Honmura An, traditional Japanese Buckwheat Soba

Honmura An, a gem set right from the start. Chef Owner Koichi Kobari returned from New York and opened this restaurant in the middle of busy hustling bustling busy Roppongi. Back in New York, Honmura An was an highly acclaimed, celebrities favourite haunt in NY Soho.

Specialised in nothing else but only Soba. This is wat we call focus. :))) Every single strand of Soba are made on this very same premise on a daily basis. The pain starts with grinding superior quality buckwheat soba into mill before small amount of flour are added in. The highlight of Honmura An compared to other Soba place is...the fineness of the noodle and taste. Most Soba out there has got a lot of flour content to hold the buckwheat mill together but over here...they tried to interfere less with even lesser flour as not to corrupt the taste of an authentic bowl of Soba.

tiny white baits on seaweed. Toasted to a crisp aroma.
yum yum crunch crunch chomp chomp nom nom

MW Maho ordered a special Kirin, which I've forgotten its name....it's either Kirin Fukkoku, or Kirin Ichiban Shibori or Kirin Tanrei. All she told me was it's not easy to find this edition and we must try. Alwiz trust a local's recommendation :))) So smooth and velvety, less tannic and bitterness due to the single first press method used and fermentation techniques to yield such high quality beer.

eeeehhh???? huhhh??? Roasted Ginkgos?
the size was larger than the usual ginkgos that I known....the shape is much more rounder. Plum and juicy. But when u sink ur teeth in, it's chewy in the middle with creamie sweetness taste. All were gone in a minute. We must have been really hungry that evening!!!!

Next we were served a cold handmade soba with springy texture. Because it was handmade, the noodles are much shorter.

Next was a light cream cheese with cured fish.

Some delicate entrees and we especially enjoyed the greens in the middle. Vegetables from the lake it seems. On the far right was their signature fried chicken balls

Baby Mackerel from Suruga Bay...fried to crisp and was really tasty....since it's a baby, that was bite size. No fighting. One for each of us on our individual plates.

Because by now, the Kirin were downed, thirst was quenched. It's time for the real McCoy....some pinot noir :)))))))) aaaahhhh nectar from heaven :))))

more fish to come. Braised sardines in a mild soya sauce was not fishy and very tasty too.

Chicken!!!! to the horror of JS. Hahahahaha. Japanese love their chicken pink!!!!

Fatty white fish slightly grilled to maintain its moistness but for such fatty fish u don't really need to worry.

really yummy Micro Herbs with sweet figs salad. The dressing was rather unique, a japanese based soyu and yuzu. Light and refreshing. Love it!!!!

Tempura of variety of mushrooms and prawns.

the tempura of White Bait came much later...so no fighting...there's plenty to share...kekekeke

and finally.....our main course...the SOBA!!!!!! the much awaited Soba...

their signature Soba here are Sea Urchin Soba and Duck Soba but all of us chose the basic Soba with nothing on it....just to be eaten on its own with sesame dippng sauce. Some grated ginger and spring onions on the side. There was also a bowl of Tsuyu, mixture of daishi stock + sweetened soy sauce + mirin

Can't remember which one of us ordered the Kake Soba in hot soup
Slurp slurp slurp
I would prefer cold soba because the texture is much better. The hot soup tends to change the texture of the soba and if you don't eat it fast enuff, u will miss the optimum window of taste. Wuahahahaha.

eeeeehhh??? What is this cute lil teapot?

What is this?
this was the water used to cook the soba. You are suppose to pour some of it into your leftover Tsuyu and drink it as a comfort end to your meal. Because Soba has abundance of nutrients, vitamins and proteins, you are not suppose to waste it.

Nope, this isn't lemon....
it's japanese grape fruits for desserts. I am not a grapefruit person but this was really good.

A special table constructed from 6 different types of wood. Prollie to correspond to its location of Roppongi? Roppongi means 6 Trees and is the home to many rich and affluent Tokyoites. I like Roppongi for its night life and abundance of FOOD + happenings.

MW Maho and Papa Bear...he was about to do his signature Thumbs Up pose b4 wifey said u looked silly honey and he hid his thumb quickly!!!!

Thank you for taking us here. Such fine Soba and great company :)))) and bcoz we indulged so much, we were not allowed to take a cab nor tube back to the hotel. We walked a few kilometres home...but then plan quite fail coz sometimes we were thirsty and stop by somewhere for another bottle of wines and Japanese Curry Rice in the middle of the nite...really plan failed to burn calories...hahahahaha.

Honmura An
7-14-18 Roppongi,
Minato-Ku, Tokyo.
Tel: +81 (0)3 5772 6657
www.honmura-an.com