Reading 'The Mystery of Sauce Yakisoba' and Visiting Denkiya Hall (Hayakawa Shinsho)

This year, reading new books has increased the number of places I want to visit.

This time, I decided on my destination based on 'The Mystery of Sauce Yakisoba' by Shogo Shiozaki.

This new book delves into the mystery of why sauce yakisoba was created.

Since I was born, 'sauce yakisoba' has existed as 'sauce yakisoba,' and I had never questioned why it was 'sauce' instead of 'soy sauce.' It wasn't until someone asked me, 'Why is it sauce?' that I thought, 'Why was it sauce?'

If you, like me, have wondered, 'Why is yakisoba made with sauce?', I highly recommend reading 'The Mystery of Sauce Yakisoba'.

This book is also featured on 'Lip Grip's Source,' a show hosted by my favorite comedy duo, Lip Grip, and the writer Kushiro, so please check that out as well.

In 'The Mystery of Sauce Yakisoba,' several shops are introduced. After finishing the book, I wanted to actually visit those places.

The place I visited after reading 'The Mystery of Sauce Yakisoba' this time is 'Denkiya Hall,' located in the Senzoku-dori Shopping Street in Asakusa.

It seems that when it was first founded, it was an electrical appliance repair shop, and after returning from the Russo-Japanese War, the business model changed to a sweet cafe.

Therefore, what they offered in the very beginning were not sauce yakisoba, but sweets like 'boiled azuki beans,' 'amazake,' and 'shiruko.' Later, they started serving light meals, and sauce yakisoba was added to the menu. However, the name of the sauce yakisoba at Denkiya Hall is 'Omumaki'.

According to this book, Omumaki is sauce yakisoba wrapped in a thin layer of fried egg, topped with ketchup, making it look like an omelet rice for a split second.

I really want to try this.

The journey from my home to Tokyo takes a little over four hours by bus. It takes quite a while, but since I'm not the one driving, I spend the time sleeping or reading new books. I rely on apps for train transfers and guess which station exit to take. It's lucky if I end up in the right place.

This time, too, I just came up to the surface from a random spot. I immediately opened my map app and sent my thoughts to the GPS while rotating my body left and right to figure out which direction was correct. Usually, the first direction I start walking in is wrong. I've never failed to reach my destination, so I just let it slide every time.

Denkiya Hall is located a little away from the famous Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, and I get the impression that there aren't many tourists there.

When I arrived in front of Denkiya Hall, there was a sign that gave off a nostalgic atmosphere.

When I entered the shop, a calm atmosphere drifted by, and it was retro. I was guided to a seat in the back and immediately ordered 'Omumaki,' 'boiled azuki beans,' and 'iced coffee'.

The Omumaki that was brought to me was beautifully wrapped in egg and was larger than the photo I saw in the book. I braced myself for my stomach to be stuffed, thinking it was quite a large portion, but the seasoning of the yakisoba was gentle and it went down smoothly into my stomach.

The noodles have a nice snap, and when you look at the cross-section, they are square. It's unusual. This was my first time eating yakisoba with square noodles. They were thicker than I imagined, somewhere between yakisoba and yaki-udon.

The Omu-maki at Denkiya Hall comes with sauce already mixed in, but extra sauce is provided on the side, along with a set of four types of shichimi (seven-flavor chili pepper). You can add more sauce later to adjust the richness to your liking. Furthermore, they have the three major shichimi brands (Yagenbori from Asakusa, Tokyo; Yawataya Isogoro from Zenko-ji, Shinshu; and Shichimiya Honpo from Kiyomizu, Kyoto).

When people think of yakisoba, they often imagine it with spicy mayonnaise. However, shichimi actually goes surprisingly well with sauce yakisoba.

Just as I finished the Omu-maki, the boiled adzuki beans were brought out at the perfect time. They were served in a clear, heat-resistant glass, with the beans at the bottom and the sweet, syrup-like liquid filled to the brim at the top. A spoon was provided to scoop up the beans.

The boiled adzuki beans are very hot. Since I have a sensitive tongue, it took me a while to start eating. First, I scooped up some of the liquid from the top and took a sip. It was sweet and delicious. I want to put it in a thermos and carry it around. I want to set just the liquid with agar and drink it. I wish they sold it in vending machines. The flavor, which is different from oshiruko (sweet red bean soup), was truly delicious.

The bean portion still has a firm texture and is delicious. I feel like this is the first time in my life I've eaten something that made me think, 'This is what adzuki is!' That's how authentic it is. It's not too sweet and just right.

When I ordered the boiled adzuki, I also ordered an iced coffee thinking it might be too sweet, but it wasn't necessary. The iced coffee was delicious too, of course, but in the face of the delicate sweetness of the boiled adzuki, the iced coffee might have been too strong.

It seems that most customers who visit Denkiya Hall come alone. During the time I was there, there was only one group, and everyone else was by themselves.

After finishing the Omu-maki and the boiled adzuki, I relaxed and read my new book while sipping my iced coffee. Time passes slowly at Denkiya Hall without it getting too crowded. I thought to myself that I would like to come back again.

Shogo Shiozaki, who published 'The Mystery of Sauce Yakisoba,' also published a new book called 'The Mystery of Ankake Yakisoba.'

The number of shops I want to visit keeps growing. I'd like to gather some fellow book lovers and go on a trip dedicated to eating our way through them. I wonder if there's anyone who would enjoy that with me.

As a side note, it seems Jiro Hachimitsu and Yu Shinagawa also recently visited Denkiya Hall. The menu items other than the Omu-maki also look delicious. I have one more thing to look forward to.