Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
      Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
    • Wakaran Hong Kong
      Wakaran Wan Chai
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    Home » World Travel » Japan » Tokyo

    Matsugen

    Published: Nov 15, 2013 · Modified: Oct 28, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    Matusgen1
    This is the second post in the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

    It's funny how soba hasn't really caught on here in the U.S., (unlike the insane ramen craze going on right now), even though it's a huge deal in Japan.

    The Japanese love their noodles.

    They have dedicated noodles houses that specialize in just one type of noodle. Of course there are the ramen shops (the Japanese are obsessed about ramen too!), but there are also specialty udon restaurants, soba places, and even yakisoba houses.

    I was surprised at the relatively large number of soba restaurants with Michelin stars (Tokyo alone has eight such restaurants), and the paucity (or shall I say absence) of Michelin starred ramen or udon restaurants (yep, not a single one). Even though in America we view all of these Japanese noodles as reasonably casual, clearly it's not that way in Japan - at least when it comes to the art of really good soba.
    _DSC3636
    We decided to seek out Matsugen for a number of reasons.

    First of all, it was close to our hotel in Ebisu. We knew we would be arriving at around 7PM after a long 14-hour flight from the U.S. We figured we would be tired, jet-lagged, and likely wouldn't want to travel far for food (or spend a long time eating it).

    Second, this restaurant became famous when Jean George Vongerichten, the three-Michelin star French chef with numerous restaurants around the world, declared Matsugen as his favorite soba restaurant in the world.
    _DSC3633
    "These fresh noodles are the best I've ever had" he proclaimed.

    He was so impressed after trying it in Japan, he somehow managed to convince the owners, the Matsushita brothers, to open one in New York.

    Sadly, the soba craze never completely caught on in New York, and the newly opened Matsugen closed in March of 2011 after being open for only three years. The brothers moved back to Tokyo, where they continue to run their other restaurants in Japan.

    Without good soba anywhere near me (yep, Boston does not have a single soba restaurant), I was insanely curious about this highly revered place that first peaked Jean George's interest.
    _DSC3622
    Matsugen in Tokyo is very foreigner friendly. They have menus written in English and the staff try hard to work with you. Furthermore, the brothers speak excellent English, probably due to the fact that they spent close to three years in New York.

    I absolutely loved our first appetizer, Kumiage Yuba, a creamy, soft tofu skin that reminded me of luscious buratta, but with a rich, sweet soy flavor. This delectable, smooth custard was served with freshly grated wasabi and soy milk. It was fantastic.
    _DSC3624
    We had originally ordered grilled fava beans.

    The server came back, profusely apologized, and told us that they were out of fava beans.

    "Is edamame OK?"

    Inside, I groaned a bit. Edamame is so boring. We can get that anywhere in the U.S. - even at your local supermarket in the frozen section.

    However, I agreed, not knowing what else to do.

    Can I tell you how utterly surprised and pleasantly blown away I was by how good this dish was? Wow. Grilled edamame is nothing like the boiled variety. It's got this char-grilled smokiness that is incredibly good and hopelessly addictive. Add just a dash of salt and you have the perfect pre-dinner snack. I could not get enough of it.
    MatsugenSobaDumpling
    For fun we ordered Soba Daki, which they translated to soba "gnocchi." It was essentially a dumpling made out of ground soba flour that was boiled and served in the water in which it was boiled. It was surprisingly light and not really seasoned at all.

    I think the point was to enjoy the subtle flavors of the soba. No one at the table really loved it, seeing it instead as this dense, slightly gummy, heavy blob of not-so-flavorful carbohydrates that would make us too full for the rest of our meal.
    _DSC3627
    My friend ordered a tempura hot soba noodle soup, which came with the crispy fried tempura on the side. This is a nice touch, as it preserves the crispiness of the tempura and allows you to add it at your own pace throughout the meal.
    _DSC3628
    All of their soba flour is ground at the restaurant and the soba is freshly made each day. Soba tends to get soft quickly, so it's important to eat it fast if you're having the soup version. We definitely noticed a difference in texture, and preferred the cold noodles because they stayed nice and al dente throughout the entire meal.
    _DSC3630
    I ordered the houe special, called Matsugen Soba, which included a variety of vegetables, nori, bonito flakes, fresh wasabi, scallions, and Japanese ginger, all topped with a perfectly cooked quail egg. It was refreshingly, healthy, and quite flavorful. The texture of the cold noodles was excellent - nice and chewy.
    _DSC3632
    Bryan ordered his favorite - Uni Soba. The uni was fresh and sweet - none of that "stink" that you get with uni in the U.S. Overall the dish was very good, though Bryan still longed for the super thick cut soba that we had enjoyed at another excellent soba restaurant in Ebisu.
    _DSC3635
    On a whim, right at the end of the meal (after still feeling like he was missing out on really good soba texture), Bryan asked about ordering thicker soba. The server recommended their Inaka Soba, which is soba made from flour that has been ground up with the husks. The resulting noodle has little specs of husk throughout as well as a deeper, earthier flavor.

    I loved it.

    I am so glad that Bryan decided to order it. It turned out to be my favorite dish of the entire evening (well, maybe it's a tie between that, the edamame, and the tofu). This special type of soba had superior texture to all the other sobas that we had eaten earlier. Why hadn't we just ordered this one instead?

    This soba is meant to be enjoyed on its own. You just eat it with a simple soy-based soba dipping sauce.

    Honestly, I think that's the best way to go.
    _DSC3620
    I loved this restaurant. It was small, cozy, and felt really authentically Japanese yet was foreigner friendly at the same time. The food is excellent. I would totally go back, order a few appetizers, and just get that simple inaka soba.

    We chatted a bit with one of the brothers on our way out. When he found out we were from Boston, he said, "oh yes, Boston. I lived in New York for a couple years. We had a restaurant there."

    Although I'm sad that Matsugen is now gone from New York, I'm happy that the brothers were able to return to their home country, which is where they really wanted to be. I think there's still one open in Hawaii, so if you really want to stay in America but still experience their soba, you can try the Honolulu one.

    Of course, I'd much rather just go to Japan.

    Hiroo 1-3-1, Hagiwara Bldg. 1F.
    [on the left side of Meiji-dori going towards Hiroo]
    Open 11:30am-3, 5pm-midnight daily.

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Japan

    • Sushi Suzuki Tokyo
      Sushi Suzuki Tokyo
    • Shinjuku Hoshi no naru Ki Tokyo
      Shinjuku Hoshi No Naru Ki - Kaiseki
    • Maisen Tokyo
      Maisen Tonkatsu Tokyo - 2024
    • Tawamarai Soba Restaurant Tokyo
      Tawamarai Soba Restaurant in Tokyo

    Recent Posts

    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong June 17, 2025
    • Wakaran Wan Chai June 15, 2025
    • Godenya Hong Kong (revisited) June 12, 2025
    • The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star) June 6, 2025
    • Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai June 2, 2025
    • Always Joy Hong Kong May 29, 2025
    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    • Ciccio Yountville May 11, 2025

    Trackbacks

    1. Matsugen Soba - Ebisu, Tokyo - FOODIE STORY says:
      October 8, 2015 at 10:51 pm

      […] as always I did some google searching and found Jen’s blog called Tiny Urban Kitchen. I really loved her Tokyo posts as it gives a very detail description of the food there, also her […]

      Log in to Reply
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco
    • Bodega SF California (Vietnamese)
      Bodega SF (Modern Vietnamese)

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen