Fukuoka-based udon chain West will open its first udon location in Tokyo’s 23 wards on November 2, in Jimbocho. With about 40 seats, the shop will serve udon by day, then switch to an izakaya format at night featuring motsunabe (offal hot pot), mentaiko (spicy cod roe) dishes, and shochu from Kyushu. In the Kanto region the chain has mostly run soba shops (Kisoba Azuma) up to now, but it’s stepping up udon openings on the strength of the popularity of Kitakyushu-born chain Sasan Udon. Thread commenters debated Sasan Udon’s flavor, the difference in “koshi” (chewy bite) between Fukuoka-style and Kagawa-style udon, and the broader phenomenon of regional chains clustering in Tokyo.
Local udon chain West (Fukuoka City) will make its first foray into Tokyo’s 23 wards under the udon format this November. The chain has mostly run soba shops in the Kanto region so far, but as Fukuoka’s udon culture takes hold — helped along by the popularity of Kitakyushu-born chain Sasan Udon — it’s ramping up udon shop openings.
Will the interior of the udon shop making its first foray into Tokyo’s 23 wards match the original in Fukuoka? (illustrative image)
The new location opens November 2 in Jimbocho, Tokyo, with roughly 40 seats. It will serve mainly udon during the day, then switch to an izakaya format at night featuring its signature motsunabe and mentaiko dishes, plus shochu from Kyushu.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
The gobo-ten (burdock root tempura) was tasty though.
It's bad enough that you wonder why people ever lined up for it.
Oh, so the "Chinese" gobo-ten was the tasty part? (needling that cheap imported burdock is used)
Go eat the real deal Sasan Udon (the original Kitakyushu shop), then.
Sasan Udon's just as mushy — tastes like those old bagged supermarket noodles.
And the izakaya menu is great value — that's their real strength.
Sasan used to have Sanuki-style (Kagawa, chewy) noodles.
Went downhill after getting bought out.
It's an aging society, and cooking for just yourself is a hassle.
Might actually suit elderly folks who have trouble with chewier food.
Yeah, there was — same izakaya-at-night setup too.
West's Machida branch is soba-focused as well; unlike Sasan, they seem oddly hesitant to fully commit to udon.
Guess it runs in the family — he's kin to actor Kyōzō Kanie. (a pun: "Kanie" sounds like "Kanye," playing off the udon chain's name "West")
Kagawa udon has bite.
That's the difference.
It varies even within Fukuoka — places like Buzen Uradakai and Niku Niku Udon over in the Kitakyushu area actually have firm, chewy noodles.
Uradakai's is really good.
Re: #12
Kyushu udon's basically baby food anyway.
Niku udon (meat udon) is just barely tolerable.
Eat some gobo-ten udon! Hira-ten (flat fish-cake tempura) works too!
They've already brought their sister brand, fresh-soba Azuma ("East"), into Tokyo.
Even Tamori says Fukuoka's the place for udon.
Fukuoka's actually where udon originated, you know.
Way back, a Japanese monk brought the noodle-making recipe from China, and it's now a National Treasure.
Never been to Izakaya West — so besides udon and oden, they've got a real izakaya menu too? Plenty of beer and drinks as well?
They sure do!
I was there yesterday around 2am.
Guess it didn't fly with the big city's refined palates.
"Refined palates" lmaooooo
You got me laughing this early in the morning, thanks lol
"We haven't changed anything — our suppliers!"
was Skylark-era Sasan's excuse, but that's basically admitting the supplier (trading company) stayed the same while what they're actually buying changed. Cracked me up.
(If the ingredients really hadn't changed, they'd just say the ingredients hadn't changed — plain and simple.)
Feels like one giant prefectural souvenir shop.
Sure, it lacks its own identity, but the upside is you get to taste the whole country without leaving town.
Might be a welcome change for transplants from elsewhere though.
Don't forget Musashino udon too.
Isn't soba really just an Edo (old Tokyo) thing?
Saitama's got its own udon culture.
If udon could really succeed in Tokyo,
Yamada Udon would already have opened a ton of locations — oh wait, it has.
Yamada Udon just isn't tasty though.
Yamada Udon was the first time in my life I ever thought udon could taste bad.
https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/masa295/imgs/c/c/cc7bd809-s.jpg
The udon itself is just… normal — not firm, not soft.
West's kakiage really is tasty, isn't it~
Background and Key Points of Discussion
Behind this expansion is the fact that Kitakyushu-born chain Sasan Udon already built up name recognition in the Tokyo area first. Sasan Udon has recently come under the umbrella of the Skylark Group, and on the thread some commenters pointed to the phrase “our suppliers haven’t changed, but what we buy has” as evidence of a shift in taste. Fukuoka/Hakata-style udon is characterized by soft noodles and a sweeter broth, a different lineage from the firm, chewy noodles typified by Sanuki udon. That distinction fueled both the “no bite = bad” camp and the “easier to eat for the elderly and small children” defense, making it the thread’s central point of debate. Tokyo also tends to attract chains that originated in the regions, and just how well a udon specialist can really take root in Kanto, where soba culture runs deep, is something that — as with Sasan Udon — will only become clear a few years after opening. As the article notes, West had already made a prior push into Tokyo with its fresh-soba brand Azuma (“East”), and this latest move reads as an extension of that earlier expansion.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Dining Out] Fukuoka Favorite “West” Brings Its Udon Shops to Tokyo’s 23 Wards for the First Time.”
