A note on the words: gomoku gudakusan ankake yakisoba is pan-fried noodles buried under a thick, starch-bound sauce loaded with abundant ingredients. The sauce, known as an, is a glossy starch-thickened sauce with a gentle soy profile, while katayaki refers to deep-fried crispy noodles — a style the author notes these pan-fried noodles are not, having only occasional charred marks. Yakisoba simply means pan-fried noodles.
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Nangoku Shuka Harajuku on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. I heard on some television program that Nangoku Shuka opened a specialty yakisoba shop at Tokyo Station.
Come to think of it, It occurred to me that I had probably never been to their main shop in Harajuku, so I found some time around midday and decided to check it out.
It seemed like they have plenty of seats, so you might well have no trouble getting in even during peak lunch hours!
A familiar sign, though it was my first time actually going inside.
Once inside, it felt surprisingly different from the impression on the outside — very modern and new.
There is a long escalator, and it seems the seats are down in the basement. It felt really spacious and clean.
Special lunch course — 3,800 yen
Kohaku lunch A/B — 2,500 yen
Nangoku lunch C/D — 1,680 yen
Yakisoba set — 1,850 yen
Since yakisoba was on my mind, that was what I came for!
Naturally, I went with the yakisoba set. The official name seems to be the “gomoku gudakusan ankake yakisoba set,” ha.
After waiting a little while, the yakisoba arrived.
Oh, this looks delicious. Really loaded with toppings. Having “gudakusan” — packed with ingredients — in the name is no exaggeration.
At any rate, chunks of ingredients are piled so generously that you can hardly see the noodles.
Pushing aside the toppings a little reveals the noodles.
Taking a bite, the thick an sauce packed with savory umami is delicious! It is soy-sauce based, yet very mellow and gentle.
The noodles are thin and firm. They have charred spots here and there, but this is definitely not katayaki, the crisp deep-fried style.
The thick an clings well to them and tastes great. I see now — making a specialty yakisoba shop out of this actually might well make sense, ha.
Once I had eaten about half, I splashed plenty of vinegar all over it to tighten up the flavor with a sharp edge, and polished it off in no time.
By the way, I think this was the Nangoku D lunch: domestic pork and seasonal vegetables stir-fried with organic soy sauce.
This looked terribly delicious too. Nangoku Shuka’s lunch sets come with a wide variety of items, which makes them fun to look at and gives a nice sense of value.
So that was my first time at Nangoku Shuka, and compared to the entrance, the interior was spacious and clean,
and the cooking had a gentle seasoning that felt very pleasant. With a space like this, they probably have spacious private rooms as well, and it seems like it would easily work for evening gatherings too.
It felt almost like a waste that I had not visited until now! I definitely want to come back again.
Nangoku Shuka Harajuku (Chinese / Meiji-jingumae Station, Harajuku Station, Omotesando Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
