Sobaya Nicolas

Reading about Sobaya Nicolas I noticed it had been awarded a Michelin star... so I must admit I went in with rather high expectations. I wouldn't say I was disappointed  - but I wasn't bowled over.  I WAS disappointed by the fact they didn't have the dish I was most keen to try - the soba with foie gras.... 

The rest of the meal was nice enough - and when they brought the nutritionally rich and comforting soba cooking broth to the table to pour into the remaining dipping sauce once we'd finished eating our noodles (one of my favourite part of the soba experience)- I was pretty happy. 

 The handmade soba itself was good as was the dipping sauce but the gimicky stuff didn't really cut it for me. Believe me - I wanted it to. I've heard the soba with fruit tomato - when in season - is very good. 

Our 4200 yen Autumnal course included an appetiser plate including some marinated mackerel, duck breast, pumpkin salad with tofu dressing and sushi rolls using soba noodles in place of rice.

A rice dish with buckwheat and mushrooms and a simmered dish with chicken, chestnuts and ginko

I love this little square dish - one of the added joys of finishing a dish of food in Japan is finding hidden artwork underneath

Taro, lotus, ginko and a steamed buckwheat flour manju (dumpling) with pork

Zaru soba - Chilled soba on a basket  with dipping sauce

My friend Emilee - I've known her since she popped out of her mama. So cool to hang out with her as a grown up.

Annindoufu (almond tofu) with buckwheat honey

and below

buckwheat dumplings in sweet red beans