Monday, May 12, 2008

Soba In @ NZX, NiuZeXui Ara Damansara

NO LONGER IN OPERATION

During one late afternoon, Glorious Jade and I were out looking for some food as we had something light earlier in the day and were feeling hungry by 5pm. As I driving past Giant along the LDP Highway at Kelana, it looked like it was going to rain (judging by the dark clouds) and we had to decide quick. NiuZeXui (NZX) was nearby and I recalled Ekeng's post on some cold soba that he tried there and I was curious to try it out. After convincing Glorious Jade too, we headed onwards to NZX.

We found it after several attempts of walking in the wrong direction. To head towards this stall, walk along the long row of stalls in the centre. You will see several junctions along the stretch, look out for a stall in the centre that's called SWEETLY. With your back towards SWEETLY, walk away from the centre and towards the junction that you are now facing directly. You will find Soba In almost towards the end of the row of this junction.
Soba In

Soba In

Soba In is a small 2 in 1 place, with the other half of the shop selling Herbal Tea. So, it was no wonder that their set meals comes with a cup of home made Herbal Tea. The two stalls are operated by Ms Koh and her uncle.
Toppings
There are different type of toppings to choose from; lunch sets are only RM5.90/USD1.80 (inclusive of the herbal tea) where dinner sets (being a bigger portion) are at RM7.90/USD2.50 (yes, inclusive of a cup of herbal tea too). However if the sets are not in the combo that you want, you can choose from a list. Toppings range from RM1.50 to RM3.50/USD0.50 to USD1.00; julienned cucumber, carrot and eggs are the standard toppings always given on top of the other topping/s that one chooses.

A large portion of soba noodles is at RM4.80/USD1.50, whereas a small portion is RM3.80/USD1.20. The soba noodles comes with a special sauce, concocted by Ms Koh herself. One has a choice of original, garlic or spicy - both Glorious Jade and I opted for garlic.

Soba with Chuka Wakame - marinated seaweed
I chose from the set of the one with Chuka Wakame - marinated seaweed. The plate came with an array of colours from all the different ingredients and topped with sesame seeds. It was a pretty sight :o). The noodles aren't really the conventional soba but more like a thinner version of yellow noodles but it has a different bite unlike those of yellow noodles. So, it's more like a localised version rather than a Japanese one.

Soba with Chuka Idako - baby octopus
Glorious Jade chose the Chuka Idako - baby octopus and it was just as lovely as my set. We both enjoyed tucking into the delicious, refreshing noodles and enjoyed each and every bite as we bit into the noodles along with the crunchy julienned vegetables together with the toppings.

Good stuff!
What's our verdict??? I'm sure you can tell from this pic :o).

The sauce is the secret to making this healthy cold soba plate a tasty meal. You know what I usually say of healthy meals right? "What's healthy usually isn't tasty". Well, I stand corrected here and I'm glad I've found another place to have a tasty AND healthy meal (apart from the carb, hehe) plus one that's reasonably priced! Of course, this is a simple meal at a simple set-up stall . Considering all the factors, this cold soba dish gets the thumbs up from me. If you like cold soba, you'll definitely like this.

NZX is pretty quiet during the daytime with a slightly better crowd at night time. It's a pity as I feel there isn't enough marketing done to increase people's awareness of NZX. So, if you're ever in this area and wondering what to eat, check out this place. I always make it a point to eat at Soba In whenever I'm at NZX.

Check out Ekeng's write up and directions to NZX HERE and my previous post on NZX itself.

Soba In
Lot No. N6& N8,
NiuZeXui, Ara Damansara
No. 2, Jalan PJU 1A/41B,
47301 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 012-6019 922


"If giving up noodles meant that I could lose weight and be thin, I don't wanna be thin!"
- wmw

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

So pretty leh! Doesn't it looked like yee sang?

a feast, everyday said...

oh i love soba and tt looks yummz. Does look like yee sang, love tt too :D

Anonymous said...

Some cold soba is good.. :) i would love it.. :)

HairyBerry said...

yeah, i agree. the NZX hype died right after cny. nice place to hangout. but rather obscure. the location, i mean. i guess this is the only place where one doesnt have to queue to get big apple donuts...hehe

Anonymous said...

but to pair soba with herbal tea sounds weird..nevertheless i must try out the soba at NZX!

Anonymous said...

Fast food soba? So very cool. I think they'd do roaring business if they were in a more crowded area though. Thanks for the review, dear! :)

ling239 said...

the sobo served cold ?

Jun said...

alamak! the noodles look like those that i cook over here-- except i dun have baby octopus lah ;p

Xiu Long Bao said...

Nice leh this place. Love soba :) Eh, I still havent figured out where is this NZX oh.

Beachlover said...

I like your last motto.lol!!.I won't give up my noodle to be thin!.So let keep eating!!lol!

Hazza said...

So few seats how to make money?? It really does look like a japanese backstreet cafe though!

J2Kfm said...

hehe, half expecting the place to be hip/trendy/japanese type of restaurant, but the 1st pic surprised me. :)
healthy meals are yummy too, case in point, Lui Cha Rice?

wmw said...

jason, a feast everyday : Hmmph...it does look like yee sang, now that the both of you mentioned it.

mama bok : Haha...so when you coming back? :o)

Nic : Yalah...dunno what's up with the marketing people.

kampungboycitygal : Well, like I said it's a localised soba version. I found it okay. But of course, i like the soba better.

kenny mah : Me think so too. Mmmm...fast food soba as you say, try it!

ling239 : Yah, this is served the cold way, you normally eat the ones with soup?

Jun : Then you must cook this for me when you come back next, I'll bring my own baby octopus. hehehe....

sc said...

will keep this place in mind..the kopitiam in the centre was the only place to makan at the earlier stages and that place sucks (well, i had a real bad experience)

Simon Seow said...

I think this shop was featured in China Press too. Read it somewhere.

Precious Pea said...

Very colourful...almost like bibimbap..only that it's noodle instead of rice. Very fusion looking indeed.

New Kid on the Blog said...

for a cold noodle this is consider cheap.

Anonymous said...

http://mapdoo.com/?id=aab126560

this is the location map of Soba In... is it the same on ethat appeared on 1Day5Meals?

catsndogs said...

hey hey hey...
update update.. now have 2 japanese restaurant n 1 krean restaurant. the set lunch of the japasnes restaurant was not bad. u should try it.....:d

till then.... see u there... if have chance...... again :P

wmw said...

XLB : No worries...when you come back next ;o)

beachlover : Yalah, I love noodles leh...

Hazza : Well, guess that's the unique point of eating here :o)

j2kfm : Hahah...I'm not fond of Lui Cha, dunno how to eat it.

SC : Oooh...tell me more about the kopitiam.

Simon : That's great. This stall and NZX could do with more publicity.

Precious P : Try it if you're the kind who likes cold soba!

NKOTB : Yup! Shhhh....don't let them know. Hahaha...

amanu : Thanks for linking it with the map. I'm not sure as I only watch that series off and on.

catsndogs : Hmmm...will look out for it...yalah...hope to catch up with you soon.