松一君
I visited "Kamatama Chuka Soba Napoleonken Fuchu Store" opened in Fuchu on July 9, 2023. "Kamatama Chuka Soba Napoleonken" is a new brand launched by Kazunori Komiyama, the founder of "Tsukemen TETSU" and "Edomae Niboshi Chuka Soba Kimihan," in March 2022 under the elevated tracks of the Tokyu Oimachi Line. The Fuchu store is the fifth new store following the opening of the Keikyu Kamata store in November 2022, the Tokyu Kamata store in April 2023, and the Sano store in May 2023. This visit was known because Napoleonken, an attention-grabbing shop that also won the TRY Soupless Division Rookie Award, opened a branch within a 6km radius from my home. The shop is located along Fuchu Kaido, close to Okunitama Shrine, a 3-minute walk from Fuchu-Honmachi Station. I have visited this location several times before, as it has been renovated by the Menso Lab Red Group. I visited around 8:00 pm on the 10th. It was the first day of full opening as lunchtime had just started. Even at this time, there were 8 customers waiting outside, showing how popular the place was. After a considerable wait, I finally got my turn to enter the shop. The shop was small with only 6 counter seats. It felt like a renovation of a previous establishment. Looking at the menu on the ticket machine, they only offered Kamatama Chuka Soba, with noodle sizes (large, regular, small) and toppings categorized as normal, "Spicy Negi," and "Rich" (with extra chashu and menma). The price for a small Kamatama was reasonable at ¥550. After some consideration, I chose the "Spicy Negi Kamatama Chuka Soba (regular)" and an extra noodle refill for a total of ¥950. A female staff member served water in a silver tumbler. Chopsticks were disposable. There were various free toppings on the table besides Kamatama soy sauce, such as black pepper, chopped ginger, ground sesame, kikurage mushrooms, chopped garlic, bonito powder, yuzu shichimi, and shiitake vinegar. One of the enjoyable aspects of Napoleonken is being able to choose toppings from this selection according to your preference. The staff made a mistake and served me the "Rich" version instead of the "Spicy Negi," but I was happy with the mix-up and thanked them for it. The dish came in a white bowl with my name on it, containing shredded chashu, menma, egg yolk, and spicy negi. The noodles were thick curly noodles. When I avoided the noodles, the soy sauce-colored soup appeared with fine pork fat floating on top. The soup tasted like a gentle and delicious pork bone broth with a soy sauce flavor. It was a unique Kamatama Chuka Soba, tweaked in the style of Komiyama. Trying the main noodles, they had a udon-like chewy texture with a strong resilience, which was very tasty. Typically, thick noodles like these take around 8 minutes to cook, but these were ready in about half the time, around 4 minutes and 20 seconds. The official information from the shop indicated that these noodles were made at Izakaya Hachiyutenji, a related store. However, I felt that the noodles with just raw egg and soy sauce were a bit lacking with these thick noodles, so the free toppings on the table were essential. The key was the soup, and I realized the significance of calling it "Kamatama Chuka Soba." The saying "the best way to eat delicious noodles is Kamatama" refers not only to simply boiled noodles with raw egg and soy sauce but also to eating them in a Chuka Soba style. The chashu was tender and tasty, and the menma had a crunchy texture, which was also delicious. When I finished most of the noodles, I ordered an extra noodle refill. As expected, the refill noodles were thin straight noodles with a low water content, but I was surprised to receive them in a Niboshi soup! Moreover, it was a genuine Niboshi broth, which was a bit surprising. It wasn't just a soup made from broth, so I was a little surprised.