Shimbashi Soba

Been to this place twice already. located at the basement of Paragon, it boosts the best soba (japanese buckwheat noodles) i've ever eaten in singapore! Although the average price of 15 to 17 per bowl of soba may seem a bit steep, here are the following reasons why its not.

its HAND MADE. there is this poor japanese guy standing, kneading the dough, cutting the noodles even before the restaurant opens. somehow or rather, he kinda looks like an exhibit, standing behind a glass wall doing his stuff, while pple like me ogle at his skills.

its VARIETY. u cant say its a lot, nor can u say its little. you can choose from either chilled/ dry or warm/ soup soba as usual. but they have different broths/ flavours to choose from. for example, if u're craving for duck, they have soba with duck, either chilled or warm. honestly, i rarely seen japanese restaurants/ eateries serving duck!

the portion is HUGE. its like ordering a 5 bucks char kuay teow, hokkien mee or char tau kuay n eating it yourself. each portion can serve 1 n a half persons.
if u are a small eater, get another small eater along with you, order a bowl of soba and some sides, which i would suggest trying their teriyaki chicken. but actually, i finished the entire bowl myself, rite down to the last drop of soup... haha...

its TASTE. like i've said above, i finished the entire bowl myself, rite down to the last drop of soup. its very different.
firstly, it does not taste like its all shoyu (soy sauce) n nothing else, some places' noodles taste just like that.
secondly, it does not taste like the broth is made using those bottled/ packaged/ already prepared ones. i've tried making soba at home, using those "instant" noodles n soup bought from the supermarket. after eating at Shimbashi, it made those "instant" ones inedible...

its FLEXIBILITY. dun worry if u do not like soba, u can request for yr meal to be changed to HAND MADE udon for u. so if u're a udon lover, u still can enjoy the goodness of the broth n soups. oh yes, their udon is also damn good! its very "q" n springy!

its SPECIAL OF THE MONTH. each month, the chefs will add to the menu a few dishes. but sadly, its only for that particular month. so be sure to check the menu monthly (they have it displayed outside the restaurant) for those specials.

its STAFF. they are very friendly n polite. if u dunno what to eat, ask them for recommendations, they will gladly n patiently attend to you. they even teach you how to eat n enjoy your soba!

its LONG Q during lunch n dinner hours. it does prove that its worth a try.

Now that i've found a fantastic soba/ udon place, its still kinda pity there isnt a ramen place in singapore that i can billed it as fantastic yet.