Here I continue my search for decent food in Beverly Hills, and I came across Kazan. It looked promising with their firm stance on delivering a uniqueness in all of LA. (Even across the USA) The noodles are the focus point with a blend of flours and aged for five days. They claim that you won’t have tried anything like it. A lot of restaurants do cut corners, they buy in broths that are already made and noodles that are cooked instantly, making it easier to serve up these types of dishes for lots of people, fast. The finer details are really important and here is where Kazan got my attention. It spoke to me. Yes, I did want homemade noodles, yes, I did want them in a homemade broth and yes, I wanted the whole dish made from scratch. This is exactly what I would try to do at home. I was really in the mood for this, so I set off and walked.
I took the lotus root chips to start just so I had something to nibble on. They were marinated in rice vinegar with Himalayan pink salt and Japanese seven spices, served with a Peruvian chilli dipping sauce. They tasted great; however, they did come out a little burnt in parts. The chilli sauce was very spicy, but I liked it.
As it was my first time here, I asked what it is I should be taking and was steered into the direction of the signature #1. This is Kazan’s original shina soba thin noodle in a clear, yet rich soy-based broth with truffle seasoning. I chose chicken as my protein, and it also came with green onions, Tokyo onions and homemade wontons. The fact that these were homemade too, I was so in my element. As the bowl was put down on my table I said, “Wow this looks great.” It was a huge portion but visually it looked very inviting and the smell coming off it was sublime. As I took my first bite of the noodles, instantly I understood what this place was about. The noodles are crafted using a specialised and fully customised noodle machine (just for the chef) right here in-house. You can call them artisan noodles. They did offer the perfect al denté texture and chewiness as promised. The chef also measures the thickness precisely and obsessively, this can only be a good thing. The broth was big, rich, and slightly salty. I was so glad it was made from scratch, a rarity these days. After a while it did feel very rich, possibly due to the portion size but I couldn’t complain. I really enjoyed the freshness and the flavours of it all.
Kazan deserves praise for thinking deeply about details, they are really passionate about what they are doing, and this delivers. If you want a fully homemade bowl of delicious Japanese goodness, here is a good place to experience that. I walked out feeling very satisfied and grateful that there are still chefs out there doing things properly. A unique, casual lunch but not casual in execution.
