We went to try the popular 'Kinchaku Kitsune' (Kinchaku Kitsune), a giant deep-fried tofu filled with udon noodles that is 'just like a reverse fox udon'
Although there are regional differences, kitsune udon generally refers to udon noodles topped with fried tofu. However, the ' Kinchaku Kitsune ' served at a restaurant called 'Mendoan' in Nara is not udon noodles topped with fried tofu, but udon noodles inside a deep-fried tofu pouch. I was really curious to know what it tasted like, so I went to try the 'Kinchaku Kitsune'.
Mentoan - Kintetsu Nara/Udon [Tabelog]
Mentoan's 'Kinchaku Kitsune' was also a hot topic in the tweet below from Matsuji.
At Mentoan, located near Kintetsu Nara Station, you can enjoy 'Kinchaku Kitsune,' udon noodles wrapped in a custom-made giant fried tofu.
— Matsuji (@matsujun5213) November 7, 2017
It's exactly like the reverse fox udon! pic.twitter.com/tmaqUNrp3b
Mentoan is an udon restaurant located in Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The address is ' 30-1 Hashimotocho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture .'
I arrived at Kintetsu Nara Station in Nara Prefecture.
On the way to the store, we saw several deer slithering among the tourists.
Mentoan is located in a corner of
There was a signboard in the shape of a drawstring bag in front of the store.
There are many foreign tourists, and the restaurant is quite lively. I sat down at the seat I was shown to and ordered Kinchaku Kitsune and Cupid. About 10 minutes later, the Kinchaku Kitsune (850 yen including tax) was brought to me. A huge kinchaku made of fried tofu was floating in the soup poured into the bowl, and it looked more like oden than udon.
The string of the drawstring bag was made from the green part of a green onion.
The pouch is made of custom-made fried tofu and is quite large, and you can see how large it is compared to the iPhone 6s, which has a long side of 138.3 mm, as shown in the image below.
I immediately try tearing the pouch apart with chopsticks.
When I poked the soft fried tofu with my chopsticks and tore it apart, I found it stuffed full of udon noodles.
Let's try it. The udon is soft but firm, with a chewy and firm texture.
Although it wasn't simmered or seasoned sweetly, it had absorbed the warm soup and become soft, giving it a gentle flavor.
The soup was made with bonito and kelp stock, and the umami of soy sauce was also effective, giving it a rich yet addictive flavor.
Next came the 'Cupid' (850 yen including tax), featuring a heart-shaped fried tofu.
The disposable chopsticks, which look like hamaya arrows, are fortune-telling slips for love. The shop assistant asked me to pull one out, and when I did...
The editorial staff member who drew it and the store clerk couldn't help but chuckle wryly at the disappointing result of getting a small lucky draw.
The taste of the soup for the Cupid was different from that of the Kinchaku Kitsune, with a smoother and more refined sweetness. The udon noodles had the same chewy texture.
Unlike the fried tofu in Kinchaku Kitsune, this one is seasoned with a sweeter flavour, and when you put it in your mouth the sweet broth oozes out, making it very filling.
For dessert, we had the 'Kinako Udon' (250 yen including tax), a dish of udon noodles topped with black bean kinako and brown sugar syrup.
The springiness and smoothness of the udon noodles, which were firmly frozen in cold water, unexpectedly matched the sweetness of the black bean kinako and brown sugar syrup, and it was much better than I expected. One of the editorial staff who tasted it with me commented, 'It seems like a dessert like this has never been seen before.'
Mentoan is closed on Tuesdays and is open on Sundays. Business hours are from 11:00 to 19:00, but please note that they will close as soon as they sell out of udon and fried tofu.
Bonus
Next to Mentoan...
Nakatanidō is famous for its high-speed mochi-pounding, where mochi is pounded three times per second.
The fact that Nakatanido's high-speed mochi-pounding movie was so popular with foreigners that it was surprisingly played over and over again has been covered in the following article by GIGAZINE in the past. At the time of writing this article a year ago, the number of views had exceeded 430,000, but as of December 2017, the number of views has exceeded 6.8 million.
Fortunately, I was able to see the high-speed mochi-making process in front of Nakatanido's store. You can see the entire process in the video below.
High-speed mochi making at Nakatanido store in Nara Prefecture - YouTube
The following movie shows the explosive speed at the end of the film, shot with the iPhone X's 1080p, 240fps slow-motion movie camera. Unlike watching it on TV or in a video, when I actually watched it live, I was worried that my hand would get caught. It also seems to have attracted a lot of attention overseas, with many foreign tourists taking pictures with their cameras in hand.
Nakatanido's high-speed mochi pounding filmed in slow motion at 1080p 240fps on iPhone X - YouTube
Once the mochi-pounding is over, you can eat the freshly pounded mugwort mochi for 130 yen (tax included) each. They are still slightly warm and covered in plenty of kinako (roasted soybean flour).
The mochi is very soft because it is freshly pounded, and when you pinch it with both hands and pull it, it stretches easily. There is plenty of bean paste inside the mochi. The high-speed pounding is said to make the mochi softer and tastier, and I could really feel the effect.
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