I had a katsuo tataki donburi and ikkaku udon. I like udon, so I sometimes go to Nakau. This time, the katsuo tataki donburi didn't suit my taste. The katsuo was indeed thickly sliced and didn't have a fishy smell. However, it lacked freshness and firmness, and the tataki flavor was also missing. Additionally, the Kyoto-style pickles were very salty. I live in Kyoto, but I've never had pickles that salty before.

Today's Nakau. I always come here and always order the same thing. The quality of the oyakodon can vary depending on the day, but today's oyakodon was better than usual. The cooking was perfect, with the egg being nice and runny. Delicious! #Oyakodon #Egg #Eggdish #Chicken #Chickendish #Nakau

After visiting Kitano Tenmangu Shrine and having breakfast, I found a reasonable place to eat called Nakau. I remembered using it for the first time when staying at Toyoko Inn Shijo Omiya in Kyoto. I thought it was a Kyoto company, but it seems to have originated in Osaka. Now they have branches all over, including Kanto. It's a chain where you can get a nice bowl of udon at a reasonable price. There were no other customers when I visited on this day, just one after me. I used the ticket machine outside to order the breakfast set which included grilled salmon, miso soup, sunny-side-up egg, and a small portion of rice for 580 yen. Unlike family restaurants, they only served "silver salmon" without any vegetables. I changed the miso soup to get some vegetables. The sunny-side-up egg was cooked perfectly! I cook sunny-side-up eggs about twice a week, but it's surprisingly difficult to get the same result each time. Especially now that we switched to an IH stove at home, I'm struggling with the adjustments. Having grown up in Hakata, when I think of Tenmangu Shrine, I think of Dazaifu. However, here they have the "original plum tree" which I was able to visit at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. I walked a total of 25,000 steps on this day.

Finally managed to write a review! (Actually, I had been here before with my husband, but my phone died so I couldn't write a review haha). This time, we came to "【Movie Arashi Den】Pilgrimage to the Holy Land" to take pictures before it gets demolished, and we successfully took some photos before deciding to have lunch. I was determined to write a review this time as we entered the restaurant. Order: - Oyakodon lunch set (Oyakodon with Hainaka Uron (cold)) It was delicious! Eating a meal after a pilgrimage to the holy land is really nice. That's it!

I finished work late and went out to eat a little. The parent and child bowl is delicious after all. The udon broth is also excellent. Eating alone late at night is delicious too. It was so good that I wanted to have another serving.

I really like it

In Kyoto, many restaurants stop serving lunch after 2 pm, so I was having a hard time finding a place to eat. When I arrived in Kitano Shirakawa-cho, it was already past 3:30 pm and only Nakau was open. I decided to order two small portions of cold soba noodles for 180 yen each, instead of the more expensive mountain wasabi soba for 450 yen. I bought two meal tickets and handed them to the counter. The staff seemed surprised when I ordered two, but the soba noodles were authentic and delicious, with a good texture and a strong wasabi flavor.

I actually wanted to go to the nearby "Dairyu Shokudo" restaurant. It seems like I recently posted a review with a similar opening, but this time there wasn't anything unpleasant that happened, it's just that when I got to Dairyu's, there was a sign saying "Temporarily closed." So, I ended up going to "Nakau" instead. The restaurant was completely lacking in energy, with only two groups of customers inside. At the counter, there was a couple and two university students (or vocational school students) eating in a rude manner with their feet up on the chairs. By the way, don't you think there are a lot of young people these days who eat with their feet up on the sofa or chairs? It's really unsanitary, isn't it? I wonder what their parents or ancestors would think if they saw that. I ordered the "Beef Sukiyaki Bowl (regular) & Chicken Salt Udon (small)" from the ticket machine (I think it was 670 yen). I waited for a while at the table for the staff to come and take my food ticket, but it took about 3 minutes before a waitress finally appeared with hot tea in hand. Without saying "Welcome" or "Sorry to keep you waiting," she snatched the food ticket without any politeness or warmth, tore it, and briskly walked away. Even though she's just a part-time worker, she's still representing the restaurant since she's being paid, right? It's really pathetic that she can't even realize that it's not beneficial for her. There was only a pitcher of cold tea on the table. But there were no cups for cold tea anywhere. So, am I supposed to drink the hot tea that was brought to me first, and then pour the cold tea into the teacup? My table, along with several others, had paper and other things left empty. Another staff member was drying her hands leisurely with a loud warm air dryer next to the toilet, even though there were customers sitting at the nearby table. I was a bit surprised by the loud noise. ...There are many issues with this restaurant. After waiting for about a minute and a half, the food was served. It's surprisingly fast. Well, I guess that's a good thing about this kind of restaurant. But for 670 yen, the portion was small. There was some kind of condiment that seemed like pepper, but the staff didn't say anything about it when serving the food. I didn't know if I should put it on the "Beef Sukiyaki Bowl" or the "Udon." There was nothing written on the condiment packet, so I just left it there. I took a bite of the udon. It's probably a characteristic of Nakau, but it was very oily. The soup was garlicky chicken salt udon that didn't need lip balm. So, I thought maybe this condiment is pepper? I sniffed it and there was a very faint smell of pepper. So, I finally added it. When I looked closely at the poster of the chicken salt udon on the restaurant's wall, it said, "With Garlic Pepper," in a difficult-to-read layout. Well, it wasn't bad, but the oiliness was a bit too much for me. I couldn't believe they were using high-quality oil, so I was a bit put off by the intensity of the oil. The beef sukiyaki bowl was very delicious though! So, I ended up leaving the chicken salt udon and just eating the beef sukiyaki bowl, savoring the taste as I left the restaurant. The taste was good, but I had a somewhat disjointed impression due to the service and other factors. Thank you for the meal. (*I'm worried about Dairyu Shokudo...)

I think that the beef bowl restaurant is called "Yoshinoya" (pseudonym). I consider Matsuya (pseudonym) to be a set meal restaurant. Sukiya (pseudonym) is a place I no longer visit. And I think that Nakau is an udon restaurant. For breakfast, I always used to order the High-Kara Udon for 280 yen, which was my go-to. The udon is decent, although I wish the broth had a bit more flavor. I was satisfied with it. Recently, my work has been going well and I have some financial leeway, so I decided to try the Premium Curry Udon (yes, I know, some might say I should go to a better restaurant if I have the money!). At 590 yen, it is surprisingly expensive for Nakau, I would say. The Premium Curry Udon is different from the regular udon because it has curry poured over it. The curry is not too spicy or too sweet, which is good. I prefer it a bit spicier, but I shouldn't complain, considering it's 590 yen. Another feature is the chunks of meat in the curry udon. For this price, you shouldn't gossip about the quality of the meat. At least the tenderness is commendable. I take each strand of udon and soak it in the curry soup before eating. Even after finishing the udon, there is still soup left. I have the urge to ask for a small bowl of rice, but I restrain myself because it would be a waste. I slurp up the remaining soup as a sign of respect for the curry udon and as a lesson from my late father (who is actually still alive!). My thoughts on this curry udon are pretty much the same at any restaurant. One thing to criticize is the cleanliness of the tables. Please wipe the table properly and remove any leftover rice grains or fallen pickled ginger from the previous customer. This is rarely an issue at other Nakau locations. If such things happen, I might start going to a different branch. (Additional note: I used to eat a delicious beef bowl at a Nakau near Sokeiji about 32 years ago. Since Nakau started calling it "Japanese-style beef bowl," I have stopped eating there altogether.)

One of the charms of Nakau is the variety of lineups that change with the seasons. Chicken salt udon is a winter staple menu item, first released in 2007 as a long-selling product. The soup has a transparent appearance, but you can enjoy a light yet deep umami flavor. This is because Nakau adds chicken fat (chew) with condensed umami and a garlic-flavored salt sauce that stimulates the appetite to their proud Japanese-style broth. The smooth udon, tender chicken, and crunchy green onions are also delicious.

I like Sukiya the best among the gyudon chains. It's a bit sweet and sometimes has shiitake mushrooms, which I like. This time, I tried the Gyushigureju, and it was quite good! The tamagoyaki was also sweet, and overall it had a rich flavor that is popular nowadays. It's a taste that everyone can enjoy, but not too strong. However, when I took a closer look, there was a lot of oil... I wonder what this clear oil that accumulates there is. I hope it's beef fat, but it's probably vegetable oil for preservation. It kind of cooled my enthusiasm. But it's delicious!