November is the season for new soba noodles, which have the best flavor, aroma, and color of the year.
At the beginning of November, the fourth "HOHO" Smile EVENTS presented by KIGI/FH/MUSUBI (hereinafter referred to as HOHO), an event by KIGI, Aoki Musubi, and FH (=FASHION HEADLINE), held a "Soba Noodle Making Workshop" hosted by Kato Hiroyuki, owner of Shirokane soba restaurant "Sangoan."
"Soba Noodle Making Workshop" at OFS
Customers should bring their own aprons and bandanas
The venue was OUR FAVOURITE SHOP, a select shop in Shirokane run by KIGI. Sangoan, located about a three-minute walk from there, is a renowned soba restaurant that has been awarded one Michelin star and is well-known among gourmets. Twelve guests gathered on this day to discover the secrets of this renowned restaurant's flavor. Each guest brought an apron and a sling.
First, let's take a look at Kato's exceptional technique, which produces exquisite soba noodles that will have you hooked after just one taste. He roughly places buckwheat flour into a large wooden bowl, drips water little by little with one hand, and stirs rhythmically and at a lightning speed with the other. Once the flour has come together enough to form a dough, he kneads it vigorously with both hands. The sight of him kneading the extremely elastic buckwheat flour is as realistic as a martial arts performance, eliciting deep sighs from the guests watching.
From flour to dough in blinding speed
Once the dough has formed into a beautiful circle in the bowl, it's time to roll it out and cut with a knife. The soba noodles that are made in this way are breathtakingly beautiful, with not a single thread out of place, and each strand is uniform.
This thickness of fabric
It's so thin and smooth
And so, the beautiful soba noodles made by Kato are complete.
After watching the demonstration, everyone immediately split into pairs and started making soba noodles together. The process of turning the flour into dough and rolling it out to an even thickness are both extremely difficult tasks when you try it yourself. It was particularly difficult to cut the noodles to the same thickness, and so we ended up with a huge variety of soba noodles on the same cutting board, from as thick as udon noodles to as thin as somen noodles (lol).
While listening to Kato's lecture
Working together
seriously
Once they got the hang of it, the speed at which they moved the knife became rhythmic
Finally, everyone headed to Sangoan. At the restaurant, Kato immediately boiled the freshly made soba noodles in a large pot, and it was time for the long-awaited tasting.
Boiled in a large pot
The soba noodles served on a colander are a lovely sight
The freshly boiled new soba noodles have a beautiful, slightly greenish color. The soba noodles made by everyone, most of whom were making soba for the first time, had a unique texture, but they were firm and chewy, and the more you chewed them, the more delicious the aroma became, with a lingering sweetness. We sipped on Kato's secret noodle broth, sipped on sake, and enjoyed lively conversation as the evening wore on.
The night draws late into delicious, fun meals
HOHO is a project that works with creators who are friendly with us to create "spaces for experiences" and "places where people can empathize," connecting hearts through live experiences, creations, workshops, and more. We will continue to use our ingenuity to come up with new plans, invite creators, and prepare wonderful "methods" that will have you nodding your head in agreement, waiting for you together with the wise owl "HOHO"!
At the beginning of November, the fourth "HOHO" Smile EVENTS presented by KIGI/FH/MUSUBI (hereinafter referred to as HOHO), an event by KIGI, Aoki Musubi, and FH (=FASHION HEADLINE), held a "Soba Noodle Making Workshop" hosted by Kato Hiroyuki, owner of Shirokane soba restaurant "Sangoan."
"Soba Noodle Making Workshop" at OFS
Customers should bring their own aprons and bandanas
The venue was OUR FAVOURITE SHOP, a select shop in Shirokane run by KIGI. Sangoan, located about a three-minute walk from there, is a renowned soba restaurant that has been awarded one Michelin star and is well-known among gourmets. Twelve guests gathered on this day to discover the secrets of this renowned restaurant's flavor. Each guest brought an apron and a sling.
First, let's take a look at Kato's exceptional technique, which produces exquisite soba noodles that will have you hooked after just one taste. He roughly places buckwheat flour into a large wooden bowl, drips water little by little with one hand, and stirs rhythmically and at a lightning speed with the other. Once the flour has come together enough to form a dough, he kneads it vigorously with both hands. The sight of him kneading the extremely elastic buckwheat flour is as realistic as a martial arts performance, eliciting deep sighs from the guests watching.
From flour to dough in blinding speed
Once the dough has formed into a beautiful circle in the bowl, it's time to roll it out and cut with a knife. The soba noodles that are made in this way are breathtakingly beautiful, with not a single thread out of place, and each strand is uniform.
This thickness of fabric
It's so thin and smooth
And so, the beautiful soba noodles made by Kato are complete.
After watching the demonstration, everyone immediately split into pairs and started making soba noodles together. The process of turning the flour into dough and rolling it out to an even thickness are both extremely difficult tasks when you try it yourself. It was particularly difficult to cut the noodles to the same thickness, and so we ended up with a huge variety of soba noodles on the same cutting board, from as thick as udon noodles to as thin as somen noodles (lol).
While listening to Kato's lecture
Working together
seriously
Once they got the hang of it, the speed at which they moved the knife became rhythmic
Finally, everyone headed to Sangoan. At the restaurant, Kato immediately boiled the freshly made soba noodles in a large pot, and it was time for the long-awaited tasting.
Boiled in a large pot
The soba noodles served on a colander are a lovely sight
The freshly boiled new soba noodles have a beautiful, slightly greenish color. The soba noodles made by everyone, most of whom were making soba for the first time, had a unique texture, but they were firm and chewy, and the more you chewed them, the more delicious the aroma became, with a lingering sweetness. We sipped on Kato's secret noodle broth, sipped on sake, and enjoyed lively conversation as the evening wore on.
The night draws late into delicious, fun meals
HOHO is a project that works with creators who are friendly with us to create "spaces for experiences" and "places where people can empathize," connecting hearts through live experiences, creations, workshops, and more. We will continue to use our ingenuity to come up with new plans, invite creators, and prepare wonderful "methods" that will have you nodding your head in agreement, waiting for you together with the wise owl "HOHO"!
