This is miso flavored gyuhi mochi from Honda Miso and it is a masterpiece! In addition to the novel and exceptional taste, this is a foodie souvenir that you ought to be able to take back home with you when you visit Kyoto. Even if you are not into wagashi confections, you might still like this as it is similar in taste and texture to caramel — but even better!

Miso Chigiri Mochi Package - Wrapped

Miso Chigiri Mochi Package - Unwrapping

Miso Chigiri Mochi and Wasanbon Sugar

How Does Miso Chigiri Mochi Taste?
While miso and mochi together are not unheard of, before sugar was widely available miso was often used to flavor mochi sweets in Japan, this is different. This is reminiscent of caramel in taste and feel yet without a trace of actual caramel in it, which I find very intriguing.

It is made with gyuhi mochi which is mochi with air whipped into it, so the texture is bubbly soft rather than firm like mochi used for cooking.

The fragrance is pronounced and includes the pungent punch of miso, but not too much.

The taste is quite extraordinary. The combination of sweet, miso and mochi come together in a really novel and delightful way. The flavor is not at all understated, it is a pretty huge flavor for any wagashi. I think the miso gives it a lot of body. It is very caramely and ‘misoy’ and has a hint of butter too. The miso paste that is used is Kyoto’s famous white miso (Saikyo shiro miso) which has little salt and is not as pungent as darker and longer fermented miso varieties.

The mochi comes in two colors; brown and pink. The brown ones are miso flavored and the pink ones are plain gyuhi mochi. The miso flavored pieces account for about 8 or 9 in 10 of the total. I think that the pink ones add a real ‘Kyoto’ touch of understated sophistication to it. If they were all miso flavored it would be monotonous and if the pink ones had their own flavor, that would be excessive and lack harmony of flavor.

This gyuhi mochi is packed in light brown colored wasanbon sugar. Wasanbon is the powdered sugar that is native to Japan. It is usually steamed, kneaded and pulverized several times. Wasanbon is somewhat caramely in flavor with a slight burnt sugar flavor to it, yet it is extremely delicate. The pieces of mochi have a generous coating of wasanbon on them which you can brush off a bit for a different flavor variation.

Miso Chigiri Mochi and Wasanbon Sugar - detail (The pinks ones are not miso flavored.)

Where to Buy
I think that this product is only available at Honda Miso Honten. The location is just west of the Gosho Imperial Palace at the intersection of Ichijo Dori and Muromachi Dori streets. In the neighborhood is the famous Toraya wagashi confectionary and Sawai Shoyu Honten soy sauce brewery.

Honda Miso also offers white miso caramel which is also very good.

Honda Miso Honten Entrance and Noren Curtain

Honda Miso Honten Interior

White Miso Caramel

Samples are available just to the left of the entrance.

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Map to Honda Miso Honten

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Hondo Miso doesn’t just make traditional things, a real shinise is said to develop with the times. Honda Miso now offers an ‘instant’ type miso soup that is quick and easy to make and does have the refined taste of Kyoto. It is called Ichi Wan, which literally means ‘one bowl’, because it makes just one serving of miso soup. I don’t usually go for instant foods but this looked like it could be a winner and it is from Honda Miso so I gave it a try.

Ichiwan Miso Soup Package

Honda Miso Ichiwan Miso Soup 本田味噌本店 一わんみそ汁 油揚げ
Honda Miso’ Ichiwan Miso Soup comes in three flavors and I chose abura age which means deep fried tofu. The shell looks like monaka as in this article but it is made from fu, which is wheat gluten. Inside is Kyoto-style sweet white miso, abura age and daikon radish, these ingredients are freeze dried and reconstitute immediately upon application of hot water.

Fu is a common ingredient in Kyoto cuisine and was popularized by Buddhist monks in centuries past.

How To Make Ichiwan Miso
1. Unwrap
2. Break apart dried wheat gluten ‘fu’ shell
3. Pour on hot water
4. Allow to reconstitute (I waited about 1 minute)
5. Stir a bit and enjoy

Ichiwan Miso Soup Unwrapped - Perhaps a Bit Bland to the Eye and Senses

Ichiwan Miso Soup Broken Apart in the Bowl

Ichiwan Miso Soup Served

Ichiwan Miso Soup - Fu, Daikon and Agedofu

How did it taste?
The taste is the classic Kyoto-style sweet miso soup but I was struck by the variety of textures. The fu is very soft and gooey, the abura age is spongy and chewy and the daikon slivers are quite crunchy and chewy. I was really impressed with the taste and especially the textures. In addition to being quick and convenient, it was fun to make and eat!

My only criticism, as someone that has designed and developed a few products is that after the shell is broken apart and reconstituted, the shapes of the chunks of fu are unpleasant to the eye. This wouldn’t pass muster as Kyoto-style. I removed a few particularly uneven shaped and large pieces of fu before I took the photos above. Sorry, I cheated. I think that what they need to do is to score or perforate the fu somehow so that it breaks into more regular or square shaped pieces. That would make it ‘Kyoto’ and that would be quite a feat for instant soup but with a little Japanese kaizen, I am sure they can perfect the design!

Honda Miso Honten Retail Store (本田味噌本店)

This is the entrance to Honda Miso, it is about a 3 minute walk from the Imperial Palace.

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Map to Honda Miso Honten

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Toriiwaro, a shinise located in the old weaving district of Kyoto, offers a single dish for lunch and a single dish for dinner. Toriiwaro’s chicken broth is the heart and soul of their chicken cuisine. Chicken itself is a relative newcomer to the Japanese culinary scene and this 150 year old restaurant is among the oldest in Kyoto serving chicken. The history is palpable here!

Toriiwaro is a restaurant that I had known of for a long time and even though I used to live in the neighborhood, I had never dined there. Thanks to this question (and excellent recommendation) in Kyoto Support, I finally did.

I visited the restaurant with a friend for lunch and we enjoy oyako donburi, shinise style.

Nishijin Shinise Oyako Donburi

Nishijin Shinise Oyako Donburi – Cross Section

This oyako donburi is very rich and soupy!

Nishijin Machiya
Toriiwaro is located in the heart of Nishijin, the old obi and kimono weaving district of Kyoto. This area of Kyoto has the most old traditional machiya houses left. The most spectacular were trading houses, usually dealing in kimono and obi. As Japan changed in the 1970′s and 80′s, most of these companies went bankrupt, as they were not able to change with the times. Today much of old Nishijin has been lost to mindless development but between the parking lots, plastic houses and bathroom tile covered apartment buildings there are still quite a few machiya left, more are being lost literally everyday though. Some are decrepit and some are lovingly maintained and now and again one is meticulously renovated.

Nishijin is one area of Kyoto that travelers won’t want to miss and Toriiwaro is a good place to have a meal and experience a machiya from the inside.

Toriiwaro Dining Room Interior

Toriiwaro Dining Room Interior

Toriiwaro Dining Room Interior

Toriiwaro
Toriiwaro started out in Gion at the end of the Meiji period, about 150 years ago. In 1945 they moved from Gion to their current location in Nishijin and renovated this old machiya into a restaurant. Most of the layout retains the original residential plan. Of course renovating machiya today for restaurants is quite in fashion, however tearing them down is even more in fashion. Many machiya renovated for restaurants retain their shell and structure, but the ‘machiyaness’ is often lost to poor design or over-design. None of that is going on here.

The quaint dining room on the second floor overlooking the garden was quite beautiful. There are numerous tokonoma alcoves, hanging scrolls ikebana flower arrangements and so on.

The tables are quite small and very low. The floor is tatami and you sit on nice thick zabuton cushions.

Toriiwaro Garden and Walkway

The dining room that we ate in was at the end of this sloped wooden walkway on the second floor.

Toriiwaro Garden


Toriiwaro Chicken Cuisine
The soul of Toriiwaro’s cuisine is the rich chicken soup stock. Everyday, for decades now, the carcasses of 30 chickens have been slowly simmered with Kyoto well water for 8 hours to make the next day’s soup.

One Item Dinner Menu: Mizudaki Nabe
Toriiwaro only serves chicken dishes. They are very famous for their mizudaki 地鶏水だき which is local chicken hotpot nabe cooked with their chicken broth. Mizudaki is the only dish offered for dinner and costs 6,300 yen (per person). (We haven’t eaten their mizudaki nabe, but in this photo, it looks pretty good!

One Item Lunch Menu: Oyako Donburi
Lunch is also a single item menu. Toriiwaro’s oyako donburi is a classic and well known in Kyoto. Oyako donburi, literally ‘parent and child’ rice bowl is chicken and egg on top of rice. Their rendition of this common Japanese lunch fare is quite ‘soupy’ with broth and dashi. Usually oyako donburi contains scallions or onions, but not at Toriiwaro. They just use the finest chicken and egg, so it tastes great without the extra flavoring.

A cup of chicken soup is served with the donburi and it has go to be the richest chicken soup broth that I have every had. I went for lunch with a friend from Kyushu and he said that it reminded him of Kyushu’s famous and very rich pork bone stock, tonkotsu.

Toriiwaro Genkan Entry

Toriiwaro Genkan Well

Toriiwaro Sign (鳥岩楼)

As this wooden hand carved and very weathered sign is very old the characters are written in reverse order to modern Japanese.

Toriiwaro Storefront

Toriiwaro is in a large and spectacular Nishijin ‘machiya’.

We were both a bit surprised at the size of the donburi. It was a bit on the small side in terms of volume, but being soupy makes it dense it quite filling. The tsukemono which accompanies the meal could use some improvement. However, 850 yen for a historic and very high quality donburi, in an atmosphere like this, I thought that Toriiwaro was a home run.

I am definitely going back for lunch, and often, and looking forward to having dinner there. I have never had a shinise mizudaki nabe.

As so many of the kimono and obi companies in Nishijin went bankrupt, it can be difficult to find a nice restaurant – they went out of business too. Toriiwaro’s lunch is very reasonably priced, and dinner, at 6,300 yen, while not exactly cheap, isn’t particularly expensive for the kind of food they serve. It seems that smaller, private rooms are available for dinner. At lunch, everyone is seated in the large room shown in the photos.

English and Access
西陣・鳥岩楼 Toriiwarou
English service: No English menu, but at this restaurant you don’t even order. Service is friendly
Website: http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~mao_utty/toriiwa/ (Japanese language only)
Hours: 12noon to 9pm (closed Thursdays)
Location and Access: You’ll definitely need a map for this one. From the intersection of Imadegawa and Chiekoin streets, walk north on Chiekoin to the first street which is Itsutsujicho and turn left. Toriiwaro is less than a minute walk and is on the left (south) side of the street. You can get to Imadegawa-Chiekoin by bus.
Address
: Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Gotsuji-dori Chiekoin Nishi-iru Minami-gawa (京都市上京区五辻通智恵光院西入南側)
Telephone: 075-441-4004

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Paku and I were invited to Uichiro, an elegant handmade soba and udon restaurant yesterday by one of Paku’s foodie friends. Uichiro is in a beautiful old machiya (traditional Kyoto house), has excellent food, great atmosphere and very friendly service.

I had kamo nanban (鴨南蛮そば), which is a popular Kyoto dish combining thick sliced roast duck breast, roast scallions and soba. The roast duck lends a distinct, pungent barbecued taste to the dashi soup.

Dessert was a true novelty; soba kanten jelly! Unheard of!

Article Update: Unfortunately, this commendable restaurant has closed. (20.10.2009)

Duck (kamo) is very popular in Kyoto, and is a ‘winter food’ as it is rich and nutritious. Kamo is enjoyed in soup, ham-like thick sliced roast and the luxurious kamo-nabe.

Uichiro’s rendition of kamo nanban is exquisite because the kamo and scallions have been well grilled before added to the dashi soup. Dashi is already rich and pungent thanks to the katsuobushi (shaved skipjack tuna) that is the base of the soup stock, but this combination takes it over the top. The three of us has never had a Japanese soup that tasted anything like this, it was sublime! And perfect for a snowy, winter day.

Steaming Kamo Nanban Soba

note: The dipping sauce on the left is not for kamo nanban soba, but for the croquettes (see below).

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – first course

note: The bowl on the left is delightfully and playfully in the form of a radish! Nuta (left) and mushi-zushi (right).

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – main course, tempura soba

Kisetsu-no-gozen (Seasonal Dish Set) – final course, soba kanten jelly

Kisetsu-no-gozen
Gozen is the polite was to say ‘meal’ in Japanese. Traditionally it was reserved in use for members of the nobility. Now, ‘nice’ lunch sets are often called Gozen… and usually incorporate a rice dish.

Kisetsu in Japanese means, ‘season’.

This one consisted of four dishes in three courses.

Nuta: a fish salad dressed with a miso-vinegar based dressing.
Mushi-zushi: This is a steamed (mushi) variation of the ever popular chirashi-zushi. None of us had ever had this dish before as sushi is not a warm or hot dish. Again, seasonal — it’s winter. The sushi rice seemed to have dashi in it, making it more hearty. The yellow topping is slivered egg. The green leaf garnish is sansho.
Tempura Soba: Shrimp and Sato-imo tempura served on soba.
Soba Kanten Jelly: Simple yet astounding! Again, none of us had ever heard of this dessert. Kanten is a naturally derived jelly that is made from sea vegetables used for many popular desserts in Japanese cuisine. Traditionally it was produced in cold mountainous regions in the winter as freeze drying was essential to creating kanten.

This dessert is unique because the kanten is heavily flavored with soba, probably soba-cha (soba ‘tea’). The reddish-brown garnish sprinkled on top of the jelly is cracked, roasted soba kernels.

The black beans are the well-loved sweetened kuro-mame, literally ‘black bean’, from the Tamba region of Kyoto.

This is one heck of a dessert!

Sato-imo (Japanese taro) Croquettes

Yummy!

Japanese Lacquerware – Urushi

Everything in this photo is lacquered, even the tray. Japanese lacquerware, or urushi, often incorporates fabric. Notice the square at the bottom of the bowl, that is fabric that has been lacquered over. The lip of the bowl is also covered with fabric, as is the grip of the spoon. Urushi is another subject that an entire blog could easily be devoted to. Be sure to stock-up on urushi when you visit Kyoto!

Uichiro Exterior

The Genkan, or Entry Vestibule
A fountain, a cast iron lantern and the ubiquitous ikebana flower arrangement greet the guest upon sliding open the door.

The Front Dining Room

Several obi (帯), or kimono sash decorate the dining room. Perhaps this machiya was once an obi store.

The Front Dining Room

The Front Dining Room – Mochi-bana

This is a winter decoration called mochi-bana, literally ‘mochi flower’. Pieces of red and white mochi (rice cake) are put on willow branches to simulate blossoms. This decoration is a part of the New Year’s (shogatsu) celebration.

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English:
English menu: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: Very friendly
Price: 700 – 1,800 yen.
Location and Access: Uichiro is located a few blocks to the west of Teramachi and Kawaramachi Steets, about 15-20 minutes north of the Shijo/Sanjo Kawaramachi and Shijo/Sanjo Karasuma areas. Probably best accessed on foot.
Address: 604-0944 Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Oshikoji Fuyacho-higashi-iru Tachibana-cho 616
(京都市中京区押小路通麩屋町東入ル橘町616番地)
Telephone: 075-211-8138
Near Sightseeing Spot: The Imperial Palace (10 min. walk to the north), Teramachi Street, Kamo River, Kyoto International Manga Museum.

Map:

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Owariya, a purveyor to the Imperial Household, has a history that goes back over five hundred and forty years. It is the oldest noodle shop in Kyoto.

Over the centuries, Owariya has served emperors and shoguns as well as the monks of many of the temples of Kyoto.

Owariya is very popular with both locals and visitors for it’s soba noodles as well as soba confectioneries.

Owariya, properly called Honke Owariya (the ‘Original’ Owariya) is very popular for it’s noodles as well as confectioneries. The main restaurant is located on a quiet street just south of the Imperial Palace. The concetionery shop is located in the same neighborhood, one street to the west on Karasuma Street.

Owariya is a very ‘Kyoto’ establishment, centuries old, excellent food and atmosphere, yet very approachable. If you want to experience ‘Kyoto’ and ‘soba’, you cannot go wrong with Owariya.

Owariya Main Restaurant Entrance

Inside the gate, on the right side is a delightful little garden.

Zashiki and Tokonoma

Zashiki (sit on the floor on tatami mats). Tokonoma (alcove with hanging scroll and flowers). There is a delightful little dining alcove to the right of the door as you enter Owariya. There are just two tables, if you can get seated here and you don’t mind sitting on the floor, this is a cozy little place to enjoy lunch or dinner. (By the way, sitting on the floor Japanese style can be uncomfortable for folks not accustomed to it. If you are not quite as limber as in your younger days, go for the chairs and tables.)

A sampling of Owariya’s soba confectionaries
Owariya actually started out as a confectionery shop. If you visit the restaurant between 3 and 5:30 guests are given these complementary wagashi. Take them home with you if you like. They are of course, soba (buckwheat) confectionery.

Rikyu Soba (利休そば)

This is one of Owariya’s most famous dishes. It contains fu 麩 (wheat gluten) that has been deep fried, simmered in sweetened shoyu. The geens are mitsuba, there is a sheet of dried and reconstituted yuba, the ‘maple leaves’ are also fu, but nama (fresh), not fried. The dashi (soup stock) always amazes me, it is a very delicate and understated broth but not at all wimpy.

Soba Tempura! — A side dish of assorted tempura, tenpura chirashi (天婦羅ちらし)

Tempura Chirashi (literally, a scattering of tempura) is on the ‘hors d’œuvres’ section of the menu. (The really call it hors d’œuvres!) Tempura soba is common on menus, that is a piece or two of tempura served on top of a bowl of soba noodles. This is not that dish, it is soba noodles that have been deepfried along with the shrimp and baby eggplant! (Paku hadn’t even heard of this one! It is quite rare, and a treat.)
note: grated daikon upper right

Rikyu Soba and Tempura Chirashi

The grated daikon radish is placed in the dipping sauce, this is of course for the tempura.

Soba Tempura – detail

Left to right; nori,soba (tied in a delightful knot), shrimp tail

Nature is just a sheet of paper away!
I pulled back the shoji latticed slidding screen/door and got a delightful peek at the garden. Though flowers are blooming it is near freezing, so the shoji did not stay open for long!

The Entry Vestibule and Noren

The noren, or shop curtain reads, “御用蕎麦司” (goyou soba tsukasa), “purveyor of soba to the Imperial Household.”

Plastic food, shinise style!

Ah, Japan’s ubiquitous plastic food! At Owariya, it looks completely real! The dish on the right is some delicacies that can be enjoy with sake before dinner. There is soba-miso, fish cakes and herring simmered in sweet shoyu sauce.

Owariya Soba Confectionery Shop

The confectionery shop is located on the next street over from the noodle shop, on Karasuma Street and it would seem that the restaurant and the confectionery shop are connected at the back.
The Owariya confectionery shop has confections made with soba!

Soba Warabi Mochi (蕎麦わらび)

This is a variation of warabi mochi, but this is sprinkled with Owariya’s soba powder.

Soba Bouro 蕎麦ぼうろ

A kind of biscuit, or cookie made with soba flour. Soba bouro is common and popular all over Japan. It is often somewhat sweet.

English:
English menu: yes
English website: www.honke-owariya.co.jp
Service/Staff: Staff is ok, not especially friendly.
Price: 1,000 – 3,000 yen. (A nice lunch can be had for about 1,000 yen and for dinner or a house specialty, 2,000 to 3,000 yen)
Location and Access: The noodle shop is just a five minute walk south of The Imperial Palace on Kurumaya-cho Street, and one block east of Karasuma Street.
Near Sightseeing Spot: Imperial Palace
Map:

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Yuba is another very ‘Kyoto’ delicacy.

Yuba in Kyoto comes in many forms, it is made from soy milk. Soy milk is simmered in a large, rectangular pan and as a skin is formed on the surface it is scooped up and is eaten in various ways. Yuba in Japan is often served as ‘sashimi’, used like nori or spring roll skin to wrap other ingredients, deep-fried, dried for later use and so on. Nouveau uses include thick, dried yuba, cut into cubes and deep-fried to be used as salad croutons.

Komameya (literally ‘little bean shop’), is the creation of the Ueda Yuba Company which has four Komameya restaurants in Kyoto. I visited the shop up north, near Daitokiji (temple) which is a very nice neighborhood. There are many traditional shops around Daitokuji and the area is especially known for natto, fermented soybeans. One theory states that natto came over from China with Zen monks. Soybean based food was common for monks and Daitokuji is a major temple and had many monks in residence.

Komameya features yuba based dishes and several black bean numbers, including black bean soy milk soft cream (ice milk) cone.

I visited Komameya for lunch and had one of the three set menus (定食, teishoku) to choose from. Diner, with a different menu is also offered and is said to be very good.

The teishoku included yuba donburi. Donburi, literally ‘rice bowl’ is a popular dish in Japan, often enjoyed for lunch. It comes in countless variations with something cooked, simmered or stewed, served over rice.

Komameya’s yuba donburi is made with kumiage yuba, which is a thick, rich, custard-like yuba, halfway between soy milk and tofu. It is garnished with chopped scallions, nori, raw egg and wasabi. This is mixed well into the rice and eaten with a lacquered spoon. I had never had a dish like this before and it was very good.

Yuba ‘sashimi’, this is the typical yuba, skimmed off the surface of simmering soy milk. It is somewhat rubbery and is served in strips. It is dipped in shoyu and wasabi, like raw fish.

Another treat is the deep-fried yuba simmered in dashi. There are three kinds of yuba, including the regular, black bean and young soybean (枝豆, eda mame). This is served garnished with deep-fried shishito (Japanese sweet green pepper) and grated daikon radish.

There are several other dishes, all soy or vegetable based.

Not one, but two sweets are also served. One is a black sesame based kumiage yuba with Japanese black sugar (黒糖, kokuto) syrup the other is roasted soybean powder (きなこ, kinako), always a favorite among Japanese, in a soy milk custard with kokuto syrup on top. This dish is obviously inspired by Crème Brûlée.

The teishoku lunch ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 yen. Certainly not a budget lunch, but if you around Daitokuji and want a modern, casual, good karma lunch, I highly recommend Komameya. The teishoku was very tasty and healthy, also very filling (Japanese lunches often aren’t).

Komameya also offers black bean soy milk soft cream cones for take away. I got one. The soft cream was pretty good, but the cone itself was horrible. If it were served in a cup with a spoon I would probably get it again, especially on a hot summer day. It is probably worth a try.

English: no English

Map

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Ueda Yuba Company/Komameya website

left: Zonkoro studio and garden
right: dinner

Last night we had dinner at a place I had only heard about and walked past. It is the Hakusasonso (白沙村荘) villa and studio of a Japanese painter, Hashimoto Kansetsu (1883-1945). Hakusasonso is located near The Philosopher’s Path (哲学の道, Tetsugaku no michi) and The Silver Pavilion (銀閣寺, Ginkakuji) , at the foot of Mount Daimonji (大文字山, Daimonjiyama).

The garden and studio and a museum (Japanese language only) of Hashimoto’s work is open to the public. The the villa serves kaiseki dinner in the evenings.

Hashimoto was a great lover of China and visited the country some 40 times. The villa and garden, while built in the Japanese style of the early 1900′s also has a palpable Chinese feel to it. Hashimoto was a lover of stones and huge boulders. The garden has many fine specimens, some brought over from China.

The villa is of the Taisho period (1912-1926). This a time when Japan produced art and culture, products too that were ‘modern’ due to sustained Western contact yet still retained the uniquely Japanese aspect and spirit. After Taisho, regrettably, the distinctly Japanese wanes. Taisho is the period that produced many of Japan’s great literary and visual artists.

Hashimoto’s studio, Zonkoro (存古楼) is a three story building overlooking the pond and is used for events such as moon viewing.

The Garden

Dinner and Dining Room

The dishes very good, but not amazing. The atmosphere was truly amazing, unlike anything that we had experienced in Japan before.

K. F. PekoPeko: Overall, I loved it! I highly recommend Hashimoto Restaurant/Hakusasonso. Get there while it is still light to enjoy the garden before dinner. Now if you are only looking for a super gourmet dinner, then consider another kaiseki venue.

Hakusasonso Garden and Villa, Hashimoto Kansetsu Memorial Museum:
www.kansetsu.or.jp
(Japanese language only)

白沙村荘・橋本関雪記念館、京都

map:

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The company that owns Rokudenya, Kiwa Group still has some excellent restaurants in Kyoto but Rokudenya is history.The manager of Rokudenya seems to take a perverse delight in being unbelievably rude to customers. I have seen him so rude on occasion that by Japanese standards one would have to conclude that he is abnormal.

At Rokudenya I once found a shard of broken ramen bowl so large in my soup that it couldn’t have even fit in my mouth! The degree of sloppiness required to serve a customer’s dinner with about 1/5 of an entire ceramic bowl inside is more than can easily be imagined. In Japan it is simply unheard of. When I tried to call the manager over to show him the shard he tried to ignore me and tried to send over a young staff member. I persisted and asked him to come around the counter so I could show him the shard without alarming the other customers and spoiling their dinner. Now I know that I should have made a fuss. Finally he sighed and came over to see what was up. He offered a feeble apology as he already started to walk away and said to hold on while they made me another.

The staff has followed the manager’s lead. The last time I was there I noticed some of the staff sneaking cigarettes in the kitchen, one young guy was even stood on top of a counter where food is prepared to grab something off a shelf!

The food is not what it once was either, it seems that they are cutting corners on ingredients.

I have no idea what happened to this restaurant, but we have visited Rokudenya several times and the experience was equally appalling on each occasion.

Therefore, we recommend that you avoid Rokudenya.

Rokudenya – Tantanmen in Ponto-cho

Rokudenya features many Chinese style noodle dishes, called tantanmen. Tantanmen (担々麺、担担麺) which hails from Sichuan Province in China, it is heavily spiced with Sichuan pepper (the same plant the Japanese sansho comes from), sesame, chili and chili oil. Rokudenya has a number of tantanmen inspired ramen and other dishes. These dishes are often nouveau, Sichuan style spicy and very, very delicious.

A remarkable dish is the Red Tantanmen (赤担々麺). This is a spicy, tomato based soup (unheard of for ramen) garnished with whole, fresh tomato and parmesan cheese! It is a novel composition yet it seems like a classic.

The menu features many other dishes, lots of nabe dishes. The most famous is the soft-shell turtle nabe (Chinese style hot pot, rather than the Japanese nabe.) Turtle is said to be good for your skin, and for the gents, to give you plenty of extra umph for the ‘night life’ as they put it in Japan.

(We have not tried Rokudenya’s nabe dishes as we sampled the more ‘summery’ offerings. We are looking forward to Rokudenya’s nabe dishes as the weather cools off and we move into autumn and winter.)

There are many other ippin ryori dishes on the menu. They are often Sichuan-spicy and novel in composition.

Homemade chili oil is available on a covered ceramic pot at each table, this is spooned on to the tantanmen to give it some extra punch. Rokudenya’s chili oil is also available to purchase/take away. Despite the amount if chili in it, it isn’t that hot, it is pungent and even a bit sweet.

The dining experience is casual. Rokudenya is located in the heart of Ponto-cho (hanamachi), Rokudenya a fairly new restaurant, but in an old and well kept Kyoto-style townhouse (町家, machiya).

Kurogoma Tantanmen (black sesame tantanmen)
This is a house signature dish, very spicy and rich in chili, Sichuan pepper and sesame flavors, Rokudenya offers both the standard hot and a summer cold version (reimen, literally, cold noodles).

Natsuyasai Reimen (summer vegetables and cold noodles)
This dish features cold noodles (reimen) and a selection of fresh Kyoto summer vegetables. There is no shoyu based tare but a mixture of whipped raw egg and grated nagaimo (mountain yam).

Red Tantanmen (tomato tantanmen)

Tebaage (deep-fried chicken wings)

Spiced with five-spice and deep-fried — excellent!

K. F. PekoPeko:
I thought that the Natsuyasai Reimen (Summer vegetables and cold noodles) was excellent. A very ‘Kyoto’ style dish. Simple, light and understated. While it’s not a dish that I would order often, with a splash of vinegar, this is an excellent midsummer meal when one’s appetite wanes from the sultry Kyoto summer.

Red Tantanmen is not quite as spicy as the tantanmen dishes and is wonderful. Despite it’s novelty, it seems like it must have been on the menu for centuries. Another must try!

There is a monthly and seasonal menu with many ippin and noodle dishes. These are all worth a try.

English menu (small red text is English)
well translated, understandable — thanks!

Rokudenya entrance and noren (shop curtain)

Rokudenya storefront menu

Unfortunately this excellent restaurant has suddenly closed as of November 2011.

Takaraya (宝屋) features several dishes that are very ‘Kyoto’ in style and taste. The cuisine of Kyoto features subtly complex and sophisticated flavors. To the sensibilities of the ancient capital, the more understated, the better. Typically, ramen is anything but subtle. This makes Takaraya quite a novelty and a must for any ramen connoisseur or visiting gourmet.

Sumashi Ramen (すましラーメン):
Takaraya’s sumashi ramen is a masterpiece, completely original, yet completely ‘ramen’. Completely ‘Kyoto’, Japanese ramen is typically overbearing; rich and heavy. The garnishes are unheard of. Deep-fried gobo (burdock root), mozzarella cheese! Unbelievable!

main ingredients: chicken soup base, slightly flat egg ramen noodles, chicken dango (meatballs) mozzarella cheese, aona (greens), cabbage garnished with thick sliced bacon and pepper sesame.

Takaraya’s sumashi ramen is a ‘10’.

Tamago kake gohan (出町の玉子かけご飯)
(Rice topped with raw egg)

Usually, rice with raw egg is served at breakfast, a simple dish with just a dash of shoyu (soy sauce). Takaraya’s tamago kake gohan is another masterpiece. Imaginatively garnished not with shoyu, but shio konbu (salted kelp, steeped in shoyu). First the egg is mixed into the rice, which is piping hot. The egg is not exactly cooked, but neither is it raw. Then sprinkle on the shio kombu and mix some more. Place a slice of cucumber atop the rice, blanket with a sheet of nori and scoop up a mouthful.

Takaraya’s tamago kake gohan is an ‘8.5’.

Toroniku chashumen (トロ肉チャーシューメン)
Shimofuri (sprinkled with frost) pork. Toro, is a reference to the most luxurious ‘fatty tuna’. Out of an entire hog, only 1 kilo of the Takaya’s toroniku chashu can be harvested. The thinly sliced chashu is soft, it nearly melts in your mouth. It is fatty, but not overwhelmingly rich.

Toruniku chashumen is offered with spicy miso, at no extra cost. (It isn’t really that spicy, don’t shy away from this unique garnish.)

Takaraya’s toruniku chashumen is a ‘7.

About Takaraya ramen noodles and eggs:
The wheat is grown and milled in Nagano Prefecture. The eggs used for the Takaraya ramen noodles and tamago kake gohan (rice with raw egg) contains no artificial or chemical additives. The chickens are fed a natural diet of rice bran, fish bones, corn and soybeans.Raw egg accompanies many dishes in Japan and is safe to eat (whether it agrees with you or not is another matter).

K.F. PakuPaku: I am always surprised to when I enter the shop as there are usually young couples and often foreign travelers. The typical ramen shops are patronized by salarymen grabbing quick and late dinner on the way home. Takaraya has a great, modern atmosphere. I always feel like I want to go back soon. Takaraya serves cold tea, rather than ice water. Thanks!

K.F. PekoPeko: Ramen is actually not a favorite dish of mine. I wouldn’t touch it for many years. If I am going to eat ramen, it had better be damn good. I have eaten at Takaraya about once a week for the last year and a half. I only order sumashi ramen, usually accompanied by tamago kake gohan. I love it!For a quick, reasonably priced, and pretty healthy dinner, Takaraya is a five star choice in my book.The service is excellent. The staff are friendly and well mannered. Overall the atmosphere and dining experience is excellent.

Criticism: gyoza (pot stickers) are run -of -the-mill. By no means bad, just not to the level of the other dishes.

About raw and undercooked eggs: In the years I have been in Japan, I suppose that I have eaten more than a thousand raw or undercooked eggs. I have gotten sick once and the culprit *might* have been raw egg. Some prudent folks avoid raw egg in the summer. You certainly wouldn’t want to ruin a trip to a far away land like Japan with a tummy ache, but neither would you want to miss out on some local delicacies enjoyed by the natives either. In the end, you’ll have to consider your own constitution and decide for yourself.

takaraya website (Japanese language only)

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