Kan Masuda quit his job to perfect the art of udon making, before bringing his signature recipe to Bentleigh. Say hello to Musashino Udon Kan.
Texture is one of the most polarising qualities in food. One person’s “delightfully springy” is another’s “disgustingly tough”. “Soft and pillowy” could be a compliment or a trashing. Musashino Udon’s fat wheat noodles may draw high praise – “wow, they’re so chewy, I love them” – while the next table is utterly perplexed – “Wow, they’re so chewy, I am not a fan”. Guess which table I’m at? Yes, the loving one.
I am ecumenical when it comes to noodles and will pray at any church. Threadlike or thick, cold or hot, wheat or rice, egg or vegan, fresh or dry: just make them good. “Good” means they hold together, suit the dish, the context and, if it’s not too much to ask, there’s a story to go with them. On all these counts, Musashino Udon Kan serves very good noodles indeed.
The humble shop opened in September in ever-improving Bentleigh. There are window benches to survey streetlife, shelves of Japanese books that bring a homely feeling, collage artworks, and tables with handmade bench seating. The main feature is a glassed booth towards the rear. If owner Kan Masuda isn’t out the back adjusting his precious broth or frying snacks, he will be standing here mixing flour and water, folding and refolding dough to develop layers, and hand-cutting noodles with an enormous knife.
All udon noodles are famously thick and chewy, fatter than ramen noodles, definitely more textured than soba. But these ones are mega, as thick as a pencil though rather more squiggly. They’re based on a style popular in Musashino, a commuter city west of Tokyo, using wheat grown on a nearby plateau. Served cold to dip into soy and dashi-based broth, they are an activity as much as a food.
Kan Masuda was a railway engineer who became obsessed with chewy noodles. He quit his job and learnt the craft at Shijo restaurant – an udon specialist in Saitama Prefecture, near Musashino – always with the idea of bringing the concept to Melbourne, a place he’d visited many times and felt was open to trying new things.
I love the slurp and bounce: these noodles are fun to eat but they also taste wholesome and nutritious.
Rather than ship flour from Japan, Masuda has developed his own special mix of Australian wheat flour that has the right strength and flex to get the texture just right.
I love the slurp and bounce: these noodles are fun to eat but they also taste wholesome and nutritious. The dipping broths work as seasoning and sauce: they’re ballasted with mushroom, pork or beef and there’s a spiced, cold sesame soup too. Drinking the broth is optional – it’s made quite salty to flavour the noodles but you can ask for extra liquid to dilute it at the end.
If you aren’t enamoured with the idea of exercising your jaw, there is a gentler option. Miso nikomi udon sees noodles served in a hot broth (pork is traditional, but there’s also wagyu). They start chewy but soften as the minutes tick by. Purists might call it a beginner bowl, but I can definitely see this version helping me get through winter.
Musashino Udon Kan is a micro-business, opened with passion but not much money. There’s a friendly feeling but you aren’t coming for the service; the care comes through in the food. As well as the exemplary udon and broth, the fried karaage chicken is an excellent, juicy version of the staple. The tempura is surprisingly great and extraordinary value. If you want a simple meal for around $10, a serve of very hot, very crisp battered pumpkin, eggplant and sweet potato could hit the spot.
How lucky we are in Melbourne to be able to explore the glorious specificities of culture through food. If Restaurant A is less than pleasing to you, there are always Restaurants B through to Z. I will definitely be stopping at U for udon.
Three more noodle specialists to try
Eek Charm
It sounds almost too good to be true but this tiny hole-in-the-wall tucked down a pedestrian-only laneway offers quick and simple Thai noodle box meals for under $15, including free help-yourself chicken broth. Try the soup-free version of hot-and-sour tom yam.
Laneway, 306 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/eekcharm
Ramen Shouyuya Sake Bar
The sister restaurant to Misoya Sake Bar opened recently, a bit further north along Sydney Road. Sit at the counter for gleaming soy-sauce-based broths with sardine dashi and housemade noodles. There’s also a vegetarian version plus a small range of snacks and rice dishes.
692 Sydney Road, Brunswick, ramen-shouyu-ya.square.site
D’Kenyang Cafe
Some people come for roti canai, rendang or the different spins on nasi goreng, but you could come just for Malaysian noodles. There are comfort classics like fried instant Maggi or kuey teow (flat rice noodles) with chicken and vegetables. Drinks for the homesick include Milo with grass jelly.
2A Princes Highway, Dandenong, instagram.com/dkenyangcafe
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