Ichimi-An UPDATE - Torrance

 

The best soba. Never second guess. 

I always get the same Scallop Bowl with Zaru Soba, but a revisit is worth writing about. 

Those scallops are still fresh, the noodles are chewy buckwheat, a texture that is divine. 

There's a Tai Yuzu Special with gooey snapper that might be even sweeter than scallops,

And you can always get your soba hot when the days are cold.

Tai aside, I didn't try anything new, but as every other time, I come here seeking and always leave satisfied. 

Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden UPDATE- Torrance

I’ll never know what the extra “n” stands for...extra-good noodles?

Doubtless that they make the South Bay's best soba, and there’s nothing the hubby wants more than a steaming bowl with Unagi. 

I prefer mine Zaru, cold with a hot slab of eel on the side. 

They also have rice bowls if you’re feeling so inclined. Have at it - the Beef Bowl is divine. 

Mochi Tempura is another add-on that adds a little something to just about anything. There's nothing more satisfying than a golden crunch giving way to a chewy mochi, most refined.

If you’re looking for an extra app, they make an A+ Agedashi. The fry is extra light, the tofu is just so silky, and it all turns gooey in a lightly-slightly soup. 

They say if you ever plant bamboo it will take over your yard. It makes its roots and replicates faster than it can be removed. You'll never get over bamboo. You’ll never get over Bamboo Garden either. Sow their soba and you’ll never settle for any other. 

Otafuku Noodle House - Gardena

I used to love my mornings in Gardena. Whenever I had a random weekday free, I would start at Meiji Tofu right before everything sold out and follow at almost-adjacent Chikara Mochi during the rare times they were open. I would use all my discipline not to eat anything I bought right away and find a little local something to slurp down a set lunch or noodle soup.

At Otafuku, I get one of the best noodle set lunches LA has to offer. Even Little Tokyo can only compete with Otafuku. 

A bustling background of the lunchtime rush creates a quiet repose at the small and crowded counter as I ponder their extensive menu. I can only get one thing when I’m dining alone, and the choice of the new-to-me seiro or kakoichi vs a tried-and-true udon or soba is agony. I start with Zaru Udon, as house-made udon is a LA unicorn. I’ll try the seiro or the soba next time and I’ll kee coming back until I’ve tried every noodle they make. No regrets. Their udon is ropy rolls with a perfect spring to the texture. The noodles are medium-thick in diameter and they carry the al dente all the way through. I dare say their udon is even better than South Bay legend Ichimi An.  

I select a basket of tempura to complete the set. They give you one of every good thing, a light shiso leaf for maximum fragrance and crunch, eggplant that chooses softness without the goop or slime. The shrimp is fresh, the onion sweet, the shiitake full of juice. I love the sweet potato and gooey kabocha squash the most.

It’s a filling lunch but the cold noodles keep it light. I leave refreshed instead of comatose and move onto the last part of my day: the narrow wooden bench outside Kansha Creamery.

I miss those Gardena days, and if I had known it would be months, if ever, before I could return to Otafuku, I would have tried all the noodles at once. Now I wait and cling to the hope that they stay strong in this lockdown and survive to later thrive.  Their noodles are just too precious to lose, and when they dining room opens again, you can bet I’ll be first in line.

Ichimi-An UPDATE - Torrance

I still love the soba, and now I'm bordering on obsessed. I tried to make my own, and I tried to love it somewhere else, but there's nothing like the toasty buckwheat texture after a cold dip in mirin and soy. 

It's hard to try new things when the soba is all I want and need, but now they have summer specials, and the game has changed. The Scallops Rice Bowl is as it sounds. Fresh slices of sweet sea scallops, in a circular array over a bed of vinegar rice. There's a pile of ikura in the middle to contrast the scallops with a briny salt. 

The combo comes with a mat of their buckwheat soba, the paragon of all Soba, which I like best in zaru style; cold and dipped in a soy-and-mirin mix. The side of Mochi Tempura is a luxury, a glutinous mouthful of soft mochi ringed by tempura crisp.

The Unagi Bowl is another combo contender, The eel is a melting cushion, disappearing by the mouthful as its sauces seep into the rice below.

Noodles are more common than sand in the South Bay, but Ichimi-An stands alone. Few can contend with their soba, and I've heard volumes about their udon as well. There are so many other places to go and many new bowls to try, but I rarely stray from Ichimi-An. I doubt I'd find better soba anywhere, even in Japan, so I'll stick to sticking with Ichimi-An.

Sanuki No Sato - Gardena

If Yelp is be believed, Sanuki No Sato has some serious superlatives. "Best soba in the South Bay!" "Best noodles!"

Indeed, the Sanuki Special is nothing to sneeze at. A filling lunchtime sampler of light-hearted hot Udon swims in dashi broth, and buckwheat Soba chills chewy on a bamboo mat, waiting to be dipped. There are slices of golden tempura to shake things up between the slurps as well, and I just can't decide which I like better.

The Beef Nanbanyaki Set is a rice-bowl option for those craving a hotter, heartier lunch. A protein-loaded sizzling skillet sautees the veggies and beef as it hits the table.

It's only lunch, but the Kinako-Mochi Ice with warm, savory, glutinous cakes offsetting a cold green tea ice cream is an irresistible finish.

Not quite the best noodle house in South Bay, but definitely worth a stop. Ichimi An and Oumi Sasaya are still untouchable, but Sanuki No Sato is kind of close.

Honke Owariya - Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is... Nothing like Tokyo. The pace is slower, the glut of tourists makes it easy to blend in, and the walk-slow-and-just-relax atmosphere is a stark contrast to the constant hustle and bustle.

There seems to be a struggle between the new Kyoto and the old. The classical architecture is well-preserved in tourist-town Gion, but move just a couple streets over, and skyscrapers dwarf the shrines. The temples and teahouses stand staunch, firmly defending the institutions that anchor Kyoto as a window into Japanese culture and all the tradition that entails.

Some traditions never get old, and Honke Owariya is one such tradition. Born in 1465, we can officially consider it a Kyoto institution, and today it still stands.

It's a pretty walk through a peaceful neighborhood from the subway, and the Rikyu-Fu is a warm-up to the soba of legends. Slices of spongy gluten, absorbent and squishy but firm, a harder, more assertive gefiltefish without the fish.

The Ten Siero features soba. Probably the common ancestor of all soba, textbook buckwheat, with tempura on the side.

Soba is not so filling, and tempura is light. Plenty of room for Tokoro Ten dessert. Gelatinous noodles that taste like nothing, adding texture to sweet red beans that taste like everything.

After seeing all the elegant women throughout my trip to Japan, I can only conclude that everything ages like Japanese women... so basically nothing ages. Honke Owariya is no exception. Good food is timeless, and it only gets better as it gets older.

Oragasoba Shinshu, Isetan – Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

A lighter lunch later, we were famished by 4. No patience for the Isetan food court so we sat down for some soba.

Buckwheat Soba is the best, and we had it zaru. Grated yam, tororo, thickens the lighter mirin-dashi-soy with a starchy-mochi coating.

There’s also a bird’s nest of small shrimp in a tub of barely-there tempura, punctuated with sharper slices of scallion. The whole mess is just so-so.

Sobayu softens the zaru broth at the end, a surprisingly savory mix of what’s left with a wholesome buckwheat soba-juice. Still, I only somewhat satisfied – these soba noodles were a little too stiff. It’s still hard to say no to soba; it’s just that Torrance’s Ichimi-An is so much better.

Ichimi-An - Torrance

I've been so fixated on ramen that I've burnt out entirely. I can barely appreciate kotteri beyond a few bites, though it's still hard to turn down a good bowl of chashu.

What I really can't turn down is a good bowl of soba. The small, modest Ichimi-An serves the best soba in town, savior of my noodle-palate. Ichimi-An's housemade buckwheat noodles are as chewy as Sour Punch Straws, and they drip and dip in a simple cold broth. Add a side of Mochi Tempura too, and the combination of crispy, rice-y, and al dente is all you'll ever need. With soba so good, I never want for more...except I can never resist throwing in a rice bowl. The Spicy Tuna is fun, fresh, and sophisticated with just a bit of burn.

The Oyako bowl is a hot and hearty contrast to a light and refreshing Cold Soba. The chicken and egg both came first for a fluffy omelet-feel.

Tempura Oroshi is heavier but a classic not to be missed. Crispy shrimp and beautifully battered slices of sweet potato and kabocha go just as well with Zaru.

The zaru soba is a startling reminder of just how much I've underrated soba. The dipping noodles are heavenly, with or without a highlight of broth. Simple yet simply perfect...a perfect summary of Ichimi-An.