Tokyo restaurant serves insect ramen

Tourists and Tokyo residents tuck into fried worms and crickets at a Japanese ramen restaurant.

SHOWS:

1. PEOPLE QUEUING FOR INSECT RAMEN IN FRONT OF RESTAURANT, RAMEN NAGI

2. BANNER OF INSECT IN FRONT OF THE RESTAURANT

3. STAFF SERVING RAMEN WITH INSECTS

4. RAMEN WITH INSECTS

5. CUSTOMER TAKING PHOTO

6. CUSTOMER DUNKING INSECTS RAMEN IN SOUP

7. CUSTOMER EATING INSECT RAMEN

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 22-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, ANRI NAKATANI, SAYING:

"It's deep fried so it's really crispy, and it doesn't have a bad taste. It's almost like a deep-fried shrimp."

9. STAFF SERVING INSECT RAMEN

10. RAMEN WITH INSECTS

11. CUSTOMER TRYING INSECT

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) 36-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM CALIFORNIA, STEVEN LEE, SAYING:

"I don't think we're ready for this in California. Ramen is just taking off now in a big way in California so, maybe 10 years, five years later?"

13. CHEF STIR-FRYING WORMS

14. CHEF STIR FRYING WORMS WITH VEGETABLES

15. CHEF

16. STAFF IN KITCHEN

17. CHEF FRYING WORMS

18. WORMS

19. (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 22-YEAR-OLD ORGANIZER OF BUG EATING EVENT, YUTA SHINOHARA, SAYING:

"Ramen is Japan's national dish, which not only the Japanese but also international people are attracted to, compared to other dishes. Through ramen, I'd like to spread how fun and delicious it is to eat insects."

20. VARIOUS FOOD DISHES WITH INSECTS

21. RICE WITH INSECTS

22. VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS EATING RAMEN WITH INSECTS

23. CUSTOMER EATING A WORM

24. VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS IN RESTAURANT

25. DISPLAY OF A BUG

STORY:Curious cuisine enthusiasts lined up outside Tokyo's ramen restaurant Nagi on Sunday (April 9) to try ramen served with insects.

At the one-day event, the restaurant served "insect tsukemen", where customers dip the noodles into the soup of their choice, containing either crickets, grasshoppers and silkworm powder.

The recipe was created after the success of the 'cricket ramen' event last year, headed by both Nagi's restaurant manager and Yuta Shinohara, who organises insect-eating events and wants to promote eating insects in Japan and the rest of the world.

A full meal consists of insect ramen, a bowl of rice with crickets, spring rolls with fried worms and ice cream flavoured with insect powder.

The event organizer said 100 bowls of insect ramen were served, which were all sold out by the end of lunch time.

Bugs are part of traditional Japanese cuisine in rural areas, but most modern urban dwellers have never had an opportunity to taste them.