Having worked alongside the Sainte Anne street in Paris for several years, I am starting to know all the Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood. Some are obviously worth seeing more than others, the most authentic, the one where I found the true taste of
Japan, is the Kunitoraya (39 rue Saint Anne), my favorite ramen is from Taishoken (40 Saint Anne), the yakiudon at Hokkaido (14 rue Chabanais) and the okonomiyaki (Japanese omelette) at Aki (11 bis rue Saint Anne).
If you feel lost, here’s a quick summary of Japanese noodles, eaten generally in broth (soy or miso), cold summer with a sauce or even fried in a wok:
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Ramen: imported from China, they are yellow, wavy, made of wheat flour.
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Udon: they are white, thick, and are prepared with wheat flour, mixed with water and salt.
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Soba: they are dark and fairly thin, made of buckwheat flour, sliced by hand (impressive to see, I’ll talk about it soon!).
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somen: they’re very thin and white, made of wheat flour, and usually served cold in summer.
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shirataki: low in calories, thin and transparent, these gelatinous noodles are made with konjac bulb
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harusame: they can be made from potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, or mung bean starch and look like shirataki