JPN: Kineya (杵屋)

Cold 'udon' in winter? Why not?

In a blink of an eye, it was soon time to say goodbye to Kyushu, Japan. Before going to Nagasaki Airport by bus, my BFFs and I had a quick lunch at Kineya located on the fifth floor of Amu Plaza that's directly connected to Nagasaki railway station. The restaurant prides itself in its handmade udon (Japanese wheat-flour noodle).

The menu is in Japanese only, but each dish comes with a picture. Anyway, each of the udon set menus featured below is inclusive of a bowl of kayaku gohan, which is steamed rice that's seasoned and mixed with meat and vegetables.

Curry Udon Set Menu ¥837 (~S$10.95)

Taste: 7/10

The actual name of the set menu is カレーうどん定食. It was a beautiful sight of a bowl of udon with the promise of chewiness swimming in hot curry broth, not to mention the onsen tamago (lit. hot spring egg) which yolk I couldn't wait to burst. While the udon indeed had an appealingly bouncy and easy-to-slurp texture, the curry wasn't as satisfactory as expected as it was neither sweet nor rich enough for my liking. There wasn't much of the sliced pork either. As for the seasoned rice that had bits of chicken and carrots, it was pretty tasty and fluffy.

Cold Udon with Tempura Set Menu ¥910 (~S$11.90)

Taste: 8/10

The actual name of the set menu is 冷し海老天おろしうどん定食. Even though it was the beginning of winter, it didn't stop me from relishing a bowl of delicious cold udon featuring deep-fried battered prawn and eggplant. A slice of fish cake, grated radish, seaweed and katsuobushi (Japanese dried bonito flakes) were also arranged on top of the udon. The mixture of soy sauce and ponzu (Japanese citrus-based sauce) was refreshing and not too heavy on the palate.

Matcha Ice Cream ¥173 (~S$2.25)

Taste: 8/10

The actual name of the dessert is 抹茶アイス, which is said to use quality green tea from Aichi Prefecture. As the man at the table opposite seemed to be enjoying it a lot, I decided to order one myself. It wasn't that big a scoop, but I certainly took delight in the aroma and the bittersweet taste of the ice cream. 

Melon's Rating

Taste: 7.5/10

Ambience: 7.5/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Pardon my ignorance, but is kine (lit. pestle) always used in the making of udon? Pika's advice: You may want to make your udon merrier by adding a topping or two. Prices vary from ¥73 (~S$1.00) to ¥346 (~S$4.70).

Kineya

(杵屋)

1-1 Onouemachi
5/F Amu Plaza
Nagasaki
Japan

(Daily: 11.00am - 11.00pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% VAT.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)