A QUEST TO FIND THE BEST UDON IN PORTLAND, OREGON

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Ichidai Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar

5714 SE Powell Blvd

The restaurant is easily overlooked when driving down Powell, but has a nice atmosphere, and there were an encouraging number of people speaking Japanese when I was there.

Noodles:  Chewy and well-formed, but a little thinner than usual, so they were slightly translucent.

Chicken:  Much better than usual.  White meat that didn't taste like it had been cooking forever.  I'm not sure if it usually comes with chicken, because I didn't look at the menu before ordering.

Broth:  Dark, rich, and slightly sweet.  It reminded me a little of the broth that you get from Soup a l'onion.

Extras:  Green onions and sliced white onions (which probably is why it tasted like French onion soup).

Sides:  Cucumber sushi.

Price:  $9.75.  I ordered "udon with chicken" over the phone.  The udon on the menu appears to cost the same.

Conclusion:  The noodles weren't quite how I like them, but it was fresh and clearly of high quality ingredients.  It was also a little more expensive than usual--about the same price as Mio Sushi--but unlike Mio it came with cucumber sushi on the side.  There were two types of udon on the menu, one of which looked like it had more things in it, so next time I think I'll try that.  Recommended.

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