"Few foods inspire as much passion and partisanship as the dish of noodles in broth known as 'ramen.' Hot or cold, plain or miso, from fancy fusion creations to humble roadside takeout, ramen is truly a beloved food, one that can give rise to fierce loyalty or fiercer criticism (not to mention the occasional fistfight). In this volume of Oishinbo, Yamaoka and company inquire into the 'soul of ramen, ' from the flour used in the noodles to the chickens...

"...In this volume, Weekly Time magazine sets up a series of culinary battles between the Tōzai News's 'Ultimate Menu, ' represented by Yamaoka, and the Teito Times's 'Supreme Menu, ' represented by Kaibara Yūzan, Yamaoka's father and nemesis. The ingredient this time is vegetables, specifically cabbages and turnips. Who will win the Vegetable Showdown? Later, Yamaoka and Kurita help Tomii's son get over his hatred of eggplant, and patch a rift...

"Yamaoka and his father, Kaibara Yūzan, have never enjoyed an ideal father-son relationship. In fact, it's about as far from ideal as possible, and when they start arguing about food--which they inevitably do--the sparks really fly. In this volume of Oishinbo the subject of dispute is fish, starting with the question of whether mackerel can ever be truly good sashimi. Later, things come to a head during the "Salmon Battle, " which pits father against...