While in Kyoto we stopped by this udon joint for some cheap eats. Udon is a fairly thick wheat-flour noodle that is typically served hot in a soupy soy sauce broth. This particular place was found on the main thoroughfare in Kyoto.
It was quite the bustling business inside, with a quick turnover and a revolving clientèle. Seriously, Japanese people slurp up these noodles as if they weren't mouth-burning boiling hot. They don't just eat it hot, they eat it fast. Like Hoover-fast. They do this with ramen as well. Udon tends to be cheaper than ramen though.
Stepping inside, reveal this automatic udon noodle making machine. Not as impressive as hand-made (seriously, watching someone pull noodles by hand is mind-bottling! See Ricky Bobby.), but hey, it's fresh!
I haven't seen an entire restaurant dedicated to udon here in the States. At least not like this. The chefs cook the noodles inside what appear to be large fishing nets. I don't know if the twisting of the net is purposeful but, I'm not a master udon chef.
After you get your bowl of udon which regardless of what choice you pick is broth and noodles to be garnished with you choice of add-on tempura which included shrimp, chicken, and various veggies all around the 100 yen range.
After picking your tempura (I selected a piece of chicken and a large Japanese potato slice), you can pile on the green onions, and tempura bits free-of-charge.
Voila! My udon masterpiece! It was one of my favorite (and cheapest) meals in Japan. The price came out to about $5 for my bowl.
My cousin's wife, got her udon in a wooden tub which is a nice aesthetic. I initially thought only the presentation was different, but the udon here is actually just floating in water. The broth is served on the side for dipping along with ginger and salt(?) for seasoning. She also got tempura sausages!
