Foodies

We wanted to try a new restaurant and we wanted noodles, so I checked out the Honolulu restaurant guide. I found a little Japanese restaurant called Matsugen that caught my eye. Their object of desire is Soba. And as restaurants in Japan, Matsugen also grinds its own buckwheat flour, meaning fresh noodles made everyday. Matsugen boasts about pairing seemingly simple noodles with Shingo Shibano crafting steaming hot Soba or Mori Soba, noodles served cold with dashi-mirinshoyu sauce, some wasabi and sliced green onions. The menu also offers Udon and Izakaya dishes, from poke to top-grade meat cooked on a hot rock.

When our Japanese buckwheat noodles were served, Pearce beamed, "I am all for this." Yeah, one more thing to add to his foodies list. Pearce also noticed that when eating hot dishes, a wooden spoon was much better than a metal spoon, "no hot lips" he declared.



Our love affair with Japanese buckwheat noodles ended when our bowls where empty, but we were still hungry. Yes, we admit we have a good old American appetite and these noodles just felt more like an appetizer than dinner. I wish Matsugen served sushi, that would have filled in our hunger hole. Until Matsugen does, this probably will be our first and last time dining with them. Nothings worse than leaving a restaurant hungry.