海老名ＳＡのなんつってい

Where do you bring a mega-famous group of British food celebrities when they come to Japan?

To the highway service area of course!

And what season do you choose for them to ride motorcycles in?

The rainy season of course!

Sarcasm aside, I did actually get to help out with some production for The Hairy Bikers, a group of motorcycle-riding food celebs over from the UK. How did I help? With ramen?

Not this time. In our pre-reccee phone meeting, the crew was fascinated with Japanese SAs (service areas). Essentially highway truck stops, the ones in Japan are veritable oases of tasty snacks.

For our bit, we walked around the SA checking out the different treats. Roast chestnuts, taiyaki, Tokyo Banana. You’ll have to tune in to see what happens. (Spoiler alert: we eat a bunch of stuff)

Ramen wasn’t on the menu for the show. Thank god, because in our downtime I decided to try the Ebina SA Version of Nantsuttei. Made by the nice ladies above. In a multi-purpose kitchen that makes everything from udon to fried chicken to french fries.

A far cry from the bowl that made Nantsuttei a famous name. I have a feeling that this bowl is the same as the gift pack, with preservative-laden noodles and a dillute-able broth packet.

Sorry guys! If your production staff had asked to be toured around for ramen specifically, I would have brought it.

Dave seemed to prefer dipping a karepan into the soup. Well, that bowl can’t get much worse, so dip away!

Not sure when this will air. They will be travelling around a few different Asia countries to sample life and food. Check it out on BBC Two someday soon!

Ebina SA is on the Tomei Expressway
Open 11am-10pm

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海老名ＳＡのなんつってい

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中華そば屋 伊藤 (Ito in Akabane)

凪Noodle Bar in Shinjuku

丸長 荻窪本店 (Marucho in Ogikubo, Tokyo)

中華そば屋伊藤 (Ito in Akabane)

丸長荻窪本店 (Marucho in Ogikubo, Tokyo)