Soba Rikugou is probably a spot youve never heard of, nor do I expect you to.
Its a fine dining restaurant located in the middle of the Kunisaki peninsula in Oita. Dont ask me how I found it, I have no clue.
The restaurant is run by a lovely couple that comes from the area and focusses on providing a fine dining experience showcasing local produce with a specialty in soba.
Overall the meal was an amazing experience. I had booked a lunch through their instagram for 10 500 yen and arrived right on time. The restaurant is a very old manor house with a minimalist interior. The second I walked in I felt super welcome as the lady of the house greeted me and showed me to the table in front of the chef where my chopsticks were put ready.
Turns out they opened just for me.
As for the food: there were 6 courses but I forgot to take a picture of the barrelfish sashimi.
Id say the best were the barrelfish, Kunisaki beef, crab and bottarga soba. Ive thought a lot about how to rank the dishes 1-6 but cant decide. All of them were very simple yet oh so tasty.
The restaurant is specialised in soba and makes 100% buckwheat soba with only buckwheat flour and water. It is incredibly difficult to do but provided a super nutty, fresh flavour. The chef told me he refuses to make it when not in his restaurant due to the differences in water. As you can see on the picture he explained that his soba uses way more water than usual soba and therefore tasted super fresh, like soba right out of a mineral spring.
I talked a lot with the owners (through google translate and broken bits of japanese) and you could see the care, love and passion in both of them. It felt like coming home in a fine dining session and was really sad to leave as they waved me goodbye.
I learned that I have to start putting some koji in my soy sauce and fell in love with porride for the first time.
Overall a 9,5/10 experience with the only downside being that the soy crab and turtle werent really my thing. They were still very tasty nonetheless.
If you make it to Kunisaki ( and you should) be sure to visit them. It might not be for your average American or European due to the unique flavours and ingredients but if youre someone looking for a new exciting experience, this is your place.
Btw this is the first of 7 reviews, 6 more will come during the next weeks.
If you have any questions, just drop them in the comments
by Normal-Metal3664
2 Comments
I’m curious about that soba porridge. What was that like?
Wow. Wonky. Looks very fun and special. And a hell of a deal price-wise. Thanks for sharing.