I like going on dates with Adam.  Although we eat together most nights of the week, a date night usually entails something special.  We may try a new restaurant or visit a new area altogether.  Sometimes we simply revisit one of our favorite places, like Penelope or Franny’s.  We typically splurge and we always go home happy.

Last Friday’s date took us to Soba-ya in the East Village.  Adam had requested Japanese noodles and I delivered.  Or rather, Menupages.com delivered.  As soon as we walked into the place, we knew it was going to be a good one.  The first thing that tipped us off was every single employee in the room calling out a Japanese greeting to us (and every single person that entered the restaurant afterwards).  They all seemed quite happy to be doing it too.  Good vibes.  I only wished I had something better than “hi!” to respond with.  Next time.

Since we were on a date, I decided to indulge in a Sapporo.  Adam ordered a box of sake.

We each picked an appetizer for the both of us to share.  My choice was the Goma Tofu - a chilled sesame tofu.  I don’t think you can really go wrong with anything sesame flavored.  The block of tofu was a little awkward to share (lots of funny chopstick maneuvers going on) but we enjoyed it.

Adam picked the Ika Meshi from the “Delicacies” portion of the menu.  I didn’t realize the section was titled “Delicacies” at the time and I’m now marvelling at how cool that is…. Ah, yes, just a typical Friday night eating delicacies at an authentic Japenese noodle restaurant…

The Ika Meshi is described as “cooked squid stuffed with sticky rice.”  I wasn’t very excited for it but that changed as soon as I laid my eyes upon it.  I guess I didn’t expect it to look like this:

These pretty little squid discs tasted great.  The squid wasn’t as chewy as you might expect and the sticky rice was first rate.  Whoever devised this combination of taste and texture deserves an award.

For my entree, I didn’t order anything too complicated.  I had the Kitsune Udon: fried bean curd, fishcake, spinach, udon, and broth.

Adam had the Nabeyaki Udon, which was a bit more complex.  There was egg, fishcake, shrimp tempura, and chicken, all served in a steaming pot.  Oishii!  (I am told that means delicious).

The noodles were delicious.  The ones you get for a few bucks at Japanese markets are also very good, but these had the texture and taste unique to a fresh pasta or noodle.

However, next time I am going to make sure of two things.   We have to get the soba noodles, since the restaurant is named for its soba and seems to take especial pride in making it.  If you are interested, definitely read the restaurant concept on the website.  I love that they encourage you to slurp since soba should be eaten quickly, before it loses flavor.  The other thing I’d like to do is order from the Cold Soba & Udon dishes - maybe even plain noodles with dipping sauce.  As mentioned before, I’m really all about noodles and don’t think I’d miss the distraction of the broth so much.

This is getting a bit long, no?  And I haven’t even told you about the dessert we ordered.    Because on date night… there is often dessert

Here is the little round bun that was filled with red bean paste:

I liked the bun well enough but let Adam have most of it for two reasons.  #1,  He likes the red bean filling more than I do …

And #2,  I spotted the dessert truck on our way to dinner, and had every intention of getting myself a treat on our way back to the train.

I had the chocolate bread pudding again, with the bacon custard on top.  It was amazing again, except I have to say the bottom half doesn’t resemble bread pudding as much as it does a warm chocolate goo.  Or is it standard for bread pudding to only be bready on top?  Not that I am complaining… the goo was delicious.  The whole evening was delicious..