Q 01/05

The origins of ramen are traced to the Chinatown of which Japanese city?

A) Kobe

B) Nagasaki

C) Osaka

D) Yokohama

Answer · why

D) Yokohama

Most Chinese settlers there were Cantonese, which is why ramen descends from southern Chinese noodle soups rather than northern hand-pulled lamian.

Q 02/05

The word ramen borrows the Chinese word lāmiàn, which literally means what?

A) Thin noodles

B) Pulled noodles

C) Wheat noodles

D) Soup noodles

Answer · why

B) Pulled noodles

Ironically, ramen noodles are cut rather than pulled, and the dish has no direct link to lamian at all.

Q 03/05

Who invented instant noodles in 1958?

A) Kan'ichi Ozaki

B) Momofuku Ando

C) Hiroshi Osaki

D) Seiichi Yoshida

Answer · why

B) Momofuku Ando

Ando was the Taiwanese-born founder of Nissin Foods; a Japanese poll later named instant ramen the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century.

Q 04/05

Tonkotsu pork-bone ramen is the signature style of which Japanese island?

A) Kyushu

B) Hokkaido

C) Honshu

D) Shikoku

Answer · why

A) Kyushu

Hakata ramen from Fukuoka is the best-known tonkotsu, with thin straight noodles and a milky broth.

Q 05/05

Miso ramen was invented in which Hokkaido city?

A) Sapporo

B) Asahikawa

C) Muroran

D) Otaru

Answer · why

A) Sapporo

It reached national prominence around 1965 and is built for Hokkaido's snowy winters, often topped with butter, sweetcorn and garlic.