Within about four hours, the Ramen Nagi restaurant had sold out of the 100 bowls of “insect tsukemen” noodles it had prepared for Sunday’s single-day event.

上周日，东京“拉面凪”餐馆举办为期一日的昆虫拉面品尝活动，还不到4个小时，100碗“昆虫沾面”就已销售一空。

The noodles were topped with about a dozen small crickets and mealworms, which customers then dipped into soups flavored with crickets, grasshoppers¹ or silkworm powder.

拉面上撒了10多只小蟋蟀与黄粉虫幼虫。昆虫沾面的汤是以蟋蟀、蚱蜢或蚕粉熬煮而成。

“It’s deep-fried, so it’s really crispy, and it doesn’t have a bad taste,” said 22-year-old student Anri Nakatani. “It’s almost like a deep-fried shrimp².”

22岁学生中谷安里说：“（昆虫）是油炸的，口感酥脆，而且没有怪味，像是炸虾。”

The event was organized by the restaurant owner, and Yuta Shinohara, a 22-year-old who has set up insect-eating events in Tokyo, including a Valentine’s Day celebration that served chocolates, cakes and cocktails³ featuring insects.

此次活动是餐馆老板与22岁的篠原祐太联手组织。篠原之前已在东京举办过吃昆虫的活动。其中一场情人节庆祝活动的菜单包括昆虫巧克力、昆虫蛋糕以及昆虫鸡尾酒等。

Shinohara, who started eating bugs⁴ as a child, wants to promote the alternative food culture in Japan and around the world, through ramen, a popular Japanese food.

自小就吃昆虫的篠原表示，希望通过受欢迎的拉面，将这种另类的美食文化推广到全国与世界各地。

“Through ramen, I’d like to spread how fun and delicious it is to eat insects,” he said.

他说：“我想通过昆虫拉面告诉大家，吃昆虫有趣又美味。”

The full course, costing ¥3,000, consisted of insect ramen, a bowl of rice with crickets, spring rolls with fried worms, and ice cream flavored with insect powder. The ramen alone cost ¥1,500.

昆虫沾面套餐售价3000日元，包含一份昆虫拉面，一碗配以蟋蟀的米饭和炸虫春卷，以及昆虫粉口味冰淇淋。单独一份昆虫沾面售价为1500日元。

Insects are eaten in many countries, such as China, Ghana, Mexico and Thailand. Australia’s indigenous⁵ groups have eaten insects for protein for generations. Bugs are even part of traditional Japanese cuisine⁶ in rural areas, but few city dwellers⁷ have had the opportunity to try them.

在中国、加纳、墨西哥和泰国等许多国家，昆虫都被当成食物。澳大利亚的土著居民世代都靠食用昆虫来补充蛋白质。在日本乡村地区，昆虫也是传统美食之一，但鲜有城市居民有机会品尝昆虫。

California tourist Steve Lee enjoyed the dish, but said it would take time to catch on in the United States.

来自美国加州的游客史蒂夫•李很喜欢吃昆虫拉面，但他说这要在美国流行起来尚需时日。