Shimbashi Soba at Paragon

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I am facing some issues posting the pictures. Will try to post the photos asap.

PRICE: About $18 for a set lunch

TASTE: Yummy

SERVICE: Attentive

I absolutely love this place. It is among my long-time favourites. If I choose to go broke at any restaurant, it'd probably be Shimbashi Soba. The zaru soba is just irresistable. I ordered the set lunch which included rice with vegetables and mushroom, zaru soba and salad. My sister also ordered a set lunch but hers was rice with tofu and egg, zaru soba and salad. Both of us ordered Mugi Cha for drinks.

When our lunches were served, it seemed to be a lot for two girls to finish. But once we got started on the food, nothing could stop us and we chomped our way through the entire meal. And, for the record, my elfin sis even cleaned up every single bit of rice and every single strand of soba. The rice was fragrant with the smell of japanese soya sauce and the mushrooms were fresh with their all-natural MSG. The mushrooms were cooked thoroughly but still maintained their crunchy texture, not like some places where the mushrooms are so overcooked.

What more can I say about the zaru soba? The soba master has a certificate of accreditation from the Japanese government! The soba is freshly produced in the restaurant from buckwheat from Tasmania. Each strand is smooth and absorbs the soya-based dipping sauce (Tsuyu) very well. The sauce was so light in taste that it perfectly complemented the zaru soba without overwhelming the original taste of the buckwheat.

Even though we had so much to eat, we weren't feeling particularly glutted. We felt that we had a good amount of food. My guess is that our meals were generally healthy and not at all greasy. That's why we weren't feeling glutted. Furthermore, we had the iced Mugi Cha to quell any form of greasiness. Mugi Cha is roasted barley tea. One can really smell and taste the roast.