At 'Machi Asobi vol.28', I tried the hearty Handa somen noodles topped with thick and sweet roasted pork slices, and the spiciness of the thread pepper was exquisite.



At Machi Asobi, a general entertainment event for anime and games held in Tokushima Prefecture, it has become customary for

Shirataki Seimen to set up a stall selling Handa somen noodles. At Machi Asobi vol.28, Shirataki Seimen also had a booth, so I tried the ' Ohenro Special ' topped with thick roasted pork slices and the ' Minaya Special ' made with sea bream and dried shrimp.

Machi Asobi
https://www.machiasobi.com/

In previous years, the Shirataki Seimen booth was located near Dining Bar Imoya (now closed), but this time they were at the Shinmachi Boardwalk. In front of Imoya there was a sign saying, 'I'm not here. I'm on the boardwalk.'



I found the Shirataki Noodles booth in the southeast of the Shinmachi Boardwalk. Look for the flag that says 'Handa Somen.'



The Handa Somen menu has four varieties: 'Regular (hot)', 'Regular (cold)', 'Ohenro Special', and 'Minaya Special'. All are priced at 700 yen including tax.



The 'Ohenro Special' looks like this. Handa somen noodles are served in a warm dried sardine broth, and are topped with Kintoki pork belly char siu, boiled egg, chili threads, green seaweed, and pink salt.



The name is a reference to the anime ' Ohenro, ' and the toppings were selected to match the image colors of the characters from 'Ohenro.'




The pork slices are cut thick and the surface is seared over a burner.



It's so soft that it cuts easily when you bite into it. As soon as you put it in your mouth, the sweet fat spreads across your tongue. The spicy chili threads go well with the sweetness of the fat, creating an exquisite balance of 'sweet fat, yet not too heavy.'



The thick Handa somen noodles are well coated with the broth. The fat from the roasted pork fillets the dried sardine stock, and the Handa somen noodles are coated in fat, which is an interesting point. Regular Handa somen noodles feel like 'slurping up chewy noodles', but the Ohenro Special feels like 'the noodles are coated in fat and slide smoothly into your mouth'. The chili threads do a great job here too, and the overall dish is a masterpiece that is not heavy, while still focusing on the meatiness and fat of the roasted pork.



The 'Minaya Special' looks like this. Handa somen noodles are served in a broth of cold dried shrimp and dried sardines, and are topped with 'Tokushima sea bream marinated in kelp,' 'mountain-picked bracken,' 'suji nori seaweed from the Yoshino River in Tokushima,' and 'Tokushima sudachi citrus.'



The 'Minatani Special' is a menu item developed for Tokushima-based singer-songwriter

Minatani Naomi , and is characterized by its use of no meat, with seafood as the main ingredient.




The more you chew the sea bream marinated in kombu, the more delicious its flavor becomes.



Although it looks bland, when you slurp the noodles, the rich flavor of the 'dried shrimp and dried sardines' hits you right in the mouth. The well-chilled Handa somen noodles are smooth to slurp and have a good chewy texture. The sourness of the sudachi citrus leaves a refreshing aftertaste. Eating chilled Handa somen noodles outdoors in the warmth was exquisite.



The two special menu items are available in limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis. On the second day of Machi★Asobi vol.28, a line was already forming at 6:40.




Even after the special menu is sold out, you can still order the 'Regular (Hot)' and 'Regular (Cold)'. The regular is also a high-quality noodle dish with 'dried sardine stock', 'chicken char siu', 'sudachi' and 'green laver'. This is a great opportunity to try Tokushima's specialty Handa somen, so please line up and try it.



Related Posts:

in Coverage,   Tasting, Posted by log1o_hf