We tried ‘Ibo no Ito’ at a local restaurant! We’ll also teach you a professional’s special boiling method!
Surprisingly, local restaurants in Tatsuno City, the home of ‘Ibo no Ito’, are champions of ‘nyu-men’ (煮麺, hot somen noodles)! The reason? “‘Ibo no Ito’ has a firm texture, so it doesn’t get soggy even when boiled.” We highly recommend a bowl of this exquisite nyu-men during your stroll through the castle town of Tatsuno City.
The only place you can taste the finest grade, ‘Mikami’: Sukune Chaya
“The texture doesn’t change at all, even when you’ve finished eating. That’s ‘Mikami’ for you,” says owner Naoki Ogase, speaking with great passion. ‘Sanshin (三神)’ is the very finest grade of ultra-thin Ibo no Ito noodles, made by only a few artisans. The dashi (出汁) soup stock, carefully selected to complement these exceptional noodles, is Kyoto-style and made with an abundance of premium ingredients.
The secret to bringing out the noodles’ firmness is this:
“You must cool the noodles down all at once to tighten them. Please have cold water ready for a replacement. In the summer, we put ice in it.”
●Sukune Chaya (すくね茶屋) DATA
Address: 22 Shimokajo, Tatsunocho, Tatsuno City, Hyogo Prefecture (inside Tatsuno Park)
Telephone: 0791-63-0331
Hours: 11:00 to 17:00
Closed: Thursdays
Special aged chicken dish served at ‘Kasumitei’
The restaurant is run by daughter Masumoto Nobuko (桝本伸子) and her husband, Takeshi (剛志), who took over the business from her father, a former employee of the city’s tourism department.
“For nyu-men, we pull the noodles out when they still have a subtle whiteness and immediately rinse them with hot water,” says Nobuko.
They exclusively use ‘Aka-obi no Hine (赤帯のひね, red band chicken)’, a type of somen whose quality they trust implicitly. You can enjoy these smooth noodles with a dashi made from sea bream bones and dried sardines.
●Kasumitei (霞亭) DATA
Address: 4 Kamikajo, Tatsunocho, Tatsuno City, Hyogo Prefecture
Telephone: 050-5492-6658
Hours: 11:00 to 16:00
Closed: Wednesdays and Thursdays
A deeper look: Somen in a vending machine!?
The free space known as ‘Kura (蔵)’ serves as both a community hub that shares the city’s history and a rest area. Here, a vending machine for Tatsuno’s local specialities has been installed, and it offers Ibo Somen!
It also sells rare types of somen, such as pre-packaged ‘Bachi’, which are the ends of the noodles. Please look for it inside the Tatsuno City-run Car Park.
This article is translated from https://intojapanwaraku.com/lifestyle/277635/
