March 2006
Hakone-Izu '06
by Celia Cheng
TEUCHISOBA GEN
Yumoto-chaya 183,
Ashigara-shimogun,
Hakone-machi,
Kanagawa-ken
250-0312 Japan
0460-5-3939
Teuchisoba Gen serves two different types of buckwheat noodles: the regular seiro noodles that you’ll find on the menus of all soba restaurant’s and the specialty, gen noodles, which are made with less finely ground soba grains so you can see and taste the graininess. The added texture of the gen noodles makes them absolutely delicious, especially if you are a soba-fanatic, like myself, and love the taste of buckwheat. Open six days a week (closed Mondays) at 11 a.m., the restaurant serves only 30 portions of the gen noodles daily (which run out relatively quickly) and closes when the regular seiro soba runs out.
You can also sample soba tea and soba grains (used for brewing the tea), which are out on the tables and can be eaten as is. The grains have a naturally crunchy texture and a slightly smoky taste. And, as I have recently learned, they are great for adding into salads.
Whether choosing the seiro or gen as your soba noodle, there are different combinations on the menu. For example, there’s the basic seiro (cold noodles dipped into a cold, soy-based sauce), or you can mix natto (fermented soy beans) and raw egg mixed with cold noodles. My favorite is the kamo seiro: the cold noodles are dipped into hot duck broth and, after finishing the noodles, you can add sobayu (the water that the soba is boiled in) and drink the remaining broth. I found the duck meat too tough, but the broth was delicious and a perfect complement to the gen.
Going to Teuchisoba Gen for lunch whenever I visit the hot springs in Hakone is the perfect way to start and complete the trip.
