When I was looking for information about Kawaguchiko, I came across that Houtou Noodles is a specialty of this town. At the time I was visiting this town, I certainly did not let it slip through my mouth.
We looked around several restaurants and found this giant menu interesting, and we spotted Houtou Noodles in it!
We were the only customers as it wasn't actually lunch time yet. This restaurant looks like it has been there for a very long time as all the furniture are all retro style.
It is run by a very friendly couple. The husband did the table setting for us.
While the wife served us our orders that she cooked.
Inside this dark steel pot...
...was definitely the prominent delicacy of Kawaguchiko, the Houtou Noodles! From what I have seen, it is band noodles cooked in miso soup and vegetables, including pumpkin and mushrooms.
The thick band noodles in fact looked like 'ban min' in Malaysia. They tasted almost the same too.
When eaten with some of the fried ground chili, it was really delicious. The soup has the natural sweetness extracted from all the fresh vegetables and mushrooms.
The friendly husband then brought out this bowl of his 'secret weapon' while we were still enyoying our noodles. A bite onto it made me fell in love with it! This was the best pickled daikon I have ever had! The daikon was still crunchy yet not too salty, preserving the natural fragrance.
It turned out to be that this restaurant was the one featured in the top selling Hong Kong food magazine. Wow! What a surprise to us. We were at the right place with the right food!
Since this is a celebrity restaurant, I asked for a portrait of the cook cum owner. She was very obliging when I requested her to hold the copy of the magazine in her hands. Extremely friendly indeed!
After the satisfying lunch, we went roaming around in Kawaguchiko, including seeing Mt. Fuji. When it was dinner time, we decided to go back to the same restaurant for another round of local delicacy, but it was not Houtou Noodles anymore, it was for the deep-fried pond smelts.
The pond smelts were deep fried with coated flour to perfect golden brown by the very friendly restaurant owner.
When the pond smelts were eaten with rice mixed with a ground mixture of seaweed, sesame seed and herbs, I just can't describe how delicious that combination was!
If you are visiting Kawaguchiko, don't forget to try these two extremely delicious local delicacies, especially at this restaurant. I don't know the restaurant name, but it is easy to find. Get across the pedestrian crossing at the traffic light in front of the train station and walk straight ahead for another 30 metres or so. The restaurant is right on you left.
