Visited 09.10.2015 (Fri)
Specialty. While researching on food to try in Morioka, I found out that this capital city of Iwate Prefecture is famous for noodles. Known affectionately as the "Top Three Noodles of Morioka", they are Jya Jya men じゃじゃ麵, Wanko Soba わんこそば and Reimen 冷麺. Out of the three of them, we had reimen, otherwise known as cold noodles, for dinner during our first night in Morioka. Solely based on first impression, I would relate it to the cold noodles which I have come across before when I visited Korea. In fact, Morioka's reimen is actually an improvisation of cold noodles which originated from Pyongyang in North Korea. The first reimen was sold in Morioka in 1954 by the restaurant named Shokudoen 食道園 (which is still in operation today) and it became a hit with the locals ever since then. This led to more restaurants jumping onto this wagon to offer this dish on their menu and reimen emerged as one of Morioka's local gourmet. Pyon Pyon Sha ぴょんびょん舎, a restaurant which specialises in reimen and korean barbeque, has been in operation since 1955 (Showa 30). Came to this particular branch which is located less than a minute walk from Morioka JR Station 盛岡駅. Managed to get a table after queuing for about 20 minutes. Ordered their signature reimen and a platter of five different cuts of meat to barbeque on the table grill for sharing.
Secret formula. What does it take to assemble a bowl of delicious reimen at Pyon Pyon Sha? The springy and chewy noodles, kneaded from a combination of potato starch powder and wheat flour (instead of buckwheat flour), forms the core of this dish. The clear yet rich flavored soup is surprisingly refreshing to taste. Beef stock is used as the soup base and is boiled with chicken bones for five hours to create this flavourful broth. Every bowl of cold noodles is also topped up with kimchi, which is specially created to complement the noodles. The pickled cabbage and daikon helps to elevate the overall flavour of the dish; giving that additional tint of sourness and spiciness which whets one's appetite. Overall, I was surprised how well balanced the flavours were when the various components were combined together into the same bowl. Hope to come back to Morioka again to try the reimen served at other restaurants.
Bonus. As it was our first time eating korean barbeque in Japan, we were quite looking forward to this experience. The platter of meat comprised of kalbi (カルビ or ribs), thigh (もも), gyu tongue (牛タン or cow tongue), outside skirt steak (ハラミ) and fatty pork (豚トロ). We tried our best to ensure that the beef were not overly cooked (hoping for medium well) since we had to grill them ourselves. Fortunately, we did justice to these well marinated cuts of meat; our palette were completely overwhelmed by its umani taste and tender texture. It was so good that we ordered a second serving of meat platter to extend this wonderful dinning experience at Pyon Pyon Sha.
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Pyon Pyon Sha Morioka Ekimae Branch ぴょんびょん舎盛岡駅前店
〒020-0034 盛岡市盛岡駅前通9-3
Operating hours: 1100 - 2400 hrs (Last order at 2300 hrs)
http://www.pyonpyonsya.co.jp/
If you are interested in the manufacturing process of Pyon Pyon Sha's signature reimen, they operate a reimen kobo 冷麺工房 (cold noodles factory) in Morioka Tetsukuri mura 盛岡手づくり村, located 30 minutes away by bus from Morioka JR Station. Here, visitors can try for themselves how these noodles are created from scratch with guidance provided by instructor and savour their very own bowl of reimen.at the end of this hands-on experience.
Morioka Tetsukuri mura 盛岡手づくり村: https://tezukurimura.com/
How to get there?
(1) By foot. 1 minute walk from Morioka JR Station.
Specialty. While researching on food to try in Morioka, I found out that this capital city of Iwate Prefecture is famous for noodles. Known affectionately as the "Top Three Noodles of Morioka", they are Jya Jya men じゃじゃ麵, Wanko Soba わんこそば and Reimen 冷麺. Out of the three of them, we had reimen, otherwise known as cold noodles, for dinner during our first night in Morioka. Solely based on first impression, I would relate it to the cold noodles which I have come across before when I visited Korea. In fact, Morioka's reimen is actually an improvisation of cold noodles which originated from Pyongyang in North Korea. The first reimen was sold in Morioka in 1954 by the restaurant named Shokudoen 食道園 (which is still in operation today) and it became a hit with the locals ever since then. This led to more restaurants jumping onto this wagon to offer this dish on their menu and reimen emerged as one of Morioka's local gourmet. Pyon Pyon Sha ぴょんびょん舎, a restaurant which specialises in reimen and korean barbeque, has been in operation since 1955 (Showa 30). Came to this particular branch which is located less than a minute walk from Morioka JR Station 盛岡駅. Managed to get a table after queuing for about 20 minutes. Ordered their signature reimen and a platter of five different cuts of meat to barbeque on the table grill for sharing.
Secret formula. What does it take to assemble a bowl of delicious reimen at Pyon Pyon Sha? The springy and chewy noodles, kneaded from a combination of potato starch powder and wheat flour (instead of buckwheat flour), forms the core of this dish. The clear yet rich flavored soup is surprisingly refreshing to taste. Beef stock is used as the soup base and is boiled with chicken bones for five hours to create this flavourful broth. Every bowl of cold noodles is also topped up with kimchi, which is specially created to complement the noodles. The pickled cabbage and daikon helps to elevate the overall flavour of the dish; giving that additional tint of sourness and spiciness which whets one's appetite. Overall, I was surprised how well balanced the flavours were when the various components were combined together into the same bowl. Hope to come back to Morioka again to try the reimen served at other restaurants.
Bonus. As it was our first time eating korean barbeque in Japan, we were quite looking forward to this experience. The platter of meat comprised of kalbi (カルビ or ribs), thigh (もも), gyu tongue (牛タン or cow tongue), outside skirt steak (ハラミ) and fatty pork (豚トロ). We tried our best to ensure that the beef were not overly cooked (hoping for medium well) since we had to grill them ourselves. Fortunately, we did justice to these well marinated cuts of meat; our palette were completely overwhelmed by its umani taste and tender texture. It was so good that we ordered a second serving of meat platter to extend this wonderful dinning experience at Pyon Pyon Sha.
======
Pyon Pyon Sha Morioka Ekimae Branch ぴょんびょん舎盛岡駅前店
〒020-0034 盛岡市盛岡駅前通9-3
Operating hours: 1100 - 2400 hrs (Last order at 2300 hrs)
http://www.pyonpyonsya.co.jp/
If you are interested in the manufacturing process of Pyon Pyon Sha's signature reimen, they operate a reimen kobo 冷麺工房 (cold noodles factory) in Morioka Tetsukuri mura 盛岡手づくり村, located 30 minutes away by bus from Morioka JR Station. Here, visitors can try for themselves how these noodles are created from scratch with guidance provided by instructor and savour their very own bowl of reimen.at the end of this hands-on experience.
Morioka Tetsukuri mura 盛岡手づくり村: https://tezukurimura.com/
How to get there?
(1) By foot. 1 minute walk from Morioka JR Station.
