吉祥吉さんちか麺ロード店

I stayed in Kobe an extra day and decided to venture back to Noodle Road before taking the bullet train back to Tokyo. One other shop caught my eye. Kicchokichi is a collection of Kobe beef restaurants of varying degrees. One is a simple burger shop. Another serves high-end French. Their Noodle Road appearance uses techniques from the French branch to make a beef bouillon. Worth a try?

Sure, why not. There are actually 2 menu options; shoyu and shio.

The shoyu has, well, a pretty bowl.

And the shio. A fantastic bowl, though I suspect it could be recreated with any kind of beef. When cow bones are rendered into a broth, is the quality of the cow that important?

I’m not ranting, this was actually an enjoyable lunch. The vegetables, yellow and red bell peppers, were fruity and aromatic. Nine of the 10 counter seats were occupied by ladies.

This was a first, anchovy paste as a condiment. I think it would only work in this bowl. An work it did.

So to sum up Kobe: wander around the China town, grab a cheap bowl if that’s your thing, splurge on a real steak, and if you absolutely need ramen, check out Kicchokichi in the Noodle Road.