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Rest in Peace, Mr. Ando

by Kristopher Tate | 8 January 2007 | General | 8 Comments

Momofuku Ando, file photo

Momofuku Ando often ate his company’s instant noodles

I was saddened to hear that on Friday the 5th, Mr. Momofuku Ando had passed-away at an inspiring age of 96. What did Mr. Ando do that was so special to me? Yes, you guessed it, he invented the Instant Cup of Noodles.

Why is his cup of hot noodles so special to me? Well, it has to do with how I got by for nearly 9 months before Michael Arrington blogged about Zooomr and even at a time where Zooomr was just a twinkle in my eyes… You see, I had just moved up to the Valley.

I didn’t have much money at that time — I was literally living off of bread and water, with a cup of noodles to tide me over through the night! It was tough moving into a location where I knew no one… a location that didn’t even have Internet access for the first four months!

When I started Zooomr, I would code into the night next to empty ramen bowls, the warmth of the noodles empowering every line of code that I breathed into my Powerbook.

Lately, largely due to the successes of Zooomr and my other works, I haven’t had much of Mr. Ando’s Noodles.

I’m sorry that I have failed you, Mr. Ando… But please understand that you helped me (and many other young minds) through a difficult time in life where many things are uncertain outside of “What am I going to eat tonight?”

You will be missed — さようなら、安藤百福さま。(Goodbye, Mr. Momofuku Ando)

-Kristopher

8 Comments

  1. Pot Noodle Boy said on 8 Jan 2007 at 3:11 am:

    Apparently they’re preparing a special urn for Mr Momofuku’s ashes. It’s got a got a line two-thirds up the inside that says “pour hot water to this mark”.

  2. Kristopher Tate said on 8 Jan 2007 at 3:20 am:

    Pot Noodle Boy, this post was not a joke and your comment will not be taken lightly. Mr. Ando was a hero to me and many people in tight living conditions.

    Luckily, his spirit will live-on through his Son, Koki Ando. He is the current president of Nissin Corp. in Japan.

    -Kristopher

  3. Pot Noodle Boy said on 8 Jan 2007 at 3:29 am:

    Mr Kristopher Tate

    My comment was not a joke either, and should be taken as such.

    We all hope, here in noodle land, that the addition of water to Mr Ando’s ashes will re-animate the father of reconstituted noodle products. We also hope that a small sachet of sauce will be included to add a special ‘zing’ to his post-resurrection life.

  4. yanz said on 8 Jan 2007 at 6:25 am:

    Sorry, Kris. I didn’t know that although I live in Japan.
    I love cup noodles, in fact I ate two of ‘em at yesterday’s lunch, and you can see tons of cup noodles. However Nissin’s cup noodles is special and king of them.

  5. ada said on 8 Jan 2007 at 8:10 am:

    This news was the headline of Taiwan’s most popular newspaper on Jan 7th. Why? Because Mr. Ando was born in Taiwan, and his Chinese name is 吳百福. I love Taiwan’s instant noodles. You all should try it.

  6. tim said on 8 Jan 2007 at 9:05 am:

    During college, I, too, subsisted on ramen noodles (and Mac and Cheese). Thank you, Mr. Ando. Interestingly, from the Wikipedia article on Mr. Ando, I learned he was born in my wife’s hometown of Chiayi.

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