Japanese noodles @ Inaniwa Udon·Nabe, Hong Kong

One of the great things about living abroad is the vast opportunities for making new friends. I am normally quite a shy person, but ever since we moved overseas more than six years ago, I've found it pretty easy to strike up a conversation with someone else in the same room. There are so many expats living in HK, and it's not difficult to find some common ground to chat about. Although we moved from Japan two years ago, I am still making friends with Japanese people; in fact most of my friends in HK are Japanese! I miss Japan sorely, and hanging out with Japanese friends is one way to ease that soreness a little. A nice benefit is that I get recommendations on good Japanese eats, and last week I met up with a new Japanese friend for lunch at an excellent udon restaurant in the mall downstairs. Inaniwa Udon·Nabe was a convenient meeting point for us since we both lived in the same residential building above the mall, and I know for a fact that this shop is very popular with the Japanese residents in the area. And for good reason. The namesake noodles are handmade by Japanese suppliers in its seventh generation in Akita prefecture, and I consider myself fortunate to get a taste of it outside of Japan. Inaniwa udon has a good reputation and is considered one of the best noodles in Japan - and I like it! Udon is not usually my choice of noodles, along with other thick noodles, but the Inaniwa noodle is quite unlike the more well-known (and well-liked) udon.

The entrance to Inaniwa Udon·Nabe restaurant:

The restaurant has a traditional Japanese-style interior, and it is surprisingly spacious. I liked that the tables are spaced at a good distance to allow some privacy between tables. Service was attentive but not intrusive. At lunch time, both the lunch menu and the a-la-carte are available, and although the lunch sets were more affordably-priced, I was in the mood for the cold noodles that I'd read about prior to this visit. There were several cold noodle dishes with various dressings and/or toppings, and they all sounded really yummy.

I ordered the Cold Inaniwa Udon with Three Kinds of Dressings - onsen tamago (hot spring egg) dressing, yam dressing and duck dressing (HK$128). I enjoyed the slippery and silky thin noodles which had a good bite and bounce. All three dressings were great with the noodles, but I particularly enjoyed the yam dressing that had a strong sesame flavour too:

I really enjoyed my cold Inaniwa udon, and I can't wait to bring hubby back there to try this special udon.

[Price quoted above are exclusive of the 10% service charge.]

Inaniwa Udon·Nabe
Shop 2002, 2nd Floor, Elements
1 Austin Road West
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2196 8989