Home-made Udon Sanshiki

While there are many so-called “famous” udon restaurants in Kyoto City, I noticed that there are not so many restaurants specializing in Sanuki udon. So I started looking for a place in Kyoto that serves Sanuki Udon on the Internet, and one of the places I found was Home-made Udon Sanshiki, which I would like to introduce here. It is located near Kiyomizu Gojo Station on the Keihan Line and has been selected as a Michelin Bib Gourmand. I went to the restaurant to see how good the Sanuki Udon noodles were…

Cozy but rustic, with an atmosphere open to all… Home-made Udon Sanshiki is a restaurant like this…

Home-made Udon Sanshiki is a Sanuki Udon specialty restaurant located eastward on National Route 1 from Gojo Ohashi Bridge. The owner is from Kagawa Prefecture and established the restaurant in March 2014 after training at the popular Udon Baka Ichidai in Kagawa. In 2019, five years after opening the restaurant, it received a Michelin Bib Gourmand award, and its name recognition has skyrocketed. In Kyoto, where udon with no firmness, known as “Koshinuke,” is the preferred udon, the restaurant continues to offer a different udon option.

I visited the restaurant around 2 p.m. one day, a little late for lunch. There were a few empty seats in the restaurant, and I entered without waiting. The restaurant is small and cozy, with only 18 seats at tables. The restaurant is simple and rustic, and has the atmosphere of a set meal restaurant in town where anyone can feel free to come in…

The chikuwa-ten is just huge… What was it like to try Home-made Udon Sanshiki’s top menu item, Chikutama-ten and Kashiwa-ten Bukkake?

Let me introduce to you one of the top menu items I ordered that day at Home-made Udon Sanshiki, Chikutama-ten and Kashiwa-ten Bukkake (cold, priced at 1,200 yen including tax). After about 10 minutes of waiting after ordering, the udon noodles were brought in front of me…

When I saw the chikuwa tempura sticking out of the bowl, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s huge!” In addition to this huge chikuwa-ten, there was one boiled egg tempura and three kashiwa-ten… there was no question about the volume of the ingredients.

Now, let’s pull out the noodles hiding under these ingredients and slurp them up… The noodles are much thinner than I had imagined, about 3/4 the thickness of a typical Sanuki Udon noodle. The thinness of the noodles makes it very easy to slurp. And when you bite into it, it has a soft elasticity like a gummy candy rather than a strong firmness, and it gives a kind of gentleness that is not found in Sanuki udon noodles from other restaurants, which are often made with stiff noodles. I have the impression that this area is a little more suited to Kyoto people’s tastes….

On the other hand, the broth that goes with these noodles is also modest in terms of the aroma of soy sauce, saltiness, and iriko dashi (dried sardines). This may have been made to suit people in Kyoto, but those who love Sanuki udon may feel that it lacks impact. However, the advantage of this is that the taste of the noodle stands out and the wheatiness of the noodle can be felt more strongly. In the end, it is a matter of taste, isn’t it?

Now, let’s turn our attention to the toppings. What I liked the most this time was not the huge chikuwa tempura, but this egg tempura. When you first pick it up with chopsticks, it feels so soft and fluffy. The yolk inside is of course thick and semi-cooked. If you throw the whole thing into the mouth, it will feel like the yolk is melting in the mouth and flowing onto the tongue.

こんな感じの自家製麺 うどん 讃式のちく玉天とかしわ天ぶっかけ、一言で言えば「京都のうどんと讃岐うどんのあいのこ」って感じでしょうか。ちく玉天ぶっかけも、オリジナルは大阪の釜たけうどんですしね…本場さながらの讃岐うどんを期待している人にとっては少し合わないように思いますが、うどんのクオリティーは高いです。讃岐うどんとしては麺が細めで柔らかく、味も強くないので、体調がすぐれない時でもスイスイ食べられそうです。また、子供でも食べられそうな気がするので、家族で清水寺や高台寺に遊びに行く時のランチスポットとして候補に入れておくといいかもしれません。

The Home-made Udon Sanshiki‘s Chiku-tama-ten and Kashiwa-ten Bukkake, can be summed up in one word: “a combination of Kyoto udon and Sanuki udon”. The original Chikutama-ten Bukkake is also Osaka’s Kamatake Udon… For those expecting authentic Sanuki udon, it may not be the right choice, but the quality of the udon is high. The noodles are thin and soft for Sanuki udon, and the flavor is not strong, so you can easily eat it even when you are not feeling well. Also, I think even children can eat it, so it might be a good candidate as a lunch spot when you visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple or Kodai-ji Temple with your family.

Examples of other menu items of Home-made Udon Sanshiki (prices include tax)

• Shrimp tempura and Kashiwa tempura Bukkake 1,200 yen
• Shrimp tempura zaru udon 1000 yen
• Meat Curry 1000 yen
• Kizamiage Curry 1000 yen
• Ume Tororo Bukkake 900 yen
• Kitsune Udon 800 yen
• Kake udon: 700 yen

Note: Medium portion of noodles is available for +100 yen, large portion is available for +200 yen.

It is a popular restaurant, so be prepared to wait in line… Home-made Udon Sanshiki is a 3-minute walk from the nearest station, Kiyomizu Gojo Station on the Keihan Electric Railway line.

I was very lucky to be able to enter the restaurant, Homemade Udon Sanshiki, without waiting in line, but it is known among Kyoto’s udon lovers as a restaurant where there is a long queue. 

Therefore, there can be quite a long wait, and the worst that can happen is that they run out of udon and the restaurant closes. If you want to be sure of having udon here, I recommend that you visit early in the day.Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious Japanese noodles in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…