Stuff/Youtube)
- Drink with Your Heart: The owner of Yeungling, America's first brewery announced his support of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, and now Democrats who are fans of the beer are calling for a boycott. Philly State Rep. Brian Sims announced that he is a "former customer." But Philadelphia's City Council Jane Roh explains that everyone should've stopped drinking Yeungling years ago, because of Yeungling's anti-union stance. (Philly Voice)
- OK, the election is depressing, so here's something to make you laugh. McSweeney's writer Spencer Ham writes a Short Imagined Monologue by Rick Bayless' wife on the topic of "Tonight's Dinner Plans." An excerpt: "For God’s sake, your name is Rick and you have a goatee! How do you not crave a corn dog or a calzone every once in a while? It’s OK if you do, babe. That’s what Ricks are expected to do." (McSweeney's)
- Would you eat at a dessert cafe dedicated to shit? Toronto's Poop Cafe serves gelato and shaved iced served in tiny toilets, customers sit on chairs that look like toilets, the light fixtures are shaped like plungers, and there are poo emoji decorations everywhere, just in case you forgot what the theme of the restaurant is. Owner Lien Nguyen was inspired by a bathroom-themed restaurant in Taiwan and wondered, "Why don't we have something like that [in Canada]?" What do you think? Do you give a shit? (Vice; via Sean Montgomery)
- And last but not least, this fun gem from the past. Here's Sammy Davis, Jr. getting down while drinking down Suntory Whisky for a commercial shot in 1974. (昭和歌謡)
The Umami Reader: Mining the internet for stuff about food worth reading and watching
