Komatuan
Jason here. After a day of sightseeing, we headed back to our hotel to drop souvenirs off and hit up a restaurant right nearby that specialized in Soba noodles.
The restaurant is Komatuan, and not only do they specialize in Soba noodles, they specialize in 100% buckwheat Soba noodles. Soba noodles, which are always made of buckwheat sometimes contain some portion of wheat as a binder. The higher the percentage of buckwheat, the more prized the noodles.
While there was no English menu, and no English speaking waiter, we eventually managed to put in our order. I opted for the traditional plain soba noodles, served cold. After we were served, I added my own packet of gluten free Tamari sauce. Tamari sauce tastes effectively the same as Soy sauce, and are in fact both made from soy. The primary difference, is Tamari is generally made with little to no wheat and more soy base.
Wow, these noodles are hard to describe and articulate why they tasted so good. Maybe it was from walking all day, but despite being plain the noodles themselves seemed bursting with flavor. It wasn’t a sweet, or spicy flavor just a really strong noodle flavor. If anyone knows how to describe a noodle, please let me know.
Kayleigh here. Essentially, the specialty of the restaurant was plain noodles, served cold, that you would dip into a little bowl of sauce and slurp up. I still don't really know how to slurp noodles properly- I hear that taking in some air at the same time improves the taste, but I thoroughly enjoyed them all the same. And the price was very reasonable, considering the upscale shopping district surrounding it. Go here for the food, stay and shop if you can justify $800 handbags!
McDonalds
Jason here. After a day of sightseeing, we headed back to our hotel to drop souvenirs off and hit up a restaurant right nearby that specialized in Soba noodles.
The restaurant is Komatuan, and not only do they specialize in Soba noodles, they specialize in 100% buckwheat Soba noodles. Soba noodles, which are always made of buckwheat sometimes contain some portion of wheat as a binder. The higher the percentage of buckwheat, the more prized the noodles.
While there was no English menu, and no English speaking waiter, we eventually managed to put in our order. I opted for the traditional plain soba noodles, served cold. After we were served, I added my own packet of gluten free Tamari sauce. Tamari sauce tastes effectively the same as Soy sauce, and are in fact both made from soy. The primary difference, is Tamari is generally made with little to no wheat and more soy base.
Wow, these noodles are hard to describe and articulate why they tasted so good. Maybe it was from walking all day, but despite being plain the noodles themselves seemed bursting with flavor. It wasn’t a sweet, or spicy flavor just a really strong noodle flavor. If anyone knows how to describe a noodle, please let me know.
Kayleigh here. Essentially, the specialty of the restaurant was plain noodles, served cold, that you would dip into a little bowl of sauce and slurp up. I still don't really know how to slurp noodles properly- I hear that taking in some air at the same time improves the taste, but I thoroughly enjoyed them all the same. And the price was very reasonable, considering the upscale shopping district surrounding it. Go here for the food, stay and shop if you can justify $800 handbags!
McDonalds
(not posting a link for this one- they're everywhere!)
Jason here. Every now and again, I just craved some French fries. This is where McDonalds came in. No matter where we went, there was a McDonalds within walking distance. This made it great for a random snack, and a place to grab a seat and rest my feet. In Japan, most McDonalds are two floors and give you a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of the street. The french fries have dedicated fryers, so you can always be sure they will be gluten free. Definitely safer than you would find in America.
Whenever we would be out and Kayleigh would stop and grab a non-gluten free snack, I would drag her to McDonalds and buy myself some fries. Sometimes it’s the little things in life, and sometime I just want some fries.
Kayleigh here. In a pinch, fries could be a lunch. It was actually pretty interesting to eat in and observe the little differences from an American McDonalds. Besides the easternized menu items, the restaurants had a coffee shop- like vibe to them, with students doing homework and friends sitting and socializing over soft drinks. Getting fries was a good excuse to pop into the quieter dining areas and regroup. You can only get lost so many times in a day before you need a break!
Jason here. Every now and again, I just craved some French fries. This is where McDonalds came in. No matter where we went, there was a McDonalds within walking distance. This made it great for a random snack, and a place to grab a seat and rest my feet. In Japan, most McDonalds are two floors and give you a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of the street. The french fries have dedicated fryers, so you can always be sure they will be gluten free. Definitely safer than you would find in America.
Whenever we would be out and Kayleigh would stop and grab a non-gluten free snack, I would drag her to McDonalds and buy myself some fries. Sometimes it’s the little things in life, and sometime I just want some fries.
Kayleigh here. In a pinch, fries could be a lunch. It was actually pretty interesting to eat in and observe the little differences from an American McDonalds. Besides the easternized menu items, the restaurants had a coffee shop- like vibe to them, with students doing homework and friends sitting and socializing over soft drinks. Getting fries was a good excuse to pop into the quieter dining areas and regroup. You can only get lost so many times in a day before you need a break!
Thanks for your article and sharing your expertise, it's really appreciated.It helped me a lot for what i was searching for. Keep it up. For more details about Glutenfree restaurant in Japan Visit: Glutenfree Japan
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic website you have there! We had a hard time finding unique gluten free restaurants when we visited in 2014, since we had found very little information online about where to go. But that map of yours is by far the most informative source we've seen. We'll pass the word along about it, and use it ourselves whenever we can make it out to Japan for a second trip!
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