Shimbashi Soba (Paragon, Singapore)

We had plans to have lunch at Din Tai Fung at the Paragon Mall on Orchard Rd. Din Tai Fung is world famour for their dumplings. Once we arrived at Paragon and went to the basement where all the restaurants are located; we had a SHOCK! There was a queue of people waiting to eat at Din Tai Fung. There were about a hundred people waiting and it looked like it would take two hours to get a table. No matter how good those dumplings are suppose to be; there was no way I was waiting two hours to eat lunch. I was STARVING!.

We did notice a restaurant that is also world famous for making fresh soba noodles. That sounded and looked very interesting since we do not have anything like that in Bangkok. So, we took a very important decision...let's eat freshly made soba for lunch.


We were very lucky to get a table in one minute, since there was no queue when we arrived and people just payed their bill. The design & decor of the restaurant is minimalist and modern. Very Japanese in this concept. The only negative aspect is that; we still felt like we were in the basement of a shopping mall.

The menu is extensive with so many choices of Japanese food and especially the soba section. Too many to choose from and they all looked so good. We had to ask the Japanese restaurant manager for suggestions.


The first dish that was suggested was fresh soba with duck slices in broth. The soba noodles were thin, light and so so good. The duck slices were tender & juicy. The broth was rich and had a lovely duck flavour. The combination of the soba, duck and broth was truly yummy.


The second suggested dish was cold soba with variety of tempura & cold egg on top (top selling dish, according to the manager). The soba was tender & soft. The tempura were deep fried to a golden brown and were very crispy but tender inside. The tempura was a mix of diced shrimp, squid, mushrooms and vegetables. The cold egg added more flavour. Another great dish.


The soba master skillfully kneading, rolling & cutting the fresh soba noodles. The poor guy, I felt like he was some strange species behind a glass cage for all the spectators to watch. However; it was very interesting to watch the man make the soba from scratch and a few minutes later, we were eating them. Amazing.


Overall; I am FAN! I love the idea of having soba made from scratch. On top of it; they tasted wonderful. The staff was very friendly and efficient. A great place to get a table during the weekend lunch rush hour at a reasonable time instead of waiting two freaking hours. We definately will return to Shimbashi Soba when we return to Singapore.

#B1-41, 290 Orchard Road S(238859)
Paragon, Orchard
Tel: 6735 9882

www.sobaworld.com.sg