Going with noodle writer,
Yamada!――
Noodles at Gujo Hachiman #2

First, I want to taste Soba itself, so I order Zaru-Soba (Cold Soba on a bamboo colander with dipping sauce). The color is light, but the taste is stronger than it looks. The more you chewed, the tastier it becomes. Because the ratio of buckwheat flour and wheat flour, the texture is smooth but chewy. The dipping sauce of Katsuo shaving is rich but fresh. It matches this Soba so much!

After travelling for a long time to Gujo-shi, of course I would like to try some more. When I am looking at the menu, this “Koro-Soba with Okumino chicken and duck”. For people growing up in Fukuoka like me, “Koro” has a special meaning. It is common way to make noodles in Gifu-ken and Aichi-ken, like “Koro-udon (Cold Udon noodles in chilled soup)”. Originally, you pour soup to Udon noodles. But here in “Niwaka”, you can have Gujo-made Soba. It really gratifies my curiosity.

The taste is quite shocking! Chilled soup makes the Soba itself firmer. It is so different from Zaru-Soba. The texture is a little bit crunchy. On the other side, the flavor of Katsuo shaving and kelp stand out of the soup and mix with the flavor of chicken and duck meat. It tastes marvelously!

You may wonder this soup will make Soba tastes bad. Definitely not! This soup adds a bit oil to Soba and makes the taste lively! Oil acts as a lubricant and makes it smoother. The sourness of lemon and coolness of wasabi go well together. Tasting the whole bowl of Soba with soup is the largest merit of this Koro-Soba. It is my first-time having Koro-Soba. This Gujo trip gives me an unexpected experience.

I ask which is the most popular dish and the answer really surprises me. “We sell more Udon than Soba in around 6:4.” Soba is for visitors but most locals living around are having Udon. He recommends me to have “Oyako-udon (Udon noodles with egg and chicken)” (770JPY, with tax).

“Now we use noodle-making machine, but in the past, we made it by hands.” Said Mr Wada. Noodles making form local Gifu-ken’s wheat, is around 5mm in diameter. The taste is not very sharp but smooth and straightforward. After tasting one, you can feel its mild texture. The key to the soup stock is the Katsuo shaving. They buy Souda-katsuo (Frigate tuna) from Wakayama and shave freshly every day. “Although the cost is higher, you cannot make the same taste with other ingredients.” Said Mr Wada. Despite the rising cost of chicken, Mr Wada keeps buying chicken meat from butcher shop in Gujo Hachiman.

“We are running with family so we can reduce labor cost. Money we earned all goes to the cost of raw materials. The cost went higher and higher. We once decided to downgrade some of the ingredients. But the taste was unacceptable! We could never provide it to our customers. So, we kept making it in the old way. That is why we do not provide new menu but remain the same all the time. Mr Wada smiles with his wife.

A customer said the taste is just the same comparing with the one he had some years ago. It makes me feel so touching. The Oyako-udon I had today become a special memory.