Soba and udon noodles out of the ordinary

Mimiko offers an interesting take on curry udon, since you can choose the strength of your curry. For those that like their curry mild and on the sweeter side, you can choose the normal curry. For those who prefer to walk the middle way you can choose 1.5 strength curry. But I think of most of us curry aficionados it has to be double strength, the strongest they offer.
The double strength curry has a really powerful taste of curry but it is just that; a strong tasting curry, it doesn’t get the kick from chili which I find to be a good thing, especially considering you get to choose from four different kinds of chili powders and peppers on the table if you wish to make your curry hotter. In the picture you can see an abura-age deep-fried tofu curry udon, and I tell you, boy does this sweet taste go well with the strong curry, especially if you add some chili on it.

Sanjo Owariya is famous for both tempura soba and their duck curry soba which has a sweet taste that is sure to be a hit amongst those for who found the aforementioned restaurant’s udon too hot. The soba here is sweet but it is not overly sweet since it still has that same deep taste that the tempura udon’s broth here has; the great dashi punch that cannot be found elsewhere. This curry soba also contains abura-age deep-fried tofu so I recommend that you add some shichimi chili spice mix to it if it starts to taste too sweet for you.

What really stands out in Shofukutei is their soba. It’s green. What else can you say? You have probably had some green matcha ice cream; those of you who have been to Taiwan may have had some green stinky tofu; but have you ever had green noodles? The taste is not as strong as one might expect, you can mainly smell the tea, and the taste is very faint.

Also I have to meantion this, Shokufutei is really cheap! If you just want soba you can get it for under 500, but what I really recommend are their soba sets that have a bowl of soba and maybe some tempura or a rice bowl. Speaking of tempura, Shofukutei’s tempura is exquisite, and goes really well with the green noodles.

Mimiu is a famous restaurant that originated in Osaka that actually invented the dish udonsuki. They have restaurants mainly in the Kansai area of Japan. Mimiu is especially particular about their dashi broth. The dashi broth is made from carefully selected ingredients and made in limited quantities; this dashi is the deciding factor in the taste of the udonsuki. I feel like the udonsuki made from seasonal ingredients tastes even better if it is eaten with a group of people. Mimiu is a perfect restaurant for those moments when you want to enjoy eating out with your family or friends.

Fumiya has been a popular udon restaurant for a long time. Even today there is a line in front of the restaurant no matter whether it is a weekday or a holiday. Fumiya’s most popular item on the menu is Fumiya nabe hotpot. The hotpot is brought to your table bubbling hot, and then the restaurant staff open the lid on the hotpot and… puff…　all this hot air comes out and the hotpot in front of you looks really delicious; this is something you have to experience. The gentle taste of Fumiya nabe will make you at ease, and charms you so that you will want to go again. This restaurant is my personal recommendation.