For the best Tokyo somen (noodles), visit So-men So so so. Located in Ebisu, they serve tasty, traditional cold somen, along with some creatively modern somen.
Somen (or sōmen) are thin wheat noodles eaten all over East Asia. In Japan, somen is served hot or cold. But cold somen is the most common.
Classic Tokyo Somen
So-men So so so serves traditional somen, cold and with dipping tsuyu. This tsuya is a lightly flavored soy sauce with bonito fish flakes.
When you dip the noodles in, enjoy refreshing garnishes like myoga (ginger flower), ginger, and negi (spring onions). They’re colorful and bright.
All of their somen noodles are made on the exotic Shodoshima, which is part of the Seto Inland Sea. Everything that comes out of this pocket of the country is quality.
Modern and Creative Somen
Beyond traditional somen, you’ll find plenty of somen on their menu with contemporary twists. In addition, if you go at dinner, you can get them as half size portions.
Pictured above is a sweet Okinawan style soki somen. To the right of that is a creamy mentaiko (cod roe) somen. Bottom is a spicy Korean jjigae somen. Each of the three feature appropriately different toppings and are served hot.
Okinawan-sized pork ribs
Ideal for summer, they’re now serving a sudachi citrus and junsai vegetable somen, as below. The sudachi brings acidity and sweetness. This is coupled with a sliminess from the junsai.
The Genovese pasta somen is fantastically buttery. Furthermore, it uniquely uses oba (perilla).
Or try the meaty miso somen! There’s a good amount of numbing pepper in it. The runny egg on top makes everything rich and hearty.
Other Side Dishes
Lastly, they have a humongous menu, whether olive flavored croquette, or slightly slimy aonori seaweed karaage fried chicken.
The dishes are the tip of the iceberg. Arrive hungry.
If you’re craving delicious Tokyo somen, swing by So-men So so so!
