10 places that serve up refreshing and tasty soba in Singapore

Yoshinori Shibazaki grew up in a soba noodle-making family. After honing his passion for the craft, it then made sense for him to expand the family business internationally, first to Australia, where he resided, and then to Singapore in 2003. The brand continues to pride itself on using Tasmanian buckwheat that is milled and made into noodles each day at the shop, ensuring utmost quality and freshness. Soba is served either chilled or warm with topping options ranging from unagi and salmon to tempura and chicken cutlet.

Shimbashi Soba is at 290 Orchard Rd, #B1-41 Paragon Shopping Centre, Singapore 238859. Visit its website for more information.

There are two Reiwa Soba shops that you can find in Singapore – one located in Kiliney and the other in Bedok Reservoir. They are the creation of Japanese-born Shinji Matsudaira, who started the brand back in 2020 with his wife Ayana at a now-defunct hawker stall at Kelantan Lane. Despite the tribulation, Shinji Matsudaira continues to hold true to the ethos of serving quality soba made in-house with 100 percent buckwheat from Japan. You can have a bowl of soba, hot or cold, with iterations such as seabream slices, pork, tempura or spicy mazesoba-style.

Reiwa Soba is at 107 Killiney Rd, Singapore 239547 or Blk 740 Bedok Reservoir Rd, #01-3177 Reservoir Village, Singapore 470740. Visit its Facebook for more information.

You will be spoilt for choice right here at Tokyo Soba. If the name hasn’t eluded you, Tokyo Soba hails from the Japanese capital city (where they are called Yomoda Soba) and is known for the namesake dish made without MSG. The noodles are made fresh in-store with machinery. As for the choices, there are over twenty to pick from. Popular options include prawn tempura, mixed vegetable tempura, deep-fried pork cutlet and braised beef Japanese sukiyaki-style.

Tokyo Soba is at 12 Gopeng St, #01-12/13/14 Icon Village, Singapore 078877. Visit its Facebook for more information.

Another option for handmade soba is Healthy Soba Iki, which imports organic buckwheat powder from Japan to make the noodles in-store each day. The restaurant is also a place to check out interesting flavours with Japanese noodles such as Bak Kut Teh, Herbal Chicken and even Laksa. Follow their social media channels, too, as they will release special limited edition items from time to time, such as this Burrata Cheese Soba for December 2023.

Healthy Soba Iki is at 1 Raffles Pl, #04-47 One Raffles Place, Singapore 048616. Visit its Instagram for more information.

Hana Restaurant is most known for its affordable 15-course omakase that clocks in at only $38 or $58 per person. Heck, there is even a vegetarian omakase too. But if you look at its a la carte menu, you will find the soba dish made for social media. Why? Because the noodles, aptly named Flying Cha Soba, are suspended in mid-air. They are served cold and come with the usual soy sauce-based dressing. Otherwise, there is the hot Cha Soba available too.

Hana Restaurant is at 583 Orchard Road, #01-17 Forum The Shopping Mall, Singapore 238884. Visit its Facebook for more information.

If you would like another soba option along Orchard Road, head to Suju Masayuki. The brand was founded in 1827 as a miso retailer before it started selling Japanese food in 2005 in Karuizawa. They have two outposts in Singapore – one in Mandarin Gallery and the other in Ngee Ann City right next to the Takashimaya taxi stand. Soba is made fresh in-store daily here too, with the option of having it hot with the inclusion of various types of tempura or cold with a lime and bonito-based dipping broth.

Suju Masayuki is at 391 Orchard Rd, #02-13 Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238873 or 333A Orchard Rd, #04-05 Mandarin Gallery, Singapore 238897. Visit its Instagram for more information.

Bentoss Hokkaido Restaurant is another restaurant that wants to pay homage to the food culture of the Japanese prefecture. After all, the restaurant was established there in 1980. Once you’re there, tuck into soba imported from the northern region and enjoy it prepared in several ways. There’s Zaru Soba with cold dipping broth, Kake Soba with hot soup and Ebiten or Tempura Soba served hot or cold with prawn and a mix of tempuras respectively. Finally, there’s the cold Kaisen Chirashi Soba topped with raw seafood.

Bentoss Hokkaido Restaurant is at 1 Kim Seng Promenade, B2-101 Great World City, Singapore 237994. Visit its website for more information.

ICYDK, Tenya is a Japanese chain of restaurants best known for its tempura. It was started in 1989 and has since grown to over 150 locations worldwide. While tendon, or tempura or rice, is the most common way of having tempura, Tenya also serves them with soba noodles. The hot variant comes with soup while the cold version comes with a dipping sauce. Once you’ve chosen the kind of soba you would like to have, the next step is to pick the accompanying tempura to finish the set meal.

Tenya has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its Facebook for more information.

Soba Maruya is a stall within the multi-label food hall Hokkaido Marche. The food hall brings together foods from across the northern island from cities such as Sapporo, Hakodate and Asahikawa. It is tucked within Orchard Central and it makes for a great spot to refuel with wallet-friendly Japanese food as you shop. Among the selections of soba is a hot version served with soup and a piece of kitsune or cold with a dipping sauce and kakiage, or vegetable tempura.

Soba Maruya is at 181 Orchard Road, #B2-11 to 22, Orchard Central Singapore 238896. Visit its Instagram for more information.

Strictly speaking, Tsuta serves ramen. But since they call their dish “soba” instead of “ramen”, because of chef-owner Yuki Onishi’s insistence on spreading Japanese food culture internationally, we’ve decided to include them here. Consequently, the noodles at Tsuta are made with wheat instead of buckwheat and come with broth such as Truffle Shoyu, Tonkotsu, Mala Tonkotsu and more. There is a vegetarian option too.

Tsuta has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its Instagram for more information.

This article was originally published in Singapore Women's Weekly.