3 bowls in Kyoto

Been a while since I posted anything.  Life happens.

Was in Kyoto for just over 24 hours, and it was a few days after the largest typhoon to make landfall in Japan in like 25 years.  It rained the entire time.  On this trip, I wanted to checkout some udon places.  It was too late in the day for Yamamoto Menzo that I heard about, but Okakita that is right next to it should still be open.  Walked in the rain for about half and hour to get there, got a little wet, and it was of course fucking closed early for the day.  On the way back to the hotel, stopped in this place near 紙園 called Mimikou.  The shop was empty when I got there, maybe not surprising as it is Sunday night and the weather is nasty.  Enjoyed a bowl of curry udon here, nice thick and chewing noodle, thick flavorful soup that is a bit sweet and a little spicy.  They have 4 different kinds of peppers you can add if you want it spicier.  A few groups of tourists trickled in during my visit, not surprising given its location (the restaurant has english and chinese menu).

The next day I was up early because of the time difference, so had breakfast at one of my favorite place to eat here, 本家 第ㄧ旭 (Honke Daiichiasahi).  Everything is the same as usual, the Tokusei Ramen did not disappoint, the scene is again pretty interesting at 5:30 am, old dude drinking large bottle of Asahi, couple of big truck driver dudes crushing ramen with a side of rice, plus a couple tables of young people that may have stayed up all night doing whatever (one girl fell on her ass on the way in).  I did something that I have not done here before, that is adding condiment about half way through.  This chili paste is quite thick, and took a bit of stirring to get it dissolve.  It wasn't very hot but added a nice kick.  

I didn't have to work until later that day so for lunch, I visited Fumiya near Nishiki market for another taste of udon.  This is described as Kyoto style nabe-yaki.  It was served in a ceramic pot like what I ate is Nagoya, but the stock was dashi instead of a chicken based soup.  The broth was a bit sweet for me but has a nice rounded flavor, especially after you break the egg into it.  The grilled rice cake has a nice chew and the piece of mushroom is super meaty.  You can tell right away that even though this was only 680 yen, the ingredients were top notch.  The only slight disappointment for me was that the noodle is on the softer side and I like my noodles a bit more chewy.

Wish the weather was better but enjoyed my visit to Kyoto once again nevertheless.  Being solo has it advantages, but perhaps next time I will share the experience with family and friends.

miso udon in nagoya

I was in Japan for a couple of days recently and had to make a train connection at the Nagoya station on my way to Gifu.  My Japanese colleague took us to this spot under the station that serves one of the local speciality, thick udon noodle in thick and hearty chicken miso broth.

Not much to say about the place itself, pretty typical of a nice Japanese train station eatery - clean, bright, wooden table and benches, courteous and efficient staff.  I didn't even look at what else was on the menu, just ordered the noodles, I got the seasonal selection with a couple different kinds of mushrooms.  The noodle soup was served in a very nice but clearly well used clay pot, on a round wooden tray.  It came to the table boiling hot and the pot helped to keep the broth stayed nice and hot until the end.  There was also a plate of raw, undressed, thinly sliced red onion and napa cabbage to give you some crunch and some contrast from the broth and noodles.  I thought about adding it to the broth at some point but my colleague and everyone else around us were eating that separately, either with some of the soy sauce on the table or just straight.

I saw some people using the lid as a serving bowl, but I just dig in directly from the pot.  The noodle was quite thick and chewy, it is probably the best udon noodle I have had in terms of texture.  As is common with noodle soups in Japan, the broth is a bit salty, but well balanced.  And in the case, it has a real fantastic depth of flavor, earthy and a little funky.  I had to eat really slowly because I was wearing a white shirt and the long and thick noodles were not easy to deal with if I wanted to avoid having broth on my shirt.  But that less than half of my usual noodle eating speed really helped my enjoy this bowl (or pot).

I hope something brings me back to Nagoya.  As good as this place was, there has to be other joints in town that serve this dish in other variations and incarnations that I would love to try.