Musashino Udon Kan

360 Centre Road
Bentleigh, VIC 3204

Musashino Udon Kan is a humble little storefront tucked into the sheaf of restaurants that line the main shopping strip in Bentleigh. If you’ve been to Japan, you know that this is exactly the kind of place you’ll find the most wonderfully traditional meals, the recipes perfected over generations. And the locals have clearly worked this out, because the quaint lunch-only spot fills up in the blink of an eye as soon as the clock ticks past noon. Come for the thickest udon in Melbourne, hand-made in house, and wash it down with a few pieces of crisp tempura. It is heaven on a cold day.

Rating: 13.5/20 – melbourne’s thickest udon.
Hot tip: round out the meal with dessert from Artisanal Bakehouse across the road.

The signature dish is the Musashino Dipping Udon, which comes with your choice of 4 different soup bases; this here is the Meat Soup with Pork ($19.8). The photos really don’t do justice to the thickness of these noodles, nor do they convey the hearty, chewy texture of the hand-pulled strands. They hold up wonderfully after a swish in the salty soy-based broth, the fatty slices of pork sweetened with slow-cooked onions. It is such simple, delicious comfort food, though I do wish the noodles were served a little warmer, so you don’t end up with cold soup at the end.

If you’re really looking to warm up, the Miso Nikomi Udon with Wagyu Beef ($24.8) is the way to go. Served literally boiling, this robust soup is thickened with red miso, and the creamy yolk of a just-cooked egg. But despite the almost curry-like appearance, the flavours were smooth and balanced, the sweet, nuanced earthiness of the miso a testament to its quality. Soaking into the chunky noodles and hearty winter vegetables, it is a nourishing way to warm up from inside-out.