I have seen this popup noodle stand online, so was happy to be able to give them a try today. When we were looking for a spot to have an early dinner at, my friend suggested Tatchan, as he has been meaning to try them too. They are known to post up at the most random of places, so we were in lucky that they were within our vicinity with free marking nearby. This seemed like an opportune time to check them out at the 1st Ave location of Emily Carr University.
Their set up is an open kitchen with burning stove under a portable event tarp. Two men run the operation in matching branded tees. One tended to the customers, the other was in charge of the boiling noodles and the simmering broth. They worked in an assembly line with the cashier finishing off the bowl with the standard toppings.
On the other side of their protective sneeze glass was a thin counter and a few folding stools for customers to enjoy their menu at. They were all occupied by the time we got there. However, the school had a few seats near by, so we grabbed one of the available picnic tables, to finish off our meal in one sitting.
We caught them at the tail end of their shift closer to their 2pm closure. And at 1:30pm they were already sold out of their Mayo & Miso Onigiri, and we didn’t want to spend money for the plain version. These were $4 and $3 respectively, with an option to make it into a combo with one of their bowl of noodles for 50 cents less. A plain white rice ball didn’t feel like it was worth $2.50, so we passed. However their menu recommends enjoying them the Okinawa local way. Where after you are done with the noodle potion of your soba, you drop one of these plain onigirl into the leftover broth. There, the rice soaks up and excess flavour, ensuring that you don’t waste a drop and are left full at the meal’s end.
Instead, we grabbed the last spam & egg musubi for $5, although noting it was only half of one. Theses are all made ahead of time so you simply point or grab it at the point of sale. It was nice to be able to try it considering I don’t know when we might get a chance to track Tatchen down again. However, as far as musubis go this was nothing special, minus the inclusion of an egg omelette to balance out the saltiness of the luncheon meat.
Their compact menu consists of 3 types of noodles and 3 sides. For the former it is all the same broth and toppings. The cut of meat is where they differ. Chicken broth, dried bonito, green onion, kikurage black fungus, red ginger, and soba noodles.
Soba noodles made from buckwheat flour, giving them a nutty flavour and darker colour. Whereas comparatively, ramen noodles are made from wheat flour and kansui (an alkaline water) resulting in a lighter colour and a springier texture.
You only choice is the type meat you want between pork belly or pork soft bone, we went with their Tatchan Soba which gives you both. This was the most meat I have ever had in any bowl of noodles. I was actually left with more meat than noodles and broth in the end. I hindsight I should have ordered that plain rice ball.
The soup was lean from chicken bone, which meant I didn’t feel bad about drinking it all. It wasn’t as rich as pork broth and ramen, but had a deliciousness all its own. I enjoyed my meal and cleaned my bowl.
I don’t think I would necessarily do the work of searching for where they will be when I want food. However, if they popup-ed in front of me and I was hungry, I would take advantage of their offerings.
