Free samples...

Day 135:

A representative of Mikawaya Seimen stopped by this morning to drop off some new samples of noodles that he thought might go well with our ramen. (Wow it feels so good to say "our" when referring to Bassanova. haha.) The first one I tried was a thicker version of the hirauchi (flat) noodles that we use for the green curry. I chose to try them with the green curry tsukemen hearing that they had more of a chew.


Mmm. You can tell right away that these noodles have more color than the ones we use. The added thickness and chew really complement the tsukemen nicely.


I don't think these noodles would work in the ramen though, but it might be good to start using them in the tsukemen. We'll have to think about it.


For dinner, I took a quick break and met up with a friend at Koya, the Tan Tan Men restaurant located down the street from us right next to Shindaita Station.


The interior was very nice and the tea cups were pretty, but the tan tan men...


...now that was a different story. The smell and flavor of sansho (Japanese pepper) was so strong that I struggled to finish it.


But I was with good company in a relaxing atmosphere and that's all that mattered.


Back at Bassanova, we had an extremely busy night that just didn't seem to ever end. It was great. And even though our team chemistry still hasn't fully developed, we handled the rush in stride.

Also, a shoutout goes out to Patrick who arrived from San Diego and came straight to Bassanova after reading my blog. Much appreciated!