Foodie Friday: Mentai Squid Udon

Remember when I explored downtown Los Angeles and visited Little Tokyo? Well, I ate handmade udon noodles during that time.

Mentai Squid Udon: thick noodles with squid and roe

Fresh-made udon is an indulgence of mine. I love how the thick wheat noodles taste, with an exciting amount of chewy tenderness. Although I prefer udon hot, I have tried the noodles cold, which taste refreshing in warm weather.

I usually stick to simpler meats with udon, but this time I tried mentai squid. The thought of eating both squid and roe made me think the dish would taste very fish-like or seafoody. To my surprise, the combination worked really well. Mentai translates to chili-seasoned cod roe, but the eggs were not super huge nor spicy. The squid, too, seemed very soft–almost akin to a baby clam texture.

The smoothness of the roe and the squid combined well with a flavorful broth and slurpy noodles. A thumbs up!