Roof Tile Noodle @ Choshuya, Yudaonsen, Yamaguchi.

 

I have a fair share of having food being served on various household appliances and building material. But this one really stands out! One of the popular regional classics that Yamaguchi has is kawara soba (瓦そば), which literally means roof tile noodles. Legend has it is that soldiers from the Satsuma rebellion used the tiles from the ruins of the Kumamoto Castle as a cooking utensil. As such, became the inspiration of the dish. There are various shops that sell this regional specialty and the closest to my hotel that day was Choshuya that is located in Yudaonsen. 

The front of the Yudaonsen train station.
Legend has it that spirit of foxes protects the town

Yudaonsen is an onsen town, as the name suggests. Loaded with fancy ryokan to normal leisure or business hotels, this is a place where you can find accommodation for any budget and luxury level. And because of that, there are also various shops and restaurant befitting various price ranges. Choshuya is one such restaurant and bar that was within the middle range level and based on my research at the time, the only one that sells this form of noodles within the vicinity. 

Should I go in? 

At first, I was a bit uncertain whether I should enter the premises. Google maps gave it mixed reviews although the Japanese gourmet ranker Tabelog gave it mostly positive remarks. Well, as you can tell I eventually went in. At worst, it would be an interesting story to tell right?The interior felt like a standard izakaya and so was the menu, save for one item, which was the kawara soba. So with little hesitation I ordered a portion alongside a pint of beer. 

Dinner is served! 

It should be noted that it takes a while for the noodles to be prepared as they would need to preheat the tile that it was served it to ultra hot levels. Once that is done, the matcha noodles are then stir fried before the remainder of the cooking process continues on the tile. Toppings of shredded fried egg and beef is the placed on top of the noodles. Some seaweed and lemon slices came soon after as a finishing garnish. 

Fiery!

This dish was definitely a top scorer in the theatrics department. With the sizzling combined with the steam and smoke, it really grabs your attention. It was a bit tricky in eating this dish but it was indeed fun. The noodles were chewy and flavourful, but the flavour aspect can be intensified with the broth that was provided in a thermos. The soy sauce based broth then amplified the green tea flavoured noodles and made it for a satisfying slurping experience. Imagine a tsukemen but not tsukemen. 

To make eating easier, a small bowl is given for you to use. 

The eating experience changes as you go along as the noodles that were left on the tile continues to char and crisp up. That made the noodles super crunchy and felt like you were chomping down into a packet of crispy ramen chips, in a good way. The meat strips added some dimension of texture and it was quite tasty, as it was cooked under teriyaki sauce. With all that going on, a beer was the perfect drink to flush everything down. Especially, during this summer heat, I could not think of anything better to cool things off. 

What a display item!

The overall meal was quite satisfying although a little pricey. My overall meal was about 2.2k yen. So it was not cheap. Still, I had no regrets in trying out this unique and interesting noodle experience. It attacked all the senses and was pretty enjoyable in the end. There are a few outlets sprinkled around the whole of Yamaguchi. But if you would like to try the Choshuya branch I went to, then the address is as follows: 

4 Chome-1-7 Yudaonsen, Yamaguchi, 753-0056