Tokiwa is an unassuming noodle shop in central Kyoto that serves a huge variety of perfectly average canteen-style meals. It's also the first place that I ever tasted nishin soba. And for that reason it holds a very special place in my heart. I can't remember when exactly I first entered this place, but it must have been over a decade ago, just after I had first moved to … [Read more...]
Ramen Factory Kyoto
Ramen Factory Kyoto is a new place near Tofukuji Temple where you can experience both making and eating your very own Kyoto style ramen. This shop is a side project of Menbakaichidai, a famous "fire ramen" restaurant that has been serving and entertaining ramen fans in Kyoto for the last 30 years. Check out the video for Ramen Factory below. Updated Details Ramen … [Read more...]
Soba no Mi Yoshimura
蕎麦の実よしむら is a great place Mewby and I only recently discovered, though we must have passed it hundreds of times. I'm not sure why we didn't go in before. Perhaps we thought that soba (buckwheat noodles) was all they did. Or perhaps we thought it was too expenive-looking. We were wrong on both counts. Though the prices are surprisingly reasonable, Yoshimura certainly looks … [Read more...]
Mentei
This noodle shop by MotoTanaka station does some very nice homemade udon noodles. The owner (pictured a short ways below), is known to all his friends as Yama-chan, or by his customers simply as "Master". I can't remember what his real name is. He's a very nice chap. I first met him in music bar Hawkwind one night, and when he told me he owned the nearby noodle shop I said "Oh! … [Read more...]
Omen
Today's pictures come from Omen; not a scary movie but a small chain of old-style noodle restaraunts here in Kyoto. I ordered the standard (and popular) Omen noodles, which come with a dashi based soup and a variety of organic vegetables (spinach, ginger, daikon, gobou, chopped scallions, sesame seeds etc.) and they were pretty good. There are also other dishes on offer such as … [Read more...]