In Shenmue, Dobuita's many restaurants have been crafted in realistic detail, offering a variety of different cuisine and dishes, even if they are not critical to the game's story. We have previously examined the many dishes available at
Manpukuken Ramen, and this time will be visiting Yamaji Soba Noodles.
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| Yamaji Soba Noodles exterior |
With its calm, traditional interior, Yamaji Soba Noodles provides the perfect place for workers in the district to stop in for a quick lunch or a meal before heading home.
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| Restaurant interior |
What particular dishes do they serve here? Let's check out what's on offer.
Opening Hours
Yamaji Soba Noodles is open daily from the late morning at 11 am to cater for the lunchtime workers, and closes at 9 pm. The perfect place to catch a tasty evening meal if working late.
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| Yamaji opening hours |
About Soba Noodles
Before we dig into the selection of dishes available at the restaurant, what are soba noodles?
Soba are thin Japanese noodles made chiefly from buckwheat flour, sometimes blended with a bit of wheat flour to help bind them. They have a characteristic nutty, slightly earthy flavor and a firm, chewy texture. Eating soba on New Year's Eve is a long-standing Japanese custom, symbolizing longevity and letting go of the past year's hardships.
They can be served in a number of different ways including:
- Zaru Soba: chilled on a bamboo tray, dipped into a light soy-dashi sauce.
- Kake Soba: served hot in a simple broth.
- With various toppings: Tempura Soba (with crispy shrimp or vegetable tempura), Kitsune Soba (with sweetened fried tofu), Tororo Soba (with grated mountain yam).
Yamaji restaurant encourages customers to learn more about soba noodles, thanks to this convenient poster on the far wall entitled "Soba Trivia", which boasts its nutritional benefits.
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| Promotional soba poster |
"The Nutrition of Soba
Soba is rich in protein, B-group vitamins, and minerals, and contains a high amount of rutin - which is very effective at preventing the aging of blood vessels - making it a delicious, nourishing food".
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| Buckwheat flowers. Despite its name, buckwheat is not closely related to wheat. Buckwheat is not a cereal, nor is it a member of the grass family. |
Yamaji Soba Noodles Staff
The owner and soba chef, Susumu Aketagawa, works industriously all day, placing a rectangle of dough on the counter and using a long rolling pin to roll out the dough, ready for slicing up into noodles.
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| Susumu Aketagawa preparing fresh soba noodles |
Although he tends to sneak a quick puff of tobacco from time to time as a brief break, turning away from the customers isn’t quite enough to hide it completely, Aketagawa-san!
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| A sneaky break |
The restaurant's delivery person, Kiyoshi Yamanaka, can also be seen riding his delivery bicycle around Dobuita while carefully balancing a stack of soba trays with one hand in the traditional way.
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| Yamanaka delivers soba by bicycle. In more recent times, delivery motorbikes are often fitted with a contraption at the back that automatically keeps food delivery trays upright. |
Yamaji Soba Noodles Interior
A small interior detail inside the restaurant is this decorative illustrated plate.
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| Illustrated plate of Matsumoto Castle |
This is an image of Matsumoto Castle, nicknamed the "Crow Castle" for its black-and-white keep. It stands in the Shinshu region of Nagano, which is renowned for producing some of Japan's finest buckwheat and soba thanks to its pure mountain spring water.
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| Matsumoto Castle |
Dishes
So, what exactly can you order here? Let’s take a look at the menu, which is displayed prominently on the wall above the table seating.
Soba Dishes
Kake-soba (hot in dashi broth) - ¥350
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| Kake-soba |
Mori-soba (chilled, plain) - ¥350
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| Mori-soba |
Zaru-soba (chilled with nori) - ¥500
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| Zaru-soba |
Tsukimi-soba (with raw egg) - ¥550
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| Tsukimi-soba |
Kitsune-soba (with sweet fried tofu) - ¥600
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| Kitsune-soba |
Tanuki-soba (with tempura batter) - ¥600
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| Tanuki-soba |
Wakame-soba (with seaweed) - ¥600
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| Wakame-soba |
Tempura-soba (with tempura) - ¥800
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| Tempura-soba |
Tenzaru-soba (cold zaru-soba with tempura) - ¥900
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| Tenzaru-soba |
Sansai-soba (with mountain vegetables) - ¥680
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| Sansai-soba |
Tororo-soba (with grated yam) - ¥800
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| Tororo-soba |
Nori-soba (with shredded seaweed) - ¥550
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| Nori-soba |
Although advertising itself as a soba restaurant, Yamaji also offers a selection of udon noodle dishes. Udon noodles are thicker noodles made from wheat flour.
Udon Dishes
Tsukimi-udon (with raw egg) - ¥600
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| Tsukimi-udon |
Kitsune-udon (with sweet fried tofu) - ¥600
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| Kitsune-udon |
Tanuki-udon (with tempura batter) - ¥600
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| Tanuki-udon |
Tempura-udon - ¥800
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| Tempura-udon |
Curry-udon - ¥800
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| Curry-udon |
Chef’s Recommendation - ¥1,000
But wait, these are not the only dishes available! A small menu card lists a range of snacks that are typically found in Japanese drinking establishments or bars.
The offerings on this menu card include:
Assorted tempura
Grilled pork with dipping sauce
Japanese-style fried chicken
Stewed pork
Grilled eggplant
Chilled tofu with toppings
Cucumber with miso
Assorted pickles
Final Comment
Although Yamaji Soba Noodles is not a key location in the story - or even one that needs to be entered in order to complete the game - it has been designed and implemented authentically and in great detail. Its menu is surprisingly extensive and reasonably-priced. Which would be your choice of dish if you were to eat a meal here?
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| A customer enjoys a lunchtime meal of what appears to be zaru-soba (500 yen). It seems he has resisted ordering a beer to go with it. |
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