[Taipei] Tomitamaya Sanuki Udon 富玉屋讚岐烏龍麵

Tomitamaya Sanuki Udon 富玉屋讚岐烏龍麵 (venue closed)

Add: 14 Lane 83 Da’an Lu Section 1, Taipei / 台北市大安區大安路一段83巷14號
Tel: (02) 2778-5255
Hours: [lunch] 11:30am~2:30pm [dinner] 5:30~10:00pm
Website: www.wanpan.tw
Price: 280~320 NTD/udon set, 980~1380 NTD/hot pot set
Visited on: 2012-07

On a hot summer day like this, what’s better than a bowl of ice cold udon noodles for lunch?

Tomitamaya 富玉屋 is a recently opened udon specialty restaurant behind Sogo BR4, ran by a Taiwanese man who has learned the trade during his 15 years of residence in Japan. The decor is simple and clean, with wooden tables and colored seating mats that add warmth to an otherwise very plain space.

Cold mugicha (barley tea) upon arrival.

Pickled vegetables.

The udon at Tomitamaya are made daily by hand, and the final cutting process doesn’t happen until 1 hour before the restaurant opens, resulting in fresh and chewy noodles that almost bounce off the teeth as you take a bite. I loved the tomato cold udon 番茄涼麵 (300 NTD/set), which is cold udon noodles bathed in a tomato-katsuobushi (dried bonito fish) broth, then topped with a whole tomato that has been poached in sugar water. Savory, sour, sweet, perfectly refreshing for the summer.

Chopsticks at Tomitamaya are specially designed to easily hold the slippery noodles.

Tori karaage (fried chicken) that comes with the set. Juicy!

Onsen tamago cold udon set 溫泉蛋涼麵 (300 NTD/set), served in a simple katsuobushi kombu broth with slow poached egg, fresh cherry tomato, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, bean shoots, seaweed, and a sprinkle of white sesame. Light and healthy.

For something warm but still very light, try the bean curd hot udon 特選豆皮烏龍麵 (280 NTD). By the way, noodles in the hot udon are significantly softer than those in the cold udon since the noodles have not been chilled and iced.

Assorted vegetable tempura from the set.

For something a bit more hearty, opt for the beef udon 肉烏龍麵, the curry udon 咖哩烏龍麵 (both 320 NTD/set), or one of the hot pot udon sets 鍋類套餐 (980~1380 NTD/set, serves two).

Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) that comes with curry udon.

A side order of assorted tempura 綜合天婦羅 (300 NTD). Not much to sing about.

Flavors at Tomitamaya tend to be on the light side, so they might not please those with a heavy palate, but if you are looking for a simple and refreshing meal, this might be exactly what you are after.