Morioka Reimen (cold noodles, Korean style), worth lining up for

I arrived at 11:15 AM, a fairly early hour for lunch, but there’s already a huge line of 20 people!!! Probably because it was an extremely hot day, we’re all craving reimen.

Inside the restaurant, a tree trunk is placed, and the tables and chairs are also all made of wood. The general atmosphere of the place is very relaxing.

I might as well take a look at the menu as I wait in line. There are set menus with reimen, “kalbi” (thinly sliced rib meat), “chijimi” (Korean style savory pancake) and norimaki. I’m getting hungry just looking at the menu!

I waited for about 20 minutes, and finally, in to the restaurant!!!
I am given a seat at the counter, which is also wooden. The restaurant is overall natural looking.

The customers are mostly families and couples, mostly ordering set menus; the tables are full of different dishes.

Soup with lots of collagen (protein) and chewy noodles: good for your skin and addictively delicious

After you place your order, you are provided with a tray with a spoon, chopsticks, napkins, a paper apron and toothpicks, as well as a glass of water. You can use the paper apron to cover your shirt from the splashing soup. A very thoughtful gesture.

I ordered “Morioka Reimen” (reimen Morioka style). 30 minutes had passed since I started lining up. My belly is definitely ready for some good food!! The reimen was served together with namul (cucumber, bean sprouts etc. seasoned with garlic, sesame and pepper, Korean style) as an appetizer.

The toppings on the reimen are kalbi meat, cucumber, green onion and boiled egg. And watermelon!?

The reimen was presented so elegantly on the plate, it was like a beautiful work of art.

Okay, so I’m going to start with the collagen filled soup. Very thin and smooth. Absolutely delicious!
The secret of the soup is its broth. Beef meat and bone added with chicken bones create a richly flavored and yet light soup. If you want a bit of change, just add some vinegar and the soup will become even more refreshing.

How spicy do you want it? Choose from levels 1 ~ 4

For the Morioka reimen, you can choose your spiciness. Personally I’m not very big on the spicy. I told them so and was given a separate plate of kimchi. This way I can adjust the flavor to get it just right.

The kimchi isn’t the super hot kind. I was very satisfied how my soup turned out, mild and slightly piquant. Lots roughly cut daikon (Japanese radish) in it too. Yum!

I feel like reimen noodles are usually very hard to chew, but here that was not the case. They were easy to eat and went down smoothly while keeping the thick and chewy texture.

Cucumber and watermelon are vegetables (yes, watermelon is a vegetable) that are effective in cooling down the inner heat of the body.

Not only is the “Morioka Reimen” delicious, it also highly nutritious. With ingredients like cucumber and watermelon, it’s perfect for the summertime. Try out this authentic “Morioka Reimen” at Tokyo Solamachi and you won’t be disappointed.

writer：Yoko