Shimbashi Soba Tea Time

After reading Victoria Abbott’s Untangling my Chopsticks- A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto, I found myself craving for Japanese desserts.

However trying to get hold of Japanese desserts, which have not been sealed in an air-tight bag and slapped with a god-knows-when expiry date is as easy as making soba from grounded buckwheat. On an island where most Japanese restaurants served mass-produced desserts that can easily be found in supermarkets, teatime dessert specials at Shimbashi Soba seem like the answer to my prayers.

The restaurant layout is sleek and uncomplicated, which told me two things- #1: Shimbashi does not rely on frivolous froufrou restaurant décor to enhance the overall dining experience and #2: Shimbashi would rather ‘let their food do the talking’. Service, characteristic of Japanese service, was gracious and polite.

Although the thing to have here is soba, the dessert variety gives reason to smile. Scanning through the menu, one would find the use of similar ingredients (such as red bean and matcha) differentiated by forms, texture and state at room temperature..

Uguisu Kuzumochi- home made gelatious cake made from kuzu and matcha, served with vanilla ice cream and soy bean powder.

This dessert is nothing short of luscious. Beneath the dusting of peanut powder, the gelatious mouldy-green mass reminded me of a sticker muay chee. The infusion of green tea left a bitter aftertaste, which paired well with the creamy vanilla ice cream.


Soba Abekawa- 3 pairs of soba balls topped with matcha dust, peanut powder and mashed red bean. The tiny moulds of soba balls were made from freshly grounded buckwheat (same ingredient used for making the soba noodles). The toppings were subtly flavoured, thereby allowing the soba balls’ natural wheaty scent to shine through effortlessly.


Anmitsu- soba balls, red bean, jelly cubes, fruits, served with brown sugar syrup. This is great for those who are looking to try something different, but do not consider "adventurous" to be a personal trait. The Anmitsu plays up the different flavour and texture of each ingredient to produce a possible crowd favourite. There is another version where vanilla ice cream is served as well- now wouldn’t that be just heavenly?

(l-r) baked egg omelette, grilled mackeral, prawn tempura, salmon sashimi, served with a bowl of buckwheat soba.

I was feeling dead hungry and it didn't help that the desserts aroused my taste buds and whetted my appetite.. so i had a lunch set. With my preferred japanese items neatly tucked into a bento box, this was perfect for me. A steamy bowl of hand made buckwheat soba did the trick of pacifying my growling tummy.

Shimbashi Soba's efforts in creating tasty healthy food, while maintaining a distinct fuss free presentation, is applaudable. Though the menu consists of items found in other Japanese restaurants, it is the stamp of quality assurance that sets Shimbashi Soba apart from the rest. Ultimately, it the novelty of a clean and unprocessed feel that converts first-timers into repeat customers.

This article is featured in Wine Dine & Unwind