One of the most popular noodle dishes in Japan is soba made from buckwheat. Soba has a subtler, earthy flavor compared to wheat noodles. The taste of soba can vary immensely depending on the buckwheat used. In this feature, we introduce Soba Osame, a Michelin Guide soba restaurant located in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Buckwheat from various parts of Japan is collected, stored for an optimal period of time before grinding it to make the perfect noodles on a daily basis. Read on to know more.
Look for this sign and head to the 2nd floor once you see this sign.
At the entrance, you will see the name of the store displayed in exquisite, bold writing, and you will instantly feel the weight of Japanese tradition.
Once inside, the restaurant is quite modern with both counter and table seating.
In the menu, you will see Today’s Specials, which vary daily. You can even choose the prefecture where the buckwheat is cultivated.
Typical of any soba restaurant, there are cold and hot options. On a cold day, you might want to give hot soba a go while on hot days, a cold soba dish makes more sense. Further, you can also choose between finely ground or coarsely ground soba.
There are plenty of side dishes to choose from to go along with your soba. We chose to try the enoki mushrooms with thin-deep fried slices of tofu and komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach).
The flavors are subtle but exquisite, something you would expect of a Michelin restaurant.
The next thing we tried was tamago-yaki, Japanese-style omelette, which comes with grated radish. Add a little bit of soy to the radish and enjoy the fluffy lightness of the eggs.
We chose the zaru soba (cold soba served on a bamboo basket) that was coarsely ground. The set is served with salt, finely sliced green onions, wasabi, and mentsuyu (dipping sauce).
You can see that the noodles are coarse and not smooth in the image above.
Soba has a delicate flavor. The best way to enjoy it is to first eat it as it. Next, try it with salt, and finally, dip it in the mentsuyu.
The soba itself is made from coarsely ground buckwheat flour which has an interesting texture. Since the restaurant uses mature buckwheat, it has a rustic richness.
We thought the soba tasted the best with just salt as you could really savor the flavor of the noodles. Use the tip of your chopsticks to dip in the salt and then grab some noodles.
The last step is to enjoy warm soba broth. You will be given soba-yu, water left in the pot after one has boiled soba; add the soba-yu to mentsuyu and drink it like soup.
Although slightly on the expensive side, Soba Osame is a Michelin Guide restaurant that is worth every penny. Add this to your list of must-try spots in Tokyo.
Details
Business hours: 17:00 – 21:00 (subject to change due to Covid-19; please check the website for the latest updates)
Website: http://soba-osame.com
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