Although buckwheat soba is not an popular as udon, buckwheat soba is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and proteins. Buckwheat soba is the ultimate health food that provides numerous health benefits such as twice the fiber of polished rice, vitamin p (rutin), low in calories and boost anti-aging properties.
Shimbashi Soba at the basement of Paragon Shopping Centre has a huge glass window to the right of its entrance. I was intrigued by the soba-making performance by the chef. The freshly-made buckwheat soba looks so delicious that I decided to have a taste.
Shimbashi Soba only uses premium pesticide-free buckwheat grown in Tasmania. The buckwheat flour are then made into soba through “santate” or 3 core principles for soba making – hiki-tate (freshly milled), uchi-tate (freshly made) and yude-tate (freshly cooked).
You have to have either chilled soba or warm soba.
For chilled soba, I chose Beef Tsukemen Seiro [S$20.80] where plain chilled soba is accompanied by a bowl of warm dipping broth. Inside the broth are beef slices, mushrooms, carrots, radish, fried beancurd, sweet bean and a soft boiled egg.
The chilled soba has a slight nutty taste and the noodles break easily.
For warm soba, I ordered Tempura Soba [S$21.80] where a bowl of warm soba is accompanied by a plate of prawn and vegetable tempuras.
The tempuras are freshly-cooked, the skin are crispy and flaky while the ingredients inside are warm.
Besides soba, Shimbashi Soba also offers set meals, sushi and sashimi, lunch sets and desserts.
The lunch sets are available on Monday – Friday 11.30am – 2.30pm except on eve of public holidays and public holidays. The lunch sets contains a bowl of plain warm soba with your choice of rice bowl meal.
The Sukiyaki Beef Don Set [S$22.80] that I ordered comes with stewed beef rice bowl topped with an onsen egg. It’s perfect when you mix everything up together.
Shimbashi Soba offers Japanese desserts not commonly found in Singapore. This is the first time I have come across Mini Taiyaki (fish-shaped Japanese waffle with red bean filling) [S$4.80] and Cream Daifuku (Japanese mochi with flavored cream filling from Ujien) [S$3.20] in Singapore. Unfortunately, Matcha Tiramisu [S$6.80] is permanently out of stock due to overwhelming popularity.
I was so glad that took up the staff’s suggestion and ordered Matcha Mousse with Soft Serve [S$9.80]. The matcha mousse cake is silky and smooth and the matcha powder on top gives it a hint of bitterness. The accompanying matcha soft-serve ice-cream and cut strawberry balances out the flavors.
Although Shimbashi Soba’s prices are a little on the high side, at least you know you are paying good money for quality food. Japanese mothers seem especially fond of bringing their young children there for meals, a testimony to the quality of the food.
The customer service at Shimbashi Soba is excellent – this is the first time a restaurant asked if I have any food allergies!
Shimbashi Soba
Address: 290 Orchard Road, Paragon Shopping Centre #B1-41, Singapore 238859
Telephone: +65 67359882
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday and Sunday 11.30am – 10pm (last order 9.30pm), Saturday 10.30am – 10pm (last order 9.30pm)
Website: https://www.sobaworld.com.sg/en/