Gaina Noodle Factory Kasai Head Shop

In a peaceful location surrounded by rice paddies in Kasai City, Hyogo Prefecture, there is a popular Sanuki udon specialty restaurant called Gaina Noodle Factory. The owner, Katsuya Mizutani, is said to be the most famous apprentice of Rumi Grandma, who trained for two years at Ikegami Noodle Factory run by her, a very famous figure in the Sanuki udon world. The restaurant opened in February 2006 after he completed his training, and in the 18 years since its establishment, it has won the “100 Best Udon Restaurants” award several times in the Tabelog, and has become so popular that customers come from other prefectures to tour the restaurant.

I knew about this restaurant well through TV programs and food blogs, and was looking for a chance to go there. The restaurant is located in an inconvenient location, so it is not easy to make a return visit. I had to fully enjoy the taste of Gaina Noodle Factory on this one visit! I headed for the restaurant with high spirits. Well…

You know, the kind of place you see in Kagawa Prefecture? The rustic atmosphere of Gaina Noodle Factory Kasai Head Shop is just like this.

It was a little after 11:00 a.m. on Saturday when my family arrived at Gaina Noodle Factory Kasai Head Shop. We arrived a little early for lunch, so it was not so crowded that there was a line, but as expected, customers arrived one after another in cars and on motorcycles. By the time we had finished placing our order at the cash register right after passing through the entrance and were seated at a table, a voice inside the restaurant echoed, “The restaurant is full!” was echoing inside the restaurant. After that, there was quite a crowd outside the restaurant, so I guess there would be quite a long wait around 12:00 to 13:00.

By the way, Gaina Noodle Factory has a nice atmosphere. The store has a very simple structure, with tables and chairs placed in a space that was created by crumbling out the inside of an old wooden house. If you have ever been to Kagawa Prefecture to eat Sanuki Udon, you would understand that there are Sanuki Udon specialty restaurants like this in Kagawa, right? You don’t have to go all the way to Udon Prefecture to have Sanuki udon directly from a famous restaurant in the same atmosphere as the real thing… This is something that Hyogo Prefecture residents and Sanuki udon lovers in neighboring prefectures must be extremely grateful for.

The restaurant is very rustic, with 10 tables for four people and 10 counter seats for one person. The tables are spaced far enough apart so that even when the restaurant is full, it doesn’t feel overwhelming at all. It seems safe to bring a baby stroller into the restaurant with small children. In addition, there are two tables with seating for four on the terrace outside the restaurant, so I feel that even pets, let alone small children, can easily enjoy a meal here.

Butter Kamatama: How was it to try this popular menu item that is often featured on TV programs at Gaina Noodle Factory?

What I ordered at Gaina Noodle Factory Kasai Head Shop this time was Butter Kamatama, a popular menu item that is often introduced on TV programs. The price is 800 yen including tax for one ball of udon, but this time I paid an additional 300 yen to order a special serving of udon (3 balls of udon).

It took a little over 10 minutes from the time I placed my order until my bowl of udon arrived. This is because Gaina Noodle Factory does not prepare udon in advance, but starts boiling the noodles after receiving the order. Therefore, it is not like a certain national chain restaurant where you order udon, eat it quickly, and leave the restaurant. Well, since you have come all the way to Kasai, you might as well take your time! I guess that’s what they mean…

The butter kamatama that arrived in front of me looked like this. I was surprised to see it. The reason why I was surprised is not the amount of noodles but the toppings. I only ordered 3 more noodles and did not order anything else, but the egg yolk and butter came out with more toppings. This was totally unexpected. (By the way, the small fried food in the upper image is a ham cutlet.)

Now, before letting the butter and egg yolk blend in, let’s first try the noodles with just the dashi soy sauce… The surface is smooth and silky, and the texture is glutinous when you bite into it.The surface of the noodle is smooth and chewy, and the texture is glutinous. The noodles have a rich aroma of wheat. The noodles are chewy and chewy, yet easy to chew through, and although they are very thick, I was impressed by how easy they were to eat. Therefore, the three balls of udon this time weighed about 800 grams, which is equivalent to the amount of noodles boiled at Ramen Jiro.

The dashi soy sauce for bukkake udon was quite sweet, and the seafood broth was very strong. It was well seasoned even if you did not pour a lot of it over the udon.

After enjoying the udon noodles with the dashi shoyu, I mashed the egg yolk and stirred it all together with butter…

Let’s have it in its original form. I was surprised again when I slurped the udon. The egg yolk is very thick. With 3 balls of noodles and 2 egg yolks, we would normally imagine that there are not enough egg yolks to cover the noodles, but these egg yolks are so thick that they more than cover the 3 balls of noodles. Add to this the stimulating aroma of coarsely ground black pepper, and we can enjoy a blissful taste that can best be described as “Japanese-style carbonara”.

It looks almost the same as the Udon Kyutaro egg butter I had in Osaka before, but the taste is completely different (and I am not talking about which is “better” or “worse”). I wonder if the reason for this is the eggs? I can certainly see how this would be well-received on a TV show. Revisiting the restaurant is physically quite hard, but I still want to take another chance and come to Kasai.

【Bonus】This time, a bonus is the famous toriten (Japanese style fried chicken), which has become quite popular at Gaina Noodle Factory (priced at 230 yen including tax). The size is about the palm of an adult male’s hand. The shape is different from the chicken tempura served at other restaurants.

When I tried this toriten, I found it to be tender and juicy thigh meat. The meat was well seasoned, and the juices from the cross section of the meat were soaking in the udon broth. If you find yourself feeling a little unsatisfied after eating udon, I highly recommend this famous toriten.

Examples of other menu items at Gaina Noodle Factory Kasai Head Shop (prices include tax)

• Kake udon: 470 yen
• Bukkake udon 470 yen
• Kama-age udon 470 yen
• Egg soy sauce udon 540 yen
• Kama-tama udon 540 yen
• Kitsune udon 660 yen
• Kamatama udon with hot spring egg and grated chicken tempura 830 yen

Udon noodles can also be ordered from Furusato Tax! To get to Gaina Noodle Factory Kasai Head Shop, take the Shinki Bus bound for Yamazaki (Shiso City) from Sannomiya Station on the JR Kobe Line, get off at Izumi bus stop, and walk 25 minutes.

Gaina Noodle Factory‘s Sanuki Udon noodles can be ordered through Rakuten Furusato Tax. The 350g portion of noodles is enough for 12 servings, and comes with a special soy sauce and soup stock for Sanuki udon noodles, so we can make delicious bukkake udon at home. The shelf life is only 20 days, which is a little short, but if a family of four eats it, about six servings will be gone in no time at all…and if you pay tax, you can get it practically for free. If you like Sanuki Udon, why don’t you order some and try the taste of a Gaina Noodle factory?

【ふるさと納税】がいな製麺所のうどんセット　【麺類・うどん】 価格：15,000円（税込、送料無料) (2024/6/13時点) 楽天で購入

Here are the details of the restaurant…