This seems like something my good FOY Dennis would do. But with the recent warmer weather, I noticed that I'd been eating this quite a bit recently. Hiyashi Chuka literally means "cold chinese noodles", and looking at it, I can see a slight resemblance to liang mian, Chinese cold noodles. Of course, like just about everything else assimilated into Japanese food culture(i.e. Tonkatsu, Yakiniku, Curry) there are some major twists and turns that makes the dish uniquely Japanese. In some versions, there's the almost western addition of sliced ham. The broth is usually thinner and lighter than Chinese cold noodles. What is has in common with liang mian is the "aaahh" factor on a hot day; the pause that refreshes. I recently tried three different versions, all seasonal, and my favorite was almost unanimous, it was the version from….
Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:
Which was also the most expensive at $9.50.
With regards to portion size, this was the largest. A nice portion of chopped ham didn't hurt, though the chashu was really waxy and greasy in texture. The noodles had a nice chew, but it was the sauce that made it my favorite. This one had personality, an "umph", tangy and slightly sweet.
Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Was my second favorite, basically because I really enjoy the firm, al dente noodles. The portion size was ok for the price of $8.50 (the sign say $9.23, but that's with tax included).
Another plate holds the rather sparse "toppings", as if the folks at Santouka know that placed on
top of the noodles it would look rather minuscule. There were two slices of the fatty and rich toroniku, the braised pork cheek on top of the noodles….which looked a bit out of place since everything else was on another plate. In his post, Dennis calls this a tease. The pork was served slightly warm, which was quite nice…. but like Dennis said, this was pretty much there for the "drool effect". The sauce had a strange artificial aspect to it….frankly, I expected more.
Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111
Izakaya Sakura:
I thought Izakaya Sakura's version was pretty mediocre. Priced at $8.50, this was the smallest in terms of portion, though the chashu was surprisingly much better then Yakyudori. It was also served at room temp which helped.
The noodles were mushy, which pretty much made this a non-starter for me. The shiro was very bland, I even added a bit of shoyu, and it still wasn't very good. I did enjoy the corn which added some much needed sweetness to the whole thing. Much like my experience with the ramen, this one fell short. To me, this is not what Sakura does best…..
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111