Do you know “Okina Soba” in Asakusa? This soba restaurant was founded in 1914 and has been in business for over 100 years. Taste, quantity, price and customer service are perfect at this soba restaurant. I would like to introduce the restaurant’s speciality, “Curry Nanban Soba”, and my favourite dish, “Chikara Udon”.
Okina Soba
This soba restaurant is located in an alleyway in Asakusa, Tokyo. The interior is decorated in the style of downtown Tokyo.
The restaurant had a retro feel. The staff were very polite. Customers came in shifts, so empty seats were quickly filled with new customers.
This is a video of the inside of Okina Soba. Also check out my recommendations for Curry Nanban and Chikara Udon.
Chikara Udon
The first dish was Chikara Udon. There were two rice cakes on top of the udon. Chikara Udon is warm udon noodles with rice cake. The name “Chikara Udon” comes from the rice cake’s strong and satisfying texture.
The bowl of Chikara Udon was filled with tempura bits in addition to the rice cake; the tempura bits added depth to the smooth, deep flavour of the soba sauce.
Did you know that rice cakes are sticky? A bowl of udon will fill you up if you eat rice cake covered with tempura bits. I recommend Okina Soba’s Chikara Udon because it is delicious and will fill you up.
Curry Nanban Soba
Okina Soba’s specialty is Curry Nanban Soba. When I was at the restaurant, about half of the customers ordered Curry Nanban Soba.
The curry soup was poured onto the rim of the bowl. The soba noodles and ingredients were submerged in the soup and could not be seen clearly. I really liked the Japanese curry soup with chicken and onions. It was thick, filling, and hot. The noodles were big but tasty, and I ate them all.
Soba and Curry dipping sauce
I ordered curry nanban soba noodles with separate soba noodles and soup. I ate the noodles with the dipping sauce, like ramen noodles.
I had a large bowl of thick, udon-like soba noodles with a spicy curry soup.
I had a big bowl of thick, flat soba noodles in a spicy curry soup. The soba was chewy and soaked up the soup well. It was so good that I ate it all, but it was really hot, so be careful!
The restaurant had a menu on the wall. Curry Nanban is 650 yen. You can add toppings like fresh egg, rice cake, and tempura pieces. If you were really hungry, you could order a big plate for just 100 yen more.
While I was eating my soba, the waiter brought me a hot, white, thickened liquid in a red wooden pot.
It was called sobayu, and it’s made from the water that soba noodles are cooked in. Sobayu is good for you because it has nutrients like protein, potassium, vitamins B1, B2, niacin, and pantothenic acid.
I drank the leftover curry soup with some sobayu to make it more flavorful. I had a great meal at this soba restaurant in Asakusa, Tokyo. The food was delicious, the staff was friendly, and the price was reasonable. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the area.
Address
2-5-3 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Telephone number
03-3841-4641
Business hours
11:45-15:00
16:30-19:30
Closed on Sunday
