This is our year end post of 2011. So it is about what Japanese people have at the end of a year.
As our previous post about Soba, in Japan we have a custom to have soba noodle on the night of 31st December, wishing healthy long life like soba noodle. It is called "toshikoshi soba"(年越しそば, year crossing noodle). It is not fixed style or ingredient for toshikoshi soba so it is arranged with topping as each people like.
Inspiring from soba noodle, today we introduce a traditional soba restaurant in central Tokyo. It gets the most number of guests on the 31st December every year. Even not on the year end date, people often make a queue in front of the restaurant in order to get a bowl of nice hand-made noodle.
Kanda Matsuya (神田まつや) is located in business district of Awajicho (淡路町). It is also accessible by walk from Akihabara electronic town. Standing on the side of Yasukuni-dori (靖国通り) street, one of main road of Tokyo, the exterior appears appropriate as a soba restaurant with over a hundred year history.
Inside of the restaurant as well, it won't disappoint visitors' expectation. The space is like a "time trip" to good-old-day in Japan. Also you may find skillful staff making soba noodle by hand.
Kanda Matsuya offers various versions of soba. Many of them are noodle and soup in bowl and one or more ingredient on top of it, typical ones for example deep-fried bean curd, eggs, chicken or curry. The price range is from Yen 600 for the simplest noodle bowl to Yen 2000 with large tempura pieces, depending on ingredients.
What I had here is Oyako-namban (親子南ばん, chicken and egg)
that is rare to find in other soba restaurants.
Soba noodle is generally light in volume and easily digested food. It is also a good option to have it for lunch, while you have a plan of big dinner on evening or when you had too much on the last evening.
Related post:
Soba (そば、蕎麦、Japanese buckwheat noodle)
http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2008/12/soba-japanese-b.html
Restaurant name: Kanda Matsuya (神田まつや)
Address: 1-13 Kanda Sudacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Official website: http://kanda-matsuya.jp/
