I found this contest to be a great idea and I had a good time. I am the guy in the grey shirt who spilt ramen all over himself and got second.... a far second.
However... and some of this is stuff I should of thought of going in. There was an issue with how hot the water was. I was expecting the problem to be was spiciness. I could not even taste spiciness, not because it was not spicy but because the water was so hot and scalding I had no taste buds for a day. Normally, I can boil up a pot of ramen on the stove, let it sit for a few minutes and then chug it. I attempted to do this with the bowl and had the shock of how hot the water was, hence I spilt it all over myself right off. Embarassing, but all in good fun ; p
Anyway, the winner had the great idea of pouring the cold water brought up to us into his ramen. Next year I think everyone should be given a cup of cold water to pour into their ramen BEFORE it begins. Also, perhaps let eveyone take one sip of the broth, so that we can see how hot it is to our mouths. Sticking your finger in is a good idea, but not as accurate as actually testing with your mouth.
We had some rather younger looking contestants in the first round and I wonder if any thought was giving to possible water burns before hand. Personally my mouth was so badly burnt that skin from the roof of my mouth peeled away. If the first place contestant is on this board I am curious as to how badly your mouth was burnt later on. Also a good idea would be to have one of the staff running such a contest to test out and try quickly eating one of the ramen bowls before the contest begins to make sure it is not beyond a safe level of heat.
The contest was a great idea though. Have it next year, make the whole thing at the tables next year. When I suggested moving it to the table that made it much better. Maybe we should think of maybe microwaving the ramen next year instead? Regardless of how we do so, lets try and make next year about trying to deal with the spicy, not the heat of the water.
