June 23, 2020

NAGOYA: Yoshida Kishimen 吉田きしめん @ ESCA

Kishimen noodle is a kind of flattened udon, which can be found in Aichi Prefecture, also one of the Nagoya’s specialties that one must try before leaving Nagoya. Kishimen is known as flatten udon, with its shape very much looks like the Italian tagliatelle pasta; made of water, wheat flour and salt, exactly similar like the regular udon, except the shape.

Other Nagoya’s specialties: Hitsumabushi @ Atsuta Houraiken あつた蓬莱軒

When I was in Nagoya, and doing meal search as around dinner time, I came across this Yoshidamen Kishimen ESCA Restaurant which is located in the underground shopping area of Nagoya Station; managed by the Yoshida Noodle Manufacturers, specialized in kishimen noodles.

I am not an udon person but I find myself loving kishimen a lot; for its flatten shape that tends to adsorb more flavours and also its very smooth flatten texture. Quite similar like the local Pan Mee, but it is smoother, slippery and slurpier than Pan Mee. Best of all, its greater dimension tends to adsorb more flavours from the broth or soup.

We fancied kishimen from Yoshidamen. Price was pretty affordable given the huge portion size like this. One combo set can be easily shared among two unless you really have huge stomach.

*Price (as below) may differ from now as this was happened 2 years back

Chilled Kishimen served with Tempura (¥ 1400)
Same as soba or udon, chilled version gives you extra bouncy springy noodle texture, slurp it up with the noodle dipping sauce.

Kishimen Sampler Combo (¥ 1150)
Comes with 3 varieties where you get to taste all the best flavour from the shop, kishimen in dashi soup, curry and a bowl of tempura don. Do check out its portion! I think this can easily feed 3 pax, the portion is really huge.

Pork Cutlet with Miso Sauce Combo (¥ 1400)

Beef Sukiyaki Combo with Shrimp Chawanmushi (¥ 1400)

Miso Kishimen with Pork and Vegetables (¥ 950)
Miso-based kishimen is another must order as Nagoya is famous for everything miso.

Besides enjoying the kishimen in the restaurant, you may also bring them home so that you can enjoy the smooth and delicious kishimen at home.

Yoshida Kishimen 吉田きしめんエスカ店
ESCA Underground Shopping Center
6-9 Tsubaki-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture.
Opens daily from from 11am to 9pm
About 3-minute walk from the Taikodori exit of the JR Nagoya Station