Saimin: I get it

That's ok Mari. Isn't it crazy that sometimes food is not always about how great it taste but the great memories you have from it. I guess food for thought is even more important than food for your tummy. I don't care what you like or don't like to eat, I'll still be your friend.

My wife loved saimin. I was ruined by my days of eating ramen in Japan prior to ever eating saimin in Hawai'i. But, since she loved it I ate it. Many memories of my son and wife at table eating saimin ... she always beat the egg and added it at the end and sometimes kimchi and/or Vienna sausages too. It was partly about being a mom. Think she loved the act of making it for him, serving him and seeing him eat it as much or more than the saimin itself. A long time Hawai'i resident and Korean War refugee she had the seige mentality. So, when saimen went on sale she had to (or sent me to) buy at least three or four cases. I had to stack them by the three 25 lbs bags of rice that were always in reserve. (hahaha ... but, I didn't put them where she kept the reserve of toliet paper -- 50 plus rolls). Some of the kiddies who went to college on the mainland would visit me in Ohio. Always had to take them to the Asian stores here so they could stock up on saimin. It is a link to Hawai'i for those of us in exile. When we had to relocate to Ohio there were a number of food items that were shipped. Man was she upset when she found most of them here and in several instances a little bit cheaper.

Awww Mari... I'm sorry I almost made you cry. It's really okay to not like saimin because saimin doesn't define you as a person. It is a dish that evokes memories, and maybe you don't have those types of connections growing up with this food. When I share a bowl of saimin with my son, I recall the simple lunches we had around our kitchen table growing up. If I can't be in Hawaii raising my family, then I try to bring a little bit of Hawaii and my childhood to my home all the way across the mainland in the south.

@hikino that was the BEST haiku ever on this site! simple, captures a moment in an image, makes you see something commonplace in a different way. bravo!

@LyndaTakara i have a profound new respect for saimin, which i still hate. that profound new respect is amplified by tonite's cold, rainy weather.

A Saimin Haiku for Mari:

Just broth and noodles,
Home, friends, family, good times,
Saimin, I get it

I've never met anyone who didn't like saimin, so I was quite surprised when your blog came out. Glad you have a change of attitude :)

I am not local but basically-married to a local boy. I wasn't raised on saimin but I still love it. put that one in your thinkin' cap! mostly, I just love noodles, I think.

Yes you now know the power of food is so personal for people on so many levels. People start to question your judgement just simply based on ones likes or dislikes. Now days food doesn't always have to taste good but if it brings back great memories, that's all it takes. You are now wiser for the exerience...now go eat y our noodles....

Hey Mari...I still like you. :-) My favorite food reviews offer this kind of context when talking about a dining experience. For me, eating is much more than just food on a plate or in a bowl. It's about the people behind it, how it fits into the lifestyle/culture of the place it's being served...basically the story behind the whole reason a restaurant is there and is doing what it's doing. It's easy to say you like or don't like something. I see it all the time on blogs, Twitter, FB, etc. Whether or not you like the taste, texture or preparation at the end is your opinion...we all have different likes/dislikes...but adding this kind of context and understanding to the review gives it a lot more value IMO.

Mari, you hit the nail right on the head here... Saimin isn't about great gourmet food, and I know you didn't intend for your "I Hate Saimin" post to seem all that hoity-toity, but Saimin, Glorious Saimin harkens back to the days of yore, when we'd run barefoot through the street and when you didn't worry about locking your front door, or what crazy diseases you'd get from playing in the mud. Youd come home from a rainy day at school and there it would be, that family Okuhara's or S&S cup of saimin, and it wasn't so much that it warmed your body, as much as it warmed your spirit. People miss that, and, maybe, just for a while, just for a few bites, we can go back there, when life was simple. With a simple broth, simple, noodles, and simple garnishes... unless of course, you're Shiro Matsuo. :o)

It's okay. Everyone has different tastes, and there might be something you love that someone else can't stand. But if you find some saimin that someone else loves, let me know. I've never tried it!

Hello Mari,
Even though you still hate saimin, I still love you the same. :)

Let me know if you don't like Sashimi, poke or opihi. I go sit by you :-)

Plain jook?! BTW I think @Parkrat was quiet because he was out buying some saimin for you.

That's okay Mari. People have their likes and dislikes. Maybe you were brought up eating mushy Saimin so throughout your life you have an innate disdane for the stuff. As I said in your original article you can make the most out of a dish if you prepare it properly (or to your liking) or you can just forego it and just continue on with life.

I know people who refuse to eat other food items. I say "more for me"!

"I understand now there's a whole category of food whose goodness doesn't register on the palate as much as in the heart"

that is a profound statement, Mari.