This seems like something my good FOY Dennis would do. But with the recent warmer weather, I noticed that I'd been eating this quite a bit recently. Hiyashi Chuka literally means "cold chinese noodles", and looking at it, I can see a slight resemblance to liang mian, Chinese cold noodles. Of course, like just about everything else assimilated into Japanese food culture(i.e. Tonkatsu, Yakiniku, Curry) there are some major twists and turns that makes the dish uniquely Japanese. In some versions, there's the almost western addition of sliced ham. The broth is usually thinner and lighter than Chinese cold noodles. What is has in common with liang mian is the "aaahh" factor on a hot day; the pause that refreshes. I recently tried three different versions, all seasonal, and my favorite was almost unanimous, it was the version from....
Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:
Which was also the most expensive at $9.50.
With regards to portion size, this was the largest. A nice portion of chopped ham didn't hurt, though the chashu was really waxy and greasy in texture. The noodles had a nice chew, but it was the sauce that made it my favorite. This one had personality, an "umph", tangy and slightly sweet.
Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Was my second favorite, basically because I really enjoy the firm, al dente noodles. The portion size was ok for the price of $8.50 (the sign say $9.23, but that's with tax included).
Another plate holds the rather sparse "toppings", as if the folks at Santouka know that placed on top of the noodles it would look rather minuscule. There were two slices of the fatty and rich toroniku, the braised pork cheek on top of the noodles....which looked a bit out of place since everything else was on another plate. In his post, Dennis calls this a tease. The pork was served slightly warm, which was quite nice.... but like Dennis said, this was pretty much there for the "drool effect". The sauce had a strange artificial aspect to it....frankly, I expected more.
Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111
Izakaya Sakura:
I thought Izakaya Sakura's version was pretty mediocre. Priced at $8.50, this was the smallest in terms of portion, though the chashu was surprisingly much better then Yakyudori. It was also served at room temp which helped.
The noodles were mushy, which pretty much made this a non-starter for me. The shiro was very bland, I even added a bit of shoyu, and it still wasn't very good. I did enjoy the corn which added some much needed sweetness to the whole thing. Much like my experience with the ramen, this one fell short. To me, this is not what Sakura does best.....
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111
Hi Kirk, I like the hiyachu's in that order too. I need to go find some Liang Mian to try now!
Posted by: Dennis | Sunday, 26 June 2011 at 11:09 PM
I've never took a liking to hiyashi chuka. Don't know why...
Posted by: Nate | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 01:08 AM
Hi Dennis - You can check out Ba Ren's Sichuan Liang Mian, it's my favorite.
Hi Nate - I enjoy Zaru Soba much more than Hiyashi Chuka.... but enjoy Chinese cold noodles even more.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 06:47 AM
MMM! I enjoyed the Yakyudori version of hiyashi last year. The tomatoes were a surprise (and whole, on my plate) and added to the other flavors. I think I know what I want for lunch...
Posted by: Cathy | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 07:41 AM
Hi Kirk, I agree the version at yakyudori is my favorite as well, although way too big a serving for something that doesn't save well =) hmmm...maybe I should make hiyashi chuka ramen for dinner tonight. yum!
Posted by: Lynnea | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 09:19 AM
I've only had the version from Sakura. The Yakyudori hayashi looks great.
Posted by: ed (from Yuma) | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 09:43 AM
love hiyashi chuuka, too bad that last version was mushy.
Posted by: kat | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 10:30 AM
Cool, thanks for the review! I was just at Yakyudori a week ago and saw this dish posted as a special. I commented to my wife that she should try this since she likes cold noodle dishes. We'll give it a try next time.
Posted by: Jason | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 03:55 PM
KoonThai is now open. Ms.PedMa has been 3 times now, pretty authentic. Had moo ping, boat noodle, fish ball noodle, sukiyaki, they have some good stuff on the menu. Ask for Pom and say Cookie sent you!
Don't know if you got the 1st one so I reposted. They also have sen mee, sen yai, and sen lek noodle sizes.
Posted by: PedMa | Monday, 27 June 2011 at 10:43 PM
Hi Cathy - It was the best of the three I tried!
I hope you did Lynnea!
Hi Ed - Much like their ramen, the Hiyashi from Sakura fell short.
Hi Kat - Yes, it was kinda sad since Sakura is one of my favorite restaurants.
Hi Jason - I still prefer Liang Mian, but the HC is refreshing on a hot day.
Hi PedMa - Yes, I saw your previous ocmment.... a post is upcoming!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 28 June 2011 at 06:55 AM
I guess Mrs. Z and I will be visiting Yakudori for hiyashi chuka next month! I enjoy the hiyashi from Chopstix. I've tried it from Tajima and it had a strange metallic flavor to it.
Posted by: Fred | Tuesday, 28 June 2011 at 06:09 PM
Ka poon krab....hope you got Pom and tell her Ped Ped ma, na krab!
Glad to see you are doing well, Missus and I back from french polynesia and need some spice!
Also, for what it is worth, Lanna Thai has the best Sarong Hai so far, nice medium rare grill (asked how you like, plus tell them Miss Cookie sent you aka Ms. PedMa, hahaha)
Ciao! Hope to see you soon!
PM
Posted by: PedMa | Tuesday, 28 June 2011 at 11:52 PM
Hi Fred - A lot of stuff from Tajima has that artifical metallic "twang" to it. It makes me wonder.....
Hi PedMa - You've got me craving some crying tiger....
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 30 June 2011 at 06:49 AM
summer has finally made an appearance up here and hiyashi noodles sound so good. It's one of those dishes I forget about and hot ramen is the last thing on my mind in hot weather... a welcome reminder about the cold noodle genre in general!
Posted by: foodhoe | Saturday, 02 July 2011 at 07:32 AM
Hi FH - Hiyashi Chuka kinda slips my mind too until I see it on a menu!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 03 July 2011 at 07:09 PM
I woke up today and just knew it was a hiyashi chuka kinda day...so I thought "WHO would know where to find the best one??"
Yakyudori must've read this review because the chashu was just slightly warmed up. Just what I was craving!
Posted by: Jenne | Sunday, 08 July 2012 at 11:00 PM
Hi Jenne - Man, with the impending hot weather headed our way....I guess I'll be looking for hiyashi chuka as well!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 09 July 2012 at 06:17 AM