“I wanted to do a film that, hopefully, the masses could relate to.”
Filmmaker Eric Khoo shared the raison d’etre for his latest movie, “Ramen Teh”, a food drama about a Japanese ramen chef who comes to Singapore to find out more about his heritage.
“That’s why it had to be very simple, and very pure, in that sense,” shared the filmmaker, before empathetically stating that “it is my favourite film.”
“These are sad times and we just wanted to do something a little more simple. I feel that food can bring people together and heal wounds. It was natural to put bak kut teh and ramen together, and it tastes really good.”
“We need something positive, and this film is that.”
The film’s title refers to a fusion dish of bak kut teh and ramen. “Ramen Teh” is Khoo’s third movie to have a noodle-themed title, the previous two being 1995’s “Mee Pok Man” and 2015’s “Wanton Mee”.
Creating more a relatable film
Khoo shared more about his approach to “Ramen Teh”, and how he wanted it to appeal to as many audiences as possible.
“I wanted accessible characters that the audience could relate to. I was blessed with all the performances, that they were spot on,” he said.
But a large part of the film’s accessibility also came from the editing and storytelling process.
“I had to go through several edits because sometimes you want less exposition, and you want [audiences] to go on this journey with Masato [the main character of the film]. So far, I’ve showed this to some my friends who are not really into artistic films and they like it. So I feel that hopefully, we have a bigger reach with this,” said the filmmaker.
“There’s a lot of humanity in this film.”
Japan and Singapore work cultures
The film stars Takumi Saito as Masato and Mark Lee as Uncle Wee. The two actors shared their experiences working in different environments.
“I observed that Japanese talents are very immersed in their roles,” Lee said in Mandarin, “in the sense that they will keep to themselves when preparing for an emotionally intense scene. For example, if they have a teary, dramatic scene coming up, they will avoid more light-hearted interactions with me outside of set.”
“However, that’s not to say that talents in other country’s aren’t as immersed in their roles — rather, each country has its own unique approach when it comes to emotionally intense scenes.”
Saito praised Singapore’s work culture and explained through a translator that “in Singapore, he had more time to breathe while he was at work. He had more time for himself in Singapore, which he feels is very healthy, as compared to the work environment in Japan. It’s more productive, in a way.”
Cast and crew share their favourite types of ramen
So with the premise of the film revolving around a fusion of bak kut teh and ramen, what sort of ramen did the Khoo and the other cast members personally prefer?
“Spicy ramen with pork sliced very thinly, with very fat. When you bite into the pork, all the fat will go pshew pshew pshew in your mouth,” shared Lee.
“I like spicy food as well, so spicy ramen,” said Jeanette Aw, who plays Mei Lian. However, her first ramen experience in Japan “was fabulous. It’s so simple, just the broth and the ramen and two slices of ramen. But I thought that it quite amazing.”
Having worked in his father’s ramen shop in his youth and being an actual ramen chef, Saito’s verdict was seafood broth was the best. For ramen, soup is more important than noodles.
“I love shoyu ramen,” Khoo admitted.
“I like miso ramen and tonkotsu ramen, but bak kut teh with ramen is my favourite now,” said Seiko Matsuda, who plays Miki.
Ramen Teh is directed by Eric Khoo, with a screenplay by Fong Cheng Tan and Kim Hoh Wong. It stars Takumi Saito (Masato), Jeanette Aw (Mei Lian), Seiko Matsuda (Miki), Mark Lee (Uncle Wee), Tsuyoshi Ihara (Kazuo), Tetsuya Bessho (Uncle Akio), and Beatrice Chien (Madam Lee).
“Ramen Teh” opens in cinemas:
– 29 March, 2018 (Singapore)
This article was first written for and published on Yahoo Singapore.
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I’m a Singapore television scriptwriter who’s written for Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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