By Jun Nakayama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
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KOFU — Menkobo Sumiya’s building is eye-catching because its outer wall is painted entirely black. Like its specialty black noodles, the ramen shop features charcoal (“sumi” in Japanese), or the color of the material, in almost everything.
Owner Nobuhito Kanazawa, 49, who works in the kitchen alone for 12 hours a day, trained himself at a Chinese restaurant in Kofu for about 20 years. His fascination with how deep he could make the flavor of ramen soup led him to become independent about 10 years ago.
Aiming to make ramen that other restaurants do not serve, he focused on charcoal, which was attracting attention at that time for its reported beneficial effects on the intestines.
The restaurant’s signature dish is Kuromiso Sumimen. Priced at ¥918, it features black noodles kneaded with edible bamboo charcoal in a miso-based soup.
- “You might be surprised when you first look at the noodles,” Kanazawa said. “However, I’m sure you won’t care about that once you taste them.”
Kanazawa made great efforts to develop the miso-based soup, too. He blends dark brown Hatcho-miso from Aichi Prefecture and red miso made in Hokkaido to create something that can stand out against the color of the noodles.(203 words)
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