Cha-soba is one of the many varieties of the so-called kawari-soba, buckwheat noodles coloured with a number of ingredients. Kawari-soba is thought to have originated in the mid-Edo period and is in fact mentioned in the 1750 cookery book Ryōri Sankai Kyō, “Delicacies from the Mountains and Seas”, along with a string of enriched sorts of buckwheat noodles, including ran-kiri (with yolk) and ebi-kiri (with prawns). Cha-soba is obtained by adding matcha and a pinch of salt to the buckwheat flour. It is very popular for its fragrance as well as its beautiful jade colour.
Here is where you can enjoy or the most delicious cha-soba in Tokyo and Kyoto or have it delivered to your address.
Cha-soba Inagaki (Matsubara, Setagaya ward, Tokyo)
This shop, which stands quietly in a quiet residential area, is a soba restaurant that specialises in cha-soba, but also offers an array of rice-bowl dishes and snacks. The most popular dishes are mori and zaru, fragrant, bright green thin-pulled noodles. These noodles are made with koicha, rich-flavoured matcha, whipped into smooth and soft paste. Recommended toppings are crispy prawn and vegetable tempura.
http://chasoba-inagaki.com
Kawara Tokyo (Kayabachō, Tokyo)
Kawara-soba is a speciality of Yamaguchi prefecture, hailing from Shimonoseki, which is in turn renowned fugu pufferfish. Its name indicates the fashion this dish is served in, that is on a heated roof tile.
It consists of cha-soba, kinshi tamago (a thin omelette cut into thin strips), various toppings and a warm broth. The crispy texture of slightly burnt soba provides the extra flavour.
Kawara-soba can also be enjoyed at the Kanda shop.
http://kawara.tokyo.jp/index.html