たばてい
There are still a few cool shops left to explore in Minoshima. This time, I went to Inaka-ya, located in the middle of the shopping street, for lunch. There were already two regulars inside, one of whom was a middle-aged man on a solo trip. When I entered, there were 7 customers in total - 3 groups. The interior had a counter with 6 seats and 2 raised tatami tables, and surprisingly, it was quite crowded.
I always make it a point to order the zaru soba at a new soba restaurant, so I went for the zaru soba set lunch, which was reasonably priced. Most of the other customers ordered higher-end rice bowl dishes or soba/udon sets.
When the zaru soba set arrived, it consisted of soba noodles, kashiwa nigiri, and a small serving of dried radish pickles. The presentation was a bit underwhelming. As I dipped the soba noodles in the dipping sauce and slurped them up, I found the soba to be quite typical of Kyushu - dark in color, lacking in soba flavor, and with a flat texture, indicating a higher wheat flour content, probably close to a 20:80 ratio. The sauce had a slight sweetness to it, likely made with Fukuoka soy sauce. I couldn't see a soba-making area in the kitchen, but there was a udon noodle-making machine, so I assume the udon noodles were handmade.
The kashiwa nigiri was also average, with a subtle chicken broth flavor. Overall, the experience was just okay. Despite the decent number of customers and incoming takeout orders, I didn't feel the bustling energy of a lunchtime soba restaurant. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a soba master hidden in the kitchen. I still have a few cool shops left to visit in Minoshima, including Aishinken, Nyufun Shokudo, and the Chinese restaurant Shan. I also need to revisit Kadoya and try their tempura, as I haven't written a review about it yet. I need to show more love for Minoshima! By the way, I'm straight, just in case you were wondering. Finished my meal and paid the bill. Thank you for the meal.