It had the effect of a Trump speech, a shocking announcement on seattlemet.com that Chef Mutsuko Soma would be leaving Miyabi 45th on February 13 to enjoy motherhood, with no definite plans for her return. By the end of the piece, pursuant to the Donald’s pronouncements, I felt despair. Okay, so the simile is as thin as hand-pulled noodles but, hell, handmade soba would disappear maybe forever, it turns out not only from Seattle but the ENTIRE West Coast, according to Seattle Met. One would think that the Bay Area, Southern California, Portland or Vancouver would produce SOMEONE of equal caliber. Faced with Chef Soma’s imminent departure, my wife and I decided to head to Wallingford today for one last soba meal.
It was natural to bring up the soba question with our waitress. It turns out the Seattle Met piece was not as dire as its first reading sounded. Yes, it’s true that Soma would be leaving Miyabi 45th and that her soba would be leaving with her. It’s also a fact that she is not scheduled to return. But, soba will continue to be offered at the restaurant, although not in its many variations. A new chef from the Southcenter Miyabi, Masa Ishikura will be taking over. If it’s so difficult to identify another soba master on the West Coast, where will the soba come from? Seattle Eater says that sous chef Joey McGregor will apprentice at a restaurant in Japan.
In any case, I enjoyed the chyashyu seiro soba again (here’s my previous review), as deeply a satisfying noodle dish as anything I’ve had, without doubt the best soba I’ve eaten ever. This time though, the pork slices (chyashyu) were quite chewy, a chore to cut into smaller pieces with only mouth and chopsticks, a huge lapse in quality control. But the noodles and broth were as legendary as ever.
We also ordered chicken karaage. Right off, I’ll say that this is a superb version (☆☆☆☆). The chicken thigh pieces were succulent, made tastier by having spent time in a marinade. What catapulted the karaage to super-stardom was the thin, light-as-a-feather crispy and virtually greaseless batter, most likely made with potato starch (katakuriko). An unconventional but inspired aioli came on the side.
Will Miyabi 45th continue to attract devoted fans? Only time will tell.
Miyabi 45th
2208 N 45th St
Seattle, WA 98103
206.632.4545
zoomeboshi 
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