Date of Visit: October 26, 2021 (Tuesday)
Today's lunch is at the new restaurant 'Kara-yaki to Nabe o Hoto – Tori', which opened on October 11th in Ichinomachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai City!
The company M's Project, which operates specialized yakitori restaurants like 'Hinotori' and ramen shops like 'Homemade Noodle Chicken Chinese Soba Hinotori', has rebranded its 'Senmae Yokodeng Shuzabu Inosikitcho'. This new establishment continues to operate nightly as a yakitori restaurant, while during the day it serves meat-soba. The name of the shop has been changed to reflect its new identity.
In Sendai, another new restaurant has opened its doors, serving "Yamagata's cold meat soba."
But, if it’s just this much, it could have been skipped over…
In this restaurant, in addition to "meat soba," they also serve "lao you tsuke soba." This immediately sparked my interest.
That is because this "Rā-yó Tsukete Soba" is probably referred to as the "Nierō of soba cuisine." It seems to be a menu created in honor of "Kōya," which became a sensation in Tokyo.
In Tokyo, taking advantage of the popularity of "Kōya", many restaurants inspired by "Kōya" have emerged one after another.
However, this is not available in Sendai.
Actually, 'ラーメン☆ビリー' isn’t actually soba. It’s a '冷やし肉盛りつけそば' that pays tribute to '港屋', where soba is replaced with Chinese noodles! This dish is available only during the summer season!
Last year as well, this year as well, I’ve been eating this...
The soba that is offered here seems to be something unprecedented in Sendai. So, I was curious about what kind of soba it really is.
Since the restaurant opened, more than two weeks have passed. Yet, there are reports on "meat soba," but no reports related to "soba with lardo."
This requires me to go and verify it myself...
So, finally, I decided to set off towards the restaurant.
By the way, for those who don’t know "Kōya", let me give a brief explanation…
A street-food restaurant in Toranomon, Tokyo, that serves a unique type of soba!
This restaurant serves a "Cold Meat Soba," which is a type of soba topped with thick, cold soba noodles, served in a cold soba soup mixed with chili oil. It's a side dish in the style of a noodle dish!
The characteristic of this restaurant is that the amount of soba is quite substantial!
Even though it was a highly popular restaurant that was frequently featured on TV, it still became a place with endless queues...
Without any prior warning, on February 4, 2019, this restaurant closed down…
And so, relying on the navigation function of my smartphone, I arrived at a store that was also close to the “Sendai Mitsukoshi”.
On the first floor, there is a stylish dining bar called 'Millis-Shishabar & Café', which serves homemade Israeli dishes.
The restaurant is located on the second floor.
As you climb the stairs...
A cute staff girl was waiting at the entrance!
First, at the entrance, people are disinfecting their fingers...
“Actually, the last order is at 1:30. Please, come by.” When I looked at the clock, it was already 1:40.
Thank you very much♂️
As I was guided to a table at the counter...
Immediately, water and hand sanitizer were provided…
Looking at the menu...
First, there was today’s limited edition "Nameko Soba," but I skipped it...
From the main menu, what I chose was, of course, "Yuzukosoba with Lardo!"
Small (100g), Medium (200g), Large (300g) are available at the same price. Of course, I choose the Large size.
I asked the female staff member about my order, and while I waited...
約6分後、「ラー油つけそば（大）」が運ばれてきました。
On top of the buckwheat noodles are placed pork, green peas, sea scallops, and sliced green onions...
The soba topped with sliced seaweed was rather modest, compared to the standards of “Kogoya”.
The amount of seaweed is plenty, but the sliced green onions are few...
Basically, there isn’t any sesame added to it…
Moreover, without free kitchen waste, there are no raw eggs either.
Personally, I think it's okay not to have live eggs that can soften the spiciness. But at some point, I would really like something that could change the flavor...
First, when eating the "ラーメン" at 『ラーメン二郎』, consider doing a "天地返し"...
When I order thick soba...
The noodles cooked in a special way have a firm texture that hits your teeth!
It's nice to smell the scent of buckwheat flour in the air♪
To the soba soup, add a little bit of it. When you suck it...
A moderate spiciness that provides a pleasant experience♪
However, I had memories of “Kōya” where the soy sauce was used more heavily. The pork, being sweet and spicy, helped to mitigate the spiciness.
I tasted the soya sauce of buckwheat…
It has a decent amount of spiciness, so...
If you eat soba with a strong smell, I think you might choke.
そして、ふと気づいたことが…
It turned out that the meat served on top of the soba was pork, not chicken!
Moreover, it was a parent chicken that had not been seasoned at all…
It seems that the use of the parent chicken was intended to create a dish similar to the "Yamagata's Cold Meat Soba" from another menu. Thus, it was decided to use the same ingredient for both dishes.
Perhaps, instead of using sweet-and-sour pork, they have prepared it with a unique recipe using chicken as the main ingredient.
I don’t understand...
However, when eating soba together with pork and chicken, it tastes great...
This is, I think, quite decent. It's a good choice. ♪
However, whether this can truly be called a "respect for 'Kōya'" is a bit questionable...
The absence of sesame is also one of the reasons why I feel that way…
However, the soy sauce-based soup has a strong flavor!
The restaurant was well-prepared with plenty of lardo!
The spiciness of the lao oil was a taste that became a habit to enjoy♪
The compatibility with this thick noodle is also excellent!
It seems as though one is eating soba, yet at the same time, it also feels like one is eating Chinese-style noodles!
I think the unique taste that this restaurant doesn't have in ordinary soba shops is what makes it special♪
And finally, when I asked the female staff member to prepare soba soup...
From the male staff members...
“Our restaurant doesn’t serve soba soup.” That was the response.
But, it's okay!
In situations like this, it's simply necessary to break it with water!
This is a method that I learned from dining at “Meandcolo Kinari” in Higashi-Nakano, Tokyo, where I had the risotto-style udon noodles.
Just poured it with water...
This is a restaurant where you can enjoy delicious food quite unexpectedly.
And so, after finishing everything, I stood up from my seat…
When it was time to pay the bill, right away, one of the male staff members...
“Is thisラー油つけそば a way of showing respect for the港屋?” When I asked that question…
“港屋って何ですか？”と聞かれましたが…
Is this person being dull?
Is this true!?
At that time, I didn’t understand...
Later, a contact was made through Twitter, and it turned out that there were things I really didn’t know about (-"-; A...アセアセ
“We simply made the soba that we wanted to cook ourselves.”
The staff members said that...
Those who are interested, please definitely try to visit and eat there♪
Thank you for the delicious meal.
Menu: Katsu soba (Warm/Cold)
Small (100g)・Medium (180g)・Large (260g)…700円
ラー油つけそば
Small (100g)・Medium (200g)・Large (300g)…800円
肉盛り御飯…300円／ミニチキンカレー…300円／爆弾おにぎり…300円／御飯…100円
Chicken Pad Thai... 300 yen / Vegetarian Pad Thai... 300 yen / Chicken Teriyaki... 300 yen / Extra meat option... 200 yen
Parent Chicken Broast
ハーフ…400円／ダブル…700円
