(Above: Posing for picture with Tamai san and Andy from the Kagawa Prefecture in Ritsuri National Park.)
I’m thrilled today because our friends from the Kagawa Prefecture are taking me to eat more udon!!! Hahahaha…this trip is really a baptism of udon for me. I had as much udon as I would had for an entire year. Soba and ramen are still among Singaporean’s favorites when it come to Japanese noodles and not much been known about udon except it’s a specialty of Osaka (becos of it close proximity to Sanuki). It fact, Osaka has their own variation of Udon..the kushimen.
This is my third day here and honestly I’ve just started on knowing about this beautiful dish served and eaten is so many delightful ways.
(For info…there are 900 udon restaurants in sanuki serving a population of 1million and by contrast, there are only 500 McDonalds in Tokyo serving a population of 12m. Go figure huh?) People in sanuki have udon everyday at least once. That’s how they love their udon.
I made my way to the prefecture office in downtown, after a brief meeting and introduction we were off to my first “working class” udon, a non-assuming, homely setup 5-mins walk away from the main prefecture office.
The real “SELF SERVE”. Everything you do hands-on! Here you cook your own udon, pick your own ingredients and add your own broth. Even clear your own bowls after eating. And during lunch hours, the line comes around the dining area out onto the street. It’s amazing what people do to get their daily doze of soul food. The food is simple, quick and yummy with no hassle. I loved the broth especially.
Andy and Tamai reminded me to pace myself becos we are having at least 3 udon lunches today! 3 lunches in a day? I think I’m over eating….haha!
Second restaurant is a short 20mins drive away from the town and up into the hills. An slightly more exclusive restaurant within the residence of a former local shogun. Beautifully set around a rock and bonsai garden, and tatami mats dining halls. Cool spring breeze, birds chirping, nice food, I closed my eyes and imagined how life would be a century or more ago.
I had cold udon this time with a dipping sauce. The icy noodle arranged like strangs of art on my zaru together with chilled and the most flavorful tsuyu sauce I ever had…
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