Mifune
1737 Post St. at Buchanan
(inside Kintetsu Mall in Japantown)
San Francisco, CA 94115
415-922-0337
Other location:
Mifune Don
22 Peace Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94115
415-346-1993
Hours:
Sun. – Thur.: 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.;
Fri. – Sat.: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Prices:
Appetizers: $1 – $10;
noodles: $4.50 – $10.50;
entrees: $5.80 – $10.50
Credit cards accepted.
Food: Good
Ambience:Fair
Service: Fair
After some heavy eats these past two weeks, I decided to treat my stomach to something light and soothing. I thought about giving my stomach a break, and going on a one-week fast, but I had a craving for warm soup.
My stomach led me in the direction of noodle soup. There were many choices from which to choose: Vietnamese pho, Korean ramen, Chinese won ton soup with egg noodles. My friend suggested I go to one of her favorite Japanese noodle houses, Mifune in Japantown.
I didn’t know that Mifune was known for its hot and cold noodle dishes. For some reason, I always thought it just served sushi and bento boxes. But my friend insisted that the udon at Mifune was fresh and the broth was delectable.
Mifune is located inside the Kintetsu Mall in Japantown, and features a maze-like dining room, which seats about 80 people. I felt like a hamster making my way back to our table. Red and black are the primary colors of the restaurant, with watercolor paintings and paper lanterns rounding out the eatery’s décor. The restaurant doesn’t have to-go menus, but you can order takeout on some items.
I was expecting the dining room to be perfumed by the rich broths bubbling away in the kitchen, which is right at the restaurant’s entrance, but all I could make out with my nose was the faint smell of chlorine. I began to wonder if this noodle house was what my friend had made it out to be, but she reassured me that I was in for a treat.
Since I love fresh tofu, we ordered Hiya-yakko ($2.50) as an appetizer. You get eight cubes of raw, firm tofu on a bed of Romaine lettuce leaves sprinkled with bonito flakes and scallions. A slightly more expensive restaurant would serve this cold dish with ponzu sauce, a mixture of soy, citrus and bonito flakes. We settled for a dash of soy sauce on top, and that was good enough. I really liked this appetizer because of its simplicity, freshness and health benefits. It may be bland for some, but give it a try; you might even feel healthier after eating it.
We were trying to decide whether to go for the corn or egg udon, but decided on Tempura Udon ($7.25), which came with two tempura shrimp, tempura broccoli and sweet potato, scallions and udon noodles in a rich, dark brown broth. Udon is a soft, thick noodle made of wheat flour. Our udon was served hot (kitsune udon), but you can order it cold (hiyashi udon), which comes with a dipping sauce that’s a mixture of soy sauce, kelp and dried bonito flakes.
My friend said this dish was like chow mein at Chinese restaurants, but Mifune’s broth made it stand out from other restaurants’. The udon wasn’t too soft or rubbery and the smoky, flavorful broth was one of the best I’ve had. It’s hard not to make a slurping sound when eating udon since it’s thick, slippery and delicious, but in Japanese culture, slurping is actually a polite way to eat noodles.
I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered Yamakake Soba ($7), but my friend told me that this is an authentic Japanese dish that even most Japanese Americans aren’t used to eating. This dish is definitely an acquired taste: soba (buckwheat) served with grated yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam), seaweed and a dipping sauce. Yamaimo is a white tuber with tawny skin and is usually grated or julienned on top of Japanese noodle soups.
What’s unique about this yam is its texture, appearance and taste. The grated, raw yam looked like an egg white omelet, and the consistency was viscous and sticky. The yam and soba aren’t seasoned, and only took on the flavor from the dipping sauce. My friend sat across from me eagerly waiting for my reaction.
To eat this dish, you mix wasabi and chopped leeks or scallions into a soy-based dipping sauce, dip the noodles and yam into the sauce and eat.
Mixed in with the cold and slippery soba noodles, the dish took on a slimy texture in my mouth, which was definitely something I’ve never had before. I put my fingers to my mouth and the first words out of my mouth were, “Wow, that’s different.” I wasn’t eager to finish off my bowl of yamakake, but I’m glad I tried it. It’s probably one of the healthier dishes you can eat because of its uncomplicated taste and nutritious ingredients.
I’m glad that my friend told me that yamakake soba is an authentic Japanese dish because it didn’t have any bells or whistles that usually accompany Americanized Japanese dishes. With this dish, I think customers can see that not all Japanese dishes are bathed in teriyaki sauce or soy sauce.
Go ahead and try the yamakake soba if you’re feeling adventurous, but keep in mind that it will probably be something you’ve never experienced before. My advice: order several other udon soups, just in case you decide that yamakake soba doesn’t quite hit the spot.