Gluten-Free Udon Restaurant Opens in Takamatsu

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:00 JST, December 31, 2023

TAKAMATSU — A restaurant specializing in gluten-free udon noodles opened in Mure, Takamatsu, on Dec. 18.

The restaurant said it wants patrons to stop by the eatery whenever they feel like having something that pleases the palate.

Takamatsu-based design company Jinseiwajojoda Inc. planned the eatery, “by age 18,” to create a place where its customers can enjoy Sanuki udon irrespective of religious beliefs or worries about wheat allergies.

The two-story building with a noodle-making facility was built on a location that overlooks the Seto Inland Sea. The second-floor restaurant has counter and table seats, totaling about 30.

Rice flour is used for the noodles instead of wheat flour at by age 18. The restaurant also said its noodles feature a chewy texture just like Sanuki udon.

Regular flour is not used for other menu items as well, and the broth is made from mushrooms and other plant-based ingredients, making the menu OK for vegans.

The menu includes “The Udon Mountain of Tempura Happiness,” which features delicacies such as stir-fried udon, curry udon and sweets created under the supervision of renowned pastry chef Hironobu Tsujiguchi.

Udon was on the eatery’s tables for locals in a Dec. 2 tasting event. Visitors who taste-tested the udon said it was delicious and had a smooth texture.

“It was difficult to reproduce the thickness and long length of Sanuki udon since rice flour noodles break easily, but we were able to create delicious udon,” said Jinseiwajojoda President Moriro Murakami.

Murakami added he plans to open a gallery-cum-shop on the first floor. “I hope it will be a place where people from overseas and locals can get together,” he said.