'B-grade' cuisine champs to take fried noodles to N.Y.

NEW YORK — A group of noodle aficionados from Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, say they are bringing their city's famed fried noodles to a street fair in New York where they will introduce to the United States the comfort food made with water from Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji fried noodles rose to national fame after being crowned champion in 2006 and 2007 in the so-called B-grade cuisine competition, which features cheap and satisfying food.

The eight-member Fujinomiya team, including Hidehiko Watanabe, chairman of the Mount Fuji Yakisoba Society, will offer the noodles Sunday at a street fair on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

In recent years, the B-grade competition has helped boost tourism, as many of the dishes reflect regional specialties and cultures.

"It's not as much about selling noodles as about introducing our region to the world," Watanabe said. " 'Yakisoba' would be a tool for that. But of course, we are keen on developing business as well."

Mount Fuji fried noodles, or Fujinomiya yakisoba, have some ingredients found in regular fried noodles, including cabbage and carrots, but get a distinct flavor with pork fat residues, a by-product of lard production.

"Food was scarce after World War II. So people created these fried noodles with what they had, from the ingredients that were virtually free, such as rationed wheat flour and meat scraps," Watanabe said.

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