Sanuki Udon Ittetsu

Osaka Sayama City is located in the southern part of Osaka Prefecture. How many people know that there is a famous Sanuki Udon restaurant in this bedroom town, which is small in size and has no notable tourist attractions within Osaka Prefecture?

Sanuki Udon Ittetsu｜A talented restaurant that won first place in the Kansai Udon Grand Prix

It has been eight years since Sanuki Udon Ittetsu moved from Tondabayashi and Kishi Ekimae next door in 2011, and it can be said that the restaurant has already firmly established its roots in Osaka Sayama City. However, for customers coming from outside the city, the store is located in a very difficult place to get to.

The closest station to the restaurant is Kongo Station on the Nankai Koya Line, but it takes a lot of time and energy to walk there. If it is hot in the summer, by the time you arrive at the store, your shirt will be dripping with sweat.

So why go that far to go to “Sanuki Udon Ittetsu”? The question comes to mind, but I assure you, it is worth it. If you like Sanuki udon, it is worth a visit. After all, this restaurant is so good that it won first place in the Kansai Udon Grand Prix – Hiyakake version – held in 2016. If you want to try authentic Sanuki udon in the Kansai area, this is one restaurant you should not miss.

The interior of the restaurant is stylishly decorated in a way that one would not expect from an udon restaurant at first glance, with an island-type counter in the center of the restaurant seating a little more than 10 people. There are only a few table seats, but there is a small tatami room in the back, so the restaurant can accommodate a large number of people with their families.

The seasonal “Awaji Chicken Toriten Bukkake Udon”: If you want to enjoy the rich and elegant Toriten Udon, be sure to come early…

Sanuki Udon Ittetsu’s menu is also known to change significantly from season to season. Even if you find yourself looking at a food log or Gurunavi and thinking, “I want to try this! but when you actually visit the restaurant, you may be disappointed to find that it has been replaced by a different menu item….

This “Awaji Chicken Toriten Bukkake Udon (cold)” is probably one such seasonal menu item. The next time you visit the restaurant, you may not be able to order the Toriten Udon, which is made with Awaji Chicken Meat pulled in the morning.

The noodles are very hearty (the picture shows two large servings) and served in an amber-colored bukkake shoyu broth. The toriten is a small piece of chicken meat, freshly fried and served on a separate tray.

First, pour the broth directly over the noodles and lift the noodles, which feel chunky and heavy, to your mouth. When you bite into the noodle, it has an elasticity that resists and pushes back against your teeth. The noodles are so firm that it takes two bites to bite through them. Such elasticity is probably hard to experience at other restaurants.

The broth is a light soy sauce broth with a slightly sweet taste. It has an elegance that gently supports the presence of the udon without being overbearing. If you add a squeeze of lemon juice to the broth, it adds a refreshing flavor, making it the perfect cold udon to enjoy during the hot summer season.

And toriten made with Awaji chicken pulled in the morning. The thick meat of the chicken breast and the thin, crispy batter give this toriten a luxurious feel that you will not find at ordinary Sanuki udon restaurants. The meat is not juicy, but you can enjoy the delicious flavor of the Awaji chicken meat. You can eat it dipped in udon broth, or enjoy it purely as toriten with green tea salt or curry salt…

Chilled hot egg bukkake: The firmness of the udon is still there, and the thick bonito broth mixed with grated daikon and egg gives it a sweet taste.

Of course, the year-round menu is also consistently popular. You can order all the standard Sanuki udon dishes, from kake udon and zaru udon to bukkake and kamaage udon.

Examples of Sanuki Udon Ittetsu’s hot udon menu

• Kake udon 580 yen
• Wakame (wakame seaweed) 600 yen
• Kitsune 650 yen
• Curry 830 yen
• Meat 880 yen
• Toriten (chicken tempura) 880 yen
• Kamatama (fish ball) 600 yen

Examples of Sanuki Udon Ittetsu’s cold udon menu

• Zaru 550 yen
• Bukkake 600 yen
• Shoyu 600 yen
• Toriten bukkake 880 yen
• Shrimp tempura bukkake 950 yen

Now, let me introduce one more item from the year-round menu. This is cold hot egg bukkake (priced at 650 yen)…

First of all, the udon noodles have a stable firmness. Like the noodles at the famous Yamamoto Menzou restaurant in Kyoto, once you try to bite through the noodles, they are pushed back by the udon’s elasticity. The noodles have a strong presence and leave you with a solid sense of satisfaction after you finish eating them.

The udon broth with a strong bonito broth is the perfect counterpoint to the noodles. The broth is quite salty and sharp when you eat it as it is, but when you pour it over the bowl, it changes to a sweet and mild flavor mixed with the hot egg and grated daikon. The natural sweetness was so pleasant that I couldn’t stop eating and finished the bowl in one go.

They also sell noodles to take home! To get to Sanuki Udon Ittetsu, a 7-minute walk from Kamenokou Station on the Nankai Bus.

Now, here are the details of the store.

If you want to enjoy Ittetsu’s noodles at home, fresh or frozen noodles are available on the take-out menu.

P.S. If you are looking for delicious udon noodles in Osaka, please stop by here…