Really really good tendon in Osaka

I casually dropped by alone during a business trip. Compared to surrounding stores, the atmosphere where even a single person can easily enter (and also have a quick drink) is good. The oden broth was mild, and the udon to finish the meal was delicious. Tempura was average. If oden is the main feature at night, I would expect sake, but they only had sake from Aomori and Hiroshima, and I thought they should carry Kansai sake.

+2

Visited to have a quick lunch before catching the Shinkansen. I had a lot of luggage, and most of the table seats were open, so I expected to be guided there, but instead I was directed to the counter. I asked if the table seats were okay, but was stubbornly directed to the counter seats. Pulling myself together, I ordered the tendon and udon set, but first, the udon was a miss! The dashi broth mixed too many dashi stocks that were probably tasty, making the flavor balance weird. Also, the udon had firmness, but it was sticky and unpleasant to swallow. Felt like, is this a noodle factory's udon? Also, the tendon wasn't crispy; instead, oil spread mushily in my mouth, leaving a bad aftertaste. Well, I don't think I'll use this place twice, but lunch has cheap menus, so maybe just the curry udon is an option...

+1

This is an udon shop located inside Naniwa Shokudo in Shin-Osaka Station. I think it's quite difficult to visit here as a first-timer. If you are taking the Midosuji Line, you can get there immediately by going down the escalator closest to Senri-Chuo, but any other way will definitely get you lost. As for the udon, it's a strong soy sauce where you can clearly taste the dashi broth. I recently went to a different udon shop so I end up comparing it, but while it's delicious, it wasn't to the point of being moving. The storefront gives off a vibe where it seems natural that it's delicious, so it's appropriate for that. The chikuwa tempura was delicious. It had plenty of volume and was very satisfying, but I feel the price was a bit high. It doesn't go as far as betraying expectations, but I think it has a reliable deliciousness.

Since the hotel breakfast was subpar, I looked for a light udon shop in Shin-Osaka to eat again before catching the Shinkansen. I looked outside the Shinkansen ticket gates, but couldn't easily find one, and entered this shop operating in the morning on the way to the subway Midosuji Line. Since I ate a little at the hotel, I wanted something light, so instead of the morning udon set, I chose just a single bowl of udon. I hesitated between morning kelp udon and morning wakame udon, but went with morning kelp udon. 1-2 minutes after sitting down, the udon was served. First, a sip of the dashi broth. Huh? Is Kansai flavor this strong? That was the impression. Next, I slurped the udon, but didn't feel much firmness. Wondering if it's because I'm used to Sanuki udon? While thinking that, I couldn't shake the feeling of it being subpar. And when I ate the kelp, the seasoning of this kelp was strong! Did this flavor seep into the udon broth and make it strong? Sigh, in that case, the broth isn't tasty, right? In the end, I ate about half and stopped. The end of my trip to Osaka was a slightly disappointing result. I was expecting Osaka to be the true home of udon! But it turned out to be quite a letdown. Next time, I'll research thoroughly and try Osaka udon again. Thank you for the meal.

+3