Tucked in the middle of what used to be an industrial zone in Osaka, this small udon restaurant serves an authentic Sanuki udon.
Udon Honoka is in Amagasaki. It’s 20+ minutes away from Namba and a few minutes of walking from the Amagasaki station. We arrived around 2 PM, trying to skip the lunch crowd. The waiting time was around 15 minutes. But we heard that during lunch and dinner, wait time goes for as long as 1.5 hours.
Udon Honoka is a fairly simple restaurant with a simple menu. They mostly sell varying kinds of udon—just udon—from small to big bowls to powered-up versions with mode toppings and all.
The 20-seater restaurant features an open kitchen where you can see the team create your noodles from scratch. You can also see the family patriarch still preparing your udon bowls as he did decades ago.
We tried their famous Bukkake Udon. Not the kind you’re thinking of. Bukkake is a way of serving an udon through blanching. It’s less soupy; the broth is thicker and more flavorful. We had a beef bukkake and a beef + kimchi (they call it stamina) bukkake.
It was simple – fresh noodles on thick broth, beef, and kimchi on top. But the flavors? They explode in your mouth. The noodles are made fresh, and they taste fresh. It’s huge, chewy, and cooked perfectly. The broth has a balance of salty, smoky, and savory flavors without overpowering the tender beef slices. The beef udon is already so good, but the kimchi stole the spotlight. We’re not sure how they did it differently (or just the traditional way), but we wanted it bottled so we could take it home (just wishful thinking)!
In most places, the simplest dishes are usually the most remarkable. Nothing fancy, no twists and turns. Just the good ol’ udon we love.
Worth a visit when in Osaka. Read more about our visit to Osaka here!
PS: They don’t have an English menu, so here’s a translated version for your easy ordering on your first visit
