Madeline
The first time I saw Tampopo, I didn’t really get it. I didn’t understand the humor in perfecting the greatest ramen and why my architecture teachers told me to watch this movie while designing a building for a restaurant. Nearly twenty years later, I now understand what they wanted me to see in this movie and why it was so important to how I would design a restaurant. The movie is about designing ramen in the way that I was designing a restaurant.
Premise of Tampopo
Tampopo has a ramen shop. It is okay at best. Everything she learned, she learned from watching. No one told her how to make the broth, how to make the noodles, how to treat her customers, or how to be the best. Two men enter her shop and are suddenly obsessed with making Tampopo’s ramen shop the best ramen shop and so the journey begins.
Perfecting The Greatest Ramen
There are many aspects into perfecting the greatest ramen. First, the recipes of the food itself. Next, is efficiency to work quickly as well as in the best way for the food. Finally, customer service and remember what people want and giving it to them just that way. The team learns these factors by observing other ramen restaurants and taking notes into developing the best ramen shop in Japan.
Final Thoughts
It is funny that nearly twenty years after being told I must watch Tampopo that this movie keeps coming up again and again for me. And I now know why, I have a love for food, Asian history and cultures, and movies. This movie hit the spot more now that I have evolved into someone who understands these three things more now than I did two decades ago and therefore, I have enjoyed Tampopo this time around more than I did the first time.
