Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Soba Ya


Soba-ya - 229 E. 9th Street (in Little Tokyo) (Japanese)
In search of authentic fresh soba, I ran across Soba-Ya in the pages of the Oyaji Life website - which gave it a full 5 out of 5 stars. Smack dab in the middle of Little Toyko, the interior of Soba-ya does impress. It's decent sized for an East Village haunt, with a classy interior - filled with a Japanese clientelle (and not the tourist crowd.)

Once inside, I quickly bellied up to the bar and ordered a cold soba serving. (Sadly, Soba-ya does *not* order to go.) The soba was served with wonderful presentation, though I found it too bland for my tastes - which admittedly run more towards a passion for Korean Jjol, or Tteokbokki. Not worth the $8.24 per plate (at least for my finnicky needs.)

Fortunately, the highlight of the meal was still to come: my first taste of a classic Japanese dessert known as Anmitsu. Variations of the dessert include sweet bean paste, cubes of agar agar jelly, ice cream, syrup and bits of chopped fruit. Soba-ya's version had the first four ingredients, and really hit the spot on this hot July afternoon. Tinged with bits of ginger flavor, the animitsu was refreshing, cold, everything you could wish for in a summer treat. Soba-ya's the only place I've seen it served. So while the noodles don't impress for a spicy palate such as mine, the desserts may have me coming back - at least through the summer months!

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