Soba noodle artisan Mutsuko Soma will open a new restaurant in Fremont this fall. The restaurant, called Kamonegi, will specialize in handcrafted soba noodles made with Washington’s own soba buckwheat flour and paired with tempura featuring seasonal vegetables.
Soma had worked as chef and co-owner at Miyabi 45th in Wallingford since 2013. Since that restaurant closed, Soma has held various one-night pop-up events. After collaborating with a variety of restaurants, Soma settled on a tantalizing mix of traditional Japanese and innovative Seattle.
The restaurant’s signature dish, kamonanban soba (soba noodles with duck and leeks), is a favorite of Soma’s that she’s committed to getting just right.
The duck skin has a fragrant crunch to it and the meat is a juicy medium rare. While you chew, your mouth fills with the flavors of duck. “When the inocinic acid of the duck and the glutamic acid of the soup mix, the effect on the palate is an explosion of umami,” Soma says. “Duck and soba noodles are just the perfect combination.”
In Japan, kamonanban is known as a winter soba. It’s a great dish to try as the days get shorter and colder.
The menu also includes tempura featuring an array of local vegetables. The conger eel tempura combines the mellow taste of the eel with a crisp coating of tempura. The tempura batter, cooked over high heat, wraps the ingredients inside, enhancing the moisture and umami of every bite. Soma takes care to adjust the temperature and the length of deep-frying to fit each ingredient.
Kamonegi brings to Seattle a restaurant that makes soba noodles and tempura the way it has been done in Japan since the Edo Era. For up-to-date information about Kamonegi’s grand opening, check out the restaurant’s Facebook page at kamonegiseattle.
1054 N 39th Street Seattle | (206) 632-0185 | kamonegiseattle.com
