Undon + Our Mission KJ + Nambantei

While Agent C is on overseas secret assignment (I honestly do not know of the nature of her trip except “business” and “take care of some family affairs”), Agent T has handed me a new assignment: go and find us a Korean or Japanese movie to watch this weekend. Roger that!

Agent T and I both wish to watch “Blades of Glory”. Since Agent C vows not to watch it with us, what better way to spend our weekend than to watch “Blades of Glory”? 3am on a Saturday morning I gave it some thoughts but hey, two guys enter into a theatre laughing over a show with two gay-ish looking guys ice skating as a pair with hands touch each other’s bodies? A little bit gross eh? So I have decided to stick with my original mission and suggested a Japanese movie “Udon” instead. The last show was at 8.15pm and knowing Agent T has a secret military training in the late afternoon (he has, I swear), I texted him at 3am with the minimum number of characters (something I have learned from him) – 2015 can? I switched on my phone in the late morning and got the reply: MC today, can. Excellent! “Udon” it is (by the way, udon is a type of Japanese noodle).

1815 – I exited the highway and faced a traffic jam.
1830 – Agent T called me. I told him that I would be there in 10 minutes (I was wrong).
1845 – Agent T called me again. I asked him to head to that restaurant he wished to go and order for me.
1900 – Running on my feet from Taka to Far East Plaza.
1905 – Received a multimedia message from Agent T with a picture of the restaurant and address (ya, that’s how agents work … receiving the next bit of information as we proceed).

To give myself some credit, I arrived just minutes after Agent T was seated. The Japanese restaurant – Nambantei – is on the 5th floor at Far East Plaza and it is cosy. They serve mainly Teriyaki food – meat grilled over fire. The chef I believe is a Japanese. He remembers what each table has ordered and his assistance is responsible in retrieving the food from the refrigerator and making markings on what seems like a colorful spreadsheet on paper. Tracking inventory perhaps?

Service was excellent. I think they have one waitress for every 2 or 3 tables. When the food is cooked, the chef will hand it out onto the counter right in front of customer’s face. The waitress will then moves the dish that is inches away from the customer to customer’s table. Customer takes the food from the dish and the waitress will then clear the dish. Kind of complex eh? At times I just grabbed the sticks from the dish in front of me – if I managed to beat the waitress that is.

Food was good and I will definitely return one day. We were in a hurry so Agent T took a short cut route. We entered into Hyatt Hotel, infiltrated the service area and took the service lift to the 3rd floor. The interior was dark and I saw beer machines along the corridor. A lot of tables and furniture and beds at the service area and when we exited the hotel, there were a bunch of drivers apparently waiting for their clients’ call. Not too far a distance I saw a sign: Do not trespass – private property. Too late.

I chose “Udon” because it is a different kind of Japanese movie. The hero of the story left his home town chasing his dream to be a stand-up comedian in New York only to return after years of fruitless attempts. It was then when he developed a passion for udon making his hometown a place for “Udon Pilgrimage”. The movie is so real to me that for a moment, I thought this “Udon City” does exist in Japan. If you are looking for something different from the typical Japanese tear jerking romance productions, you may wish to check out “Udon”. My only reservation is that the movie does seem a bit too long. The actress Manami Konishi is quite an eye candy though (see picture on left). Oh, another thing is … try not to watch “Udon” with an empty stomach. You will regret it.

On a final note, both Agent T and I do enjoy the movie.