Cold Lime Soba @ Sarashina, Daimyo, Fukuoka

 

With the weather still on the higher side, sometimes having a cooling lunch would do the trick. And nothing fits the bill like a bowl of cold soba. With an extra fruity zing, this bowl would sort out any heat stroke almost immediately. And yes, in terms of noodles, I do not just eat ramen. 

Look what we have here!

Sarashina is an udon and soba restaurant located in the heart of the Daimyo area and just a 2-minute walk from the Akasaka station. It is a simple, traditional udon and soba shop which sells the usual clear broths with tempura or meat toppings. However, we are here for something more interesting. For a limited time, this establishment sells lime soba. And that was what I was ordering for my lunch that Saturday.

Lunch is served

It comes with a side of tempura chicken and stood at a modest 1000 yen. It should be noted that you can choose either hot or cold broth. But seeing that the weather is boiling the mercury at this point, do you really want something hot? Not long afterward, an impressive bowl arrived. They did not misrepresent in terms of the lime. Several slices were all over the top and it made for an interesting visual. The flavour was as interesting as the bowl itself. There was an interesting clash with sweet, salty, and tangy all over. However, I found this quite delicious, although it may feel a bit unusual for some. The clear dashi broth has the classic sweet and fishy profile, but the savouriness has been tempered by the citrus acidity of the lime. 

Let the slurping begin!

The soba noodles themselves were pretty top-notch. They were firm but chewy and toothsome. There was a nutty profile to it which was quite fragrant. Not as tender as the standard ramen noodle, but still pretty good. Definitely not something from the packet. I enjoyed slurping this very much. Like very much. 

So golden

The toriten or chicken tempura was not too bad. It was a bit on the bland side, but has a great crust with a satisfying crunch. So in order to add more flavour, I dunked the pieces into the broth, and this made everything so much tastier. 

Front of the house. 

I actually found it a miracle that despite living in Japan for so long already, I have yet written about soba. This is ironic, seeing that I ate it from time to time. Having said that, the ones I usually have gobbled down tend to be those dry strands that you can buy in the supermarket but then are sold in restaurants. Well at least as far as I have tasted, I assume Sarashina does it in-house. If they do not, they have sure fooled me. In any event, this was a great and refreshing meal which I highly recommend. So if you want to give the lime fusion a go or want to try more traditional bowls of noodles, why not give it a go? The address is as follows:

2 Chome-3-10 Daimyo, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0041