Shonanto no Ramen

Ramen, also known as chukka soba (Chinese noodles), originated in China and spread to Japan in the 1880's. Japanese troops returning from colonial Manchuria further popularized this dish. During the last days of the Second World War, a Japanese military officer revisits this bittersweet legacy on the streets of Occupied Singapore. This short story is written in English and Chinese (simple script) for English-speaking students of the Chinese language. Illustrated with black and white photographs of Japan and Singapore. Features a photo gallery, with explanations, of noodle dishes in Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and America. For literature students, it also includes a study guide by the author.

Wena Poon is an American novelist and photographer. Her first novel Alex y Robert, about a Texan woman bullfighter in Spain, was adapted by the BBC and broadcast as a 10-episode Radio 4 series. Her play The Wood Orchid, about the Chinese woman warrior Hua Mulan, was professionally staged in Westminster Abbey, London by the Bush Theatre. Author of 10 books of literary fiction, Wena won the UK’s Willesden Herald Short Story Prize and was nominated for France’s Prix Hemingway and the UK’s Bridport Prize for Poetry. She was also a two-time nominee for Ireland’s Frank O’Connor Award and the Singapore Literature Prize. Born and raised in Singapore, Wena is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She is a lawyer by profession. Her website is www.wenapoon.com.