TUE 13 JUL 99

Hidden Noodles at the Big Udon

While walking to Kirin Plaza from Shinsaibashi, I pass shoe store with piano keys depicted as part of the leatherwork.

Need to check out nearby gallery which is on 2^nd floor on a northeast corner. Framed works could be seen hanging on the walls inside, but the only visible piece, which is hung in a window to face the street, is architectural.

Cafés Suavor at the base of Kirin Plaza is empty—what a waste.

Garlic & Garlic.

While waiting, check out glue-on brick over stucco-faced columns.

Start with Madonna Liebfraumilch ’98 produced by P.J. Valckenberg, Worms am Rhein—slightly sweet.

Kimchi Spaghetti. Spaghetti hovers in a pink pool of cream and peppers simmered from the kimchi. A dollop of cool cabbage graces the creamy strands. This dish has presence without the fire.

Eggplant, miso & garlic—comes out super hot. Eggplant—soft and creamy, with miso that was almost meat-like, and with a touch of hot pepper and a strand of cilantro.

Finish with a dessert of what was to be warm blueberries over vanilla ice cream. Actually, they are black currants with two small scoops of vanilla. Good nevertheless.

Why are there more women than men in a garlic place? All the men are with dates or wives—except me. Several tables have women only.

On the way back, I pass by what seems like a nicely-designed place from the outside—– kind of a warm, woodsy, but modernly minimalist with discrete lighting. The modern graphics proclaim it to be BUDO Y L (06 6213-1589). And yes, the last letter is an underlined lambda. I step into the passage leading in, and both a host and a hostess discreetly dressed in semi-formal black smilingly greet me. I mention that it is a very nice design, and would they have a card for my future reference. The lady at the cashier’s stand hands me a card and suggests, in virtually unaccented English, that I look around. And that they have many beautiful girls and…

I break in and inquire if this is a private club. No, she replies, it is a lounge open to the public. I thank her and leave. In the light of a streetlamp outside, I read the card which further says:

“In elegant, yet homely surroundings, and an atmosphere of refined luxury, relax, make yourslf comfortable, and put a smile back on your face. Since 1975.”

I’m sure one could relax here and I’m sure that they have put smiles on many faces over the years since 1975. But I’ve been married since four years before they opened their doors for business, and I’ve been smiling and relaxing without their help very nicely, thank you. But for the design oriented, they are on the same block as the Shinsaibashi Pig and Whistle. This is just east of the Shinsaibashi-Suji shopping arcade, on the south side of Suomachi-Dori.

If anybody goes there, please let me know if the design of the lounge lives up to the promise of the entry. Just research and intellectual curiosity only.