Michelin-recommended Japanese noodle restaurant opens in Elk Grove. What’s on the menu?

By Benjy Egel

Updated August 22, 2024 9:54 PM

Inside Look is a Sacramento Bee series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories.

The Sacramento region’s first restaurant specializing in abura soba, Japanese noodles similar to brothless ramen, opened Thursday. It already has Michelin credentials.

Kajiken began serving bowls of noodles to lunch and dinner customers Thursday at 7470 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 120 in Elk Grove’s The Ridge shopping center.

The Japan-based chain made its West Coast debut in San Mateo last February and quickly earned a recommendation in the 2023 California Michelin Guide.

Elk Grove franchisee Alan Lin, who fell in love with abura soba on a 2021 trip to Tokyo, was similarly impressed by Kajiken. He began working to move a location into Curry Up Now’s former space after the Indian fusion concept closed in August 2023.

Elk Grove franchisee Alan Lin stands at Kajiken on Thursday. The Michelin-recommended restaurant serves abura soba, Japanese noodles similar to brothless ramen. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com

Abura soba is made with buckwheat noodles called soba that are denser and larger than ramen noodles. It’s served in a bowl with proteins, vegetables and at least one sauce, which Lin said are made in-house at the 1,700-square foot Elk Grove restaurant.

“It’s so different from regular ramen,” Lin said. “I like the texture of the noodles. It’s really chewy and thick, and blended with the soy sauce and the special oils in there, it gets a much stronger flavor than regular ramen.”

Kajiken offers nine types of abura soba in addition to Japanese appetizers and rice bowls, though three stand out as recommended choices: homura (spicy minced pork, bamboo shoots and fish powder), nikumori (spicy minced pork, pork slices and green onions) and roast beef (crispy onions, chaliapin sauce and yogurt sauce) all served over noodles and topped with a raw egg yolk. Bowls run $15-$18.

Kajiken’s signature dish, homura abura soba, sits on a table on their opening day Thursday. The dish features spicy minced pork, green onions, bamboo shoots, seaweed, fish powder, chives and raw egg yolk. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com

There are vegetarian options centered around shimeji and king trumpet mushrooms, Indian-inspired keema curry bowls and a ground chicken special marinated in soy sauce.

A guide at the bottom of Kajiken’s menu instructs customers to mix their abura soba for at least 20 seconds, add extra chili paste or vinegar from the tabletop boxes and eat while hot.