Cocoron’s “Heartwarming Soba”
I had to move across the island (of Manhattan…sometimes we forget it’s an island) to finally appreciate this little LES gem. To think that I could have rolled out of bed in my old apartment and avoided the half hour wait…but some things are just worth waiting for. If you’ve been to Cocoron, have you noticed how ironic it is that they have more cold soba options than “heartwarming” options? Anyways, happiness surely ensues every visit to this adorable nook in the LES.
Japanese people and their cartoons…that’s why we love them! I definitely didn’t know soba was so healthy. Just another excuse to go back to Cocoron.
Andrew encouraged us to get this jiggly white thing, the Sobagaki, which actually turned out to be a YUMMY jiggly white thing. It might’ve been a little too sticky for my taste, but I’m always down to try something new. This is the first sobagaki that I’ve had, but I can tell you that it had a very subtle flavor (similar to buckwheat) and consistency resembling mushy gnocchi (in the nicest way possible).
Good things come in small P——-Pork & OKARA Croquettes. Yup, go for the powerful “flavor balls”–as I like to call them–made of potato, carrot, onion and okara (soy pulp). Crunchy on the outside, not greasy at all, WAY too small–I WANT MORE. #fatty
MMMMMMMMMM Cocoron’s soba was incredibly delicious! Although more than half the menu is cold soba, I opted for a warm bowl of Tororo Wakame Soba. The tororo (grated yam) and wakame (seaweed) didn’t really seem too appealing at first, but it was a great combination of ingredients. After the first bite, the high quality of the soba was very apparent to moi. Andrew and Jon were all smiles too. The soba had a slightly grainy quality which could only mean…this soba was legit. The soup base was light and clean yet flavorful (super surprising without any meat).
Nomz nomz nomz. This Green Tea Ice Cream, Red Bean Paste and Mochi Parfait was so freaking amazing. The bottom layer consisted of corn flakes! Yeah…for some reason, Japanese people LOVE corn flakes (and I’m totally okay with that). The mochi had the perfect combination of stickiness and chewiness to make me happy.
If you couldn’t tell already, Cocoron gets 1,000,000 thumbs up from this fatty. Soba was never top of mind for me in terms of Japanese food. It was always overshadowed by udon and ramen, but thanks to Cocoron, I’ll be looking out for soba places too. I love this hole-in-the-wall: great Little-Gem-of-Tokyo vibe, nice people, great food and open kitchen action. Just get ready for a wait…
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