It has been about seven years since I opened my mazemen restaurant in Kawaramachi Marutamachi, east of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. I would like to share my experience of mazemen, which I learned about from my master, with as many people as possible, so I would like to write about my thoughts on it.
I first encountered mazemen around 2010 when I was working as an office worker and was transferred to Hiroshima. It was mazemen from a restaurant called Hiroshima Mazemen Okkundo, and rather than it being a shocking encounter, I gradually became addicted to it, and before I knew it, I was going there five times a week lol.
Hiroshima has long had a genre of dipping chilled Chinese noodles in a cold, spicy broth made from dried fish or other ingredients, and it was a well-established genre in Hiroshima City. Then, in the '90s and '00s, Bakudan-ya became popular with its Hiroshima tsukemen, opening branches in Roppongi and elsewhere, and rapidly increasing the number of stores. Once that died down, dry dandan noodles became popular in Hiroshima. I often went to the now-defunct Suzurantei in Tatemachi, Hiroshima City. My first dry dandan noodles were the impact of the Sichuan peppercorns, and the acidity of the lemon water that was provided by default, combined with the numbing sensation of the Sichuan peppercorns, created an indescribable dining experience that stunned me. This was a time when the word "pairing" was just about to replace "mariage," but I now think it was a groundbreaking pairing.
After that, Kingken decided to expand its stores, and its dry dandan noodles became a hit nationwide.
At a time when Hiroshima-style tsukemen (dipping noodles) and dry dandan noodles (dry dandan noodles)—a cuisine originating from Hiroshima—were becoming known nationwide, I continued to visit Okkun-do five days a week. Each time, I ordered a small portion of chilled mixed noodles with extra pork. The flavor was light, yet savory, with a lingering umami flavor that didn't linger in the mouth, and a pleasant acidity that brought out the umami and saltiness. It was a new flavor that combined Japanese dashi with Hiroshima-style tsukemen. It was the complete opposite of the Hiroshima-style tsukemen and dry dandan noodles I'd been going to for a taste, and I found myself wanting to eat it every day. The pork was also incredibly tasty, and the roasted aroma and animal-based umami, not found in the noodles or dashi, made the mixed noodles even more delicious. The noodles were exquisite, with excellent texture and firmness, and their shape was flat, almost like pasta. I particularly loved the smooth texture of chilled noodles, which are rare to find. Everything was exquisite, and the flavors were delicious, even though I'd never tried them before, and I thought they were amazing noodles that made me want to eat them again.
To be continued