Review: fresh-cut udon at Bushi Udon Kappo at Yonge and St. Clair
Bushi Udon Kappo ★½ 1404 Yonge St., 416-323-9988
Every regional specialty needs the right equipment: a wood-burning oven for Neapolitan pizza, a deep fryer for corn tortillas, and as chef Koki Oguchi proves at his new Yonge and St. Clair restaurant, a noodle machine for udon.
The thick wheat noodles, cut fresh daily, never lose their dense chew, whether served screaming hot in a buttery beef curry, dipped cold in an umami-powered pork and onion broth, or even piled on rotund scoops of green tea ice cream and drowned in a maple syrup reduction (sounds crazy, but it works). Other dishes, like a crisp-skinned black cod, salty butter-poached oysters and a sloppy spicy tuna roll, are good but unremarkable. The spare room is ably handled by friendly servers who are quick to fill your green tea.
