It’s probably an overstretch to dub the crossroads of Clare Road and Penarth Road in Grangetown as Cardiff’s noodle quarter.
But, areas of the city have been given their titles for
less.
Cardiff’s Brewery Quarter, Laundry Quarter, Castle Quarter,
Morgan Quarter, Capital Quarter, and Canal Quarter all add up to more
than a whole city’s worth of dubiously named quarters.
So, the fact that two of Cardiff’s noodle specialists can
be found within a couple of hundred metres of each other, means that a Noodle
Quarter isn’t too ridiculous a notion.
Whilst Matsudai Ramen’s whopping flavoured bowls of tonkotsu ramen and chippy lane mazesoba have built up a dedicated following over the last few years, Hatsu Udon is the new kid on the block, having only opened a few weeks ago.
Much like London’s Koya Bar, Hatsu specialises in fat and slippery
udon noodles.
It’s something they clearly take seriously as they’ve gone to the trouble of importing a rather snazzy noodle making machine so that they can make their udon in house from scratch.
If you’re going to go to the trouble of making fresh udon, then it’s perhaps unsurprising that it’s very much the focus of Hatsu’s compact menu.
On offer are hot udon soup and cold dressed udon with a
variety of toppings as well as stir fried udon and a few different sides.
On the Sunday lunchtime we visited there was just one other set of guests dining in the bright and clean restaurant.
Hatsu don’t serve alcohol but they serve a good selection of
interesting soft drinks.
A pineapple Hata Ramune (£4) and can of Oolong tea (£3.20) occupied opposite
ends of the soft drink spectrum. The fizzy pineapple soft drink was super sweet
and reminded me of sticky childhood boiled sweets. In contrast, the iced tea
was a much more grown-up proposition with its savoury and tannic flavour. It
was definitely my pick of the two, although the Hakata Ramune was served in one
of the coolest glass bottles I’ve ever seen with a glass ball sat in its
neck.
Chicken karaage (£7.50) was a corking example of the dish. A super crisp, grease free and rugged crumb cocooned nuggets of juicy thigh meat. Squeezed with lemon juice and dunked in mayo, I’d happily have guzzled a whole bird’s worth by myself.
Pork gyoza (£7) looked a picture with their frilly laced sheet joining them together. The crisp and soft dumpling skins contained a commendably juicy pork mince filling. But, I think they would probably have benefited from a dipping sauce to provide contrast and they’d lost quite a bit of heat by the time they arrived at the table.
Both udon dishes for main were very tasty.
Kake udon (£14) with prawn tempura saw a generous quantity of slippery noodles with a good bite bobbing in a hot, savoury and sweet soup with plenty of depth of flavour from what I think was a combination of kombu and miso. It was topped with diced spring onions, slippery seaweed and a pair of beautifully light and crisp battered tempura king prawns. I inhaled the crustacean as quickly as possible before the batter had a chance to lose its crispness. The same couldn’t be said for a pile of tempura flakes which rapidly sogged into the soup.
Nikutama udon (£15.50) was a cold dish that was better suited to the swelteringly hot summer’s day that we visited. The tangle of cold udon had more bite than the hot dish (which I preferred). They were dressed with a light and savoury soy-twanged dipping sauce and accompanied by a pile of tender marinated stewed beef, spring onions, a runny onsen egg and tempura batter flakes, which more effectively retained their crunch. It was a lovely light and fresh dish but the lightly set wobbly egg white might not be to everyone’s tastes. It definitely wasn't an issue for Mrs G.
We had a very tasty lunch at Hatsu Udon. With its warm and friendly welcome and light and fresh udon, it’s a fine addition to the city’s noodle quarter.. okay, I don't think that name is going to stick.
The Details:
Address - Hatsu Udon, 146 Penarth Rd, Cardiff CF11 6NJ
Web - https://www.instagram.com/hatsu_udon/
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