[Tokyo 東京] Rai-an 雷庵

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Rai-an 雷庵

Add: 1F 董友ビル, 1-4-13 Shibuya, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-5778-3379
Hours: 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-11pm
Price: 2,000~4,000 yen/person
Visited: Oct 2016

Located in Shibuya, Rai-an is a newly-opened soba noodle shop with a beautiful modern design: floor-to-ceiling windows, open kitchen, and an atelier to display the making of soba. The soba noodles delicious, and all the other small dishes we tried were surprisingly yum as well.

位于涉谷區的雷庵是今年剛開的面店,從整片的落地窗(白天應該很美)、開放式廚房等裝修設計上就可以看得出這是一家比較新式的摩登面店。令人驚喜的是這裏不僅荞麥面好吃,其他東西也做的可圈可點。

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Such as the soba tofu with sea urchin (900 yen).

比如海膽荞麥豆腐(900日幣)。

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Japanese omelet (800 yen).

厚燒蛋卷(800日幣)。

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Ginko nut sakura shrimp tempura (1,100 yen).

銀杏櫻花蝦天婦羅(1,100日幣)

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[Kyoto 京都] かね井 Kanei

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かね井蕎麦 Kanei

Add: 11-1 Murasakino Higashifujinomoricho, Kita Ward, Kyoto
Tel: 075-441-8283
Hours: 11:30am-2:30pm, 5-7pm (closed on Mon)
Price: 1,500-2,000 yen
Visited: Aug 2016

I didn’t plan to go to any Michelin restaurants this time in Kyoto, but as I was sorting out the itinerary, I noticed that there’s a one Michelin star soba restaurant near Daitokuji Temple which we planned to visit, so I decided to drop by for a taste. After getting off the bus in the nearest station, we walked for another 7-10 minutes in the scorching sun, eventually arriving at this humble-looking restaurant with a tiny sign that says “かね井” (Kanei), so small that it’s definitely missed unless by those specifically looking for it.

這次京都之行沒有特別安排豪華的米其林餐廳,不過在規劃行程時發現想要造訪的大德寺旁有一家米其林一星的蕎麥麵,決定順道去嚐一嚐。從公車站下來後冒著大太陽走了10分鍾左右,來到這間樸素的餐廳,外面挂著一塊不特別留意的話絕對看不到的小小招牌,上面寫著かね井(發音:kanei)。

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Upon entering the shop, I noticed that there are only about 16 seats inside, and even though it wasn’t even noon time yet, every seat has been taken. The owner lady quietly came over and said rather apologetically – I’m afraid you will have to wait for about 1 hour or so for a table. Well then, we shall wait.

推門入內,發現店裏只有16個左右的位子,所有人盤腿而坐在榻榻米上安靜地吃著麵。我抵達時才12點不到一些,不過店裏已經完全客滿了,前面還有兩位客人在等位。老板娘略帶歉意的說,可能要等一個小時哦。哎呀,那就等吧。

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In this small Japanese building of over 80 years old, the husband Toshio Kanei is busy manning the kitchen, while the wife takes care of the customers out in the front. There’s no air-conditioning even in the summer heat, only a small fan quietly doing its job; There is a small backyard garden, simply and elegantly decorated with a goldfish bowl, and a traditional Japanese wind bell making beautiful sounds with each breeze. The air is quiet, so quiet that everyone automatically lowers their voice as they enter the space.

80多年的日式建築裡,老板在廚房裏忙碌著,老板娘內外走動招呼客人。沒有空調,只有電風扇輕輕轉動著,小小的後院簡單精致,擺了一個很有禅意的金魚缸,挂了一串聲音清脆的風鈴。靜谧的氣氛讓所有人都也不自覺的輕聲細語。

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We didn’t actually wait for one hour, though it was pretty close to it. Upon being seated, we were served some cold brew tea, and started browsing though the hand-written menu. Though the restaurant is one Michelin star, it is not significantly more expensive than a regular soba joint, with the price for each a la carte item to be around 950-1,700 yen.

其實並沒有等到一個小時(不過大概也45分鍾了)。老板娘爲我們倒上了冷泡茶、遞上一份手寫的菜單。雖然說是米其林一星餐廳,不過かね井的價格跟其他蕎麥麵屋的價格似乎差不多,單點的價格950-1700日幣不等。

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[Taipei]  2½ Months Soba 二月半そば蕎麦麺

2½ Months Soba 二月半そば蕎麦麺

Add: No. 1-1, Lane 20, Zhongshan North Road Section 2, Taipei / 台北市中山北路二段20巷1號1之1樓
Tel: (02) 2563 8008
Hours: 11:30am-2pm, 5:30-9pm (closed on Wed)
Website: www.facebook.com/healthy.soba
Price: 250-350 NTD/person
Visited: Feb 2015

Taipei has a plethora of ramen and udon joints, but soba shops are a rare find. Unable to get good buckwheat noodles in the city, a Japanese couple decided to open their own restaurant and named it “2½ Months Soba”, which refers to the two-and-a-half-month process of sowing and harvest to produce buckwheat. As far as I could tell, this place is authentic with many Japanese customers.

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The noodle menu is roughly divided into three parts, including hot soup noodles, dipping soup noodles, and cold noodles. I tried the XO樱花蝦芝麻酱蕎麥涼麵 (190 NTD), which is soba noodles served with a XO sauce + sakura shrimp + sesame sauce. Also comes with mashed turnip, chopped green onions, and dried seaweed slices. 

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[Paris] Yen

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Yen

Add:  22 Rue Saint-Benoît, 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 1 45 44 11 18
Hours: 12~2pm, 7:30~10:30pm (closed on Sun)
Price: [soba] €12~23 [appetizer] €15~29 [main courses] €24~34
Tasted on: May 2013

Please note that I wrote this a month ago so the comments on weather is no longer applicable…

Apparently Spring is not Spring in Paris this year. The weather continues to be cold and rainy even as we approach June, and this miserable, a.k.a. temps de merde, calls for hot soup noodle therapy. Instead of my usual go-to place Sanukiya, I decided to try Yen, a Japanese restaurant in St. Germain-des-Pres well-known for its soba noodles.

Clean and simple interior.

“Nuta Ae” (€15), raw tuna marinated with seaweed and spring onions in miso sauce.

Chicken Salad (€15), chicken salad in citrus and sesame vinaigrette.

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