It was September and my friends and I had returned to school to begin second grade.
Most of us knew each other from the neighourhood and we quickly fell into a familiar groove, goofing off as we placed our school bags in cubbyholes and comparing the designs of our pencil cases, bulging with still unbroken crayons. One day a rather scrawny, long-legged new kid, named Mark, was introduced to our class. Mark was not only new to the school but was new to Canada, his parents having relocated from England over the summer. In the classroom we were sure to demonstrate to Mark that we were a tight-knit bunch that went way back and that he was a newbie who had yet to prove his worth to us.
But prove it he soon did. During lunch hour we played soccer and grudgingly permitted Mark to join us. The shy newcomer, it turned out, was gifted in the arts of dribbling, tackling, intercepting, passing, blocking, and, as our poor, unprepared goalkeeper quickly learned, scoring. This kid punched so far above his weight that we were left awestruck, each of us now desperately hoping that he'd want to be our friend.
I thought of Mark as I finished a bowl of delicious, richly flavoured and painstakingly prepared soba noodles at Tama Organic Life, the tiny Japanese grocer and noodle house that operates out the back of Ethical Kitchen on Mackay Street in North Vancouver.
Tama consists of a small garage housing fresh and organic fruits and vegetables, as well as a seven-foot-byfive-foot kitchen in which chef Takashi Koriyama makes some of the best traditional soba noodles you will find anywhere.
Entering the tiny Tama recently, I knew I was in for a special experience when I passed a shelf of perfectly intact, highly prized matsutake mushrooms, graded according to five quality levels. These earthy and aromatic fungi are among the most sought-after in the world; that they would feature in my meal just moments later I could not have guessed.
Owner Hiroko Sugiyama began the shop as an organic grocer, specializing in produce from local farms. She then brought newly emigrated chef Koriyama on board to prepare traditional buckwheat noodles, or soba, made from organic Chilliwack buckwheat that is hand-milled on the premises. Koriyama is an accomplished Tokyo chef who worked for more than a decade in a high-end kaiseki restaurant, a Japanese establishment specializing in multi-course, haute cuisine menus. Soba is offered two ways at Tama: hot, in a lovingly crafted katsuo dashi (broth from bonito), or cold, served on a screened, bamboo tray called a zaru with traditional garnishes and dipping sauce.
I opted for the hot version, which was served in an earthenware bowl with a ceramic spoon and chopsticks, accompanied by a ramekin of finely chopped green onions and a vial of spicy and fragrant shichimi togarashi, a dry condiment consisting of chilies, toasted sesame seeds, sansho peppers and other ingredients. Sugiyama effortlessly sold me a side of steamed rice with shaved matsutake mushrooms to complement the noodles. Buckwheat is not, in fact, wheat at all; it is a plant related to rhubarb or sorrel. Noodles made from buckwheat do not impart any of the sticky starchiness that is characteristic of wheat noodles.
Accordingly, Koriyama's deep, hearty dashi remained perfectly clear despite containing a generous portion of precisely cut, expertly cooked al dente soba noodles. The noodles revealed subtle nutty and herbaceous flavours that came alive in the mahogany brown broth, which is prepared in house every morning. My side dish of seasoned rice offered subtle flavours of high-quality mirin and soy sauce, appropriately understated so as not to overwhelm the heady and pungent, slightly spicy morsels of matsutake.
Towards the end of my meal, Koriyama brought me a charming teapot-like vessel filled with the clear water in which the soba was cooked. This water, called the sobayu, is to be poured into your nearly empty bowl (or in the case of cold soba noodles, into the bowl that contained the accompanying dipping sauce) and serves as a mildly flavoured palate cleanser. Guests may sit either inside the neighbouring dining room of Ethical Kitchen or outside on the deck overlooking a small urban garden.
Soba noodles are not offered to go as they are meant to be consumed immediately upon service in order to retain their texture and flavour. My meal of hot soba noodles, matsutake rice, and sobayu was $16 after tax. Tama Organic Life is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Phone: 604-987-8198. tamaorganic.com
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
