2 - 1600 MacKay Road
North Vancouver, BC
Reading the newspaper daily is good for you. Not only will you learn about the current events happening at home and around the world, you will learn of any new, unique, or good eats that you would not normally encounter.
Van Soba is located beside the Ethical Kitchen cafe, with access either through their parking lot-slash-garden entered through a back lane or actually walking through Ethical Kitchen's door and bee-lining to the cafe's patio to get to the back (which we did). I wouldn't suggest walking through someone else's cafe to get to another business but the staff at Ethical Kitchen were really nice and even let us sit on their patio for lunch.
Van Soba is actually a small shop owned and operated by the same folks who run Tama Organic Life, the organic grocery story. The son of the Japanese owner specializes in freshly made soba noodles so that is their selling point. Since they only open during lunch hours, their menu is small and concise. The set-up is that you walk up to the cashier, make your order, and then step outside to find a spot to sit at one of the picnic tables.
After ordering, we wanted to find a shady spot to sit so we sat at Ethical Kitchen's patio (don't worry, we bought a drink from them so it'd feel like we were patronizing them too =P). Our view was of Tama Organic Life's garden beside the parking lot. We picked a really nice day to go! It was sunny and warm; perfect for alfresco dining.
Buckwheat noodle in hot soup ($9.95)
Rice mixed with mushrooms and carrots ($1.95?)
Since there were only 2 choices for the soba noodles, it was natural that we ordered one of each to try! To showcase their buckwheat noodles, they were served plain without any toppings aside from sliced green onions. This hot soupy version also had some lemon zest to bring out the umami flavours of their broth. The owner recommended that we try their bowl of home-made mixed rice too.
The fresh soba noodles were definitely different from the dry, commercial-grade noodles. They were toothsome and you could feel a slight gritty texture from the freshly milled buckwheat flour that the owner-chef used. The simple bowl of rice added to the warm, wholesome feeling of eating a home-cooked Japanese meal.
Cold buckwheat noodle ($8.95) - with green onions, wasabi, and dipping sauce
Although the cold soba noodles were pure and plain, they were refreshing on a hot day. The owner taught us how to eat their cold noodles with the savoury dipping sauce. We were to pick up some noodles and dip it slightly in the concentrated sauce. After finishing the noodles, a tea pot filled with hot water that the buckwheat noodles were cooked in is to be poured into the remaining sauce and drunk like soup. Despite being a hot sunny day, the buckwheat water soup was calming and gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I like experiencing the small traditional touches of Japanese food.
This place is definitely out of the way for some, but if you do happen to venture out to North Vancouver, or you're in the area, it's nice to step back and appreciate the simple things in life.
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