Kyushu Trip Day 1: Sushi, Ramen, Street Stall in Fukuoka

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Fukuoka has become one of our favorite get-away places since this LCC started flying out of Okinawa.  By getting the promotional rate, we bought the round trip for JPY14000 each this time.

 

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Tatsumi Sushi.

We came here 4 years ago.  Loved the quality and the price.

 

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We love eating at the counter.  But we were a group of 4 this time and they have assigned a room for us on the 2nd floor.

 

 

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A nice room with privacy.

 

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Lunch course is available at JPY2900, JPY3900, JPY5200.  We chose JPY3900 course.

 

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Starting with steamed egg pudding.  Based on very flavorful chicken broth.

 

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A little salad.

 

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Gari, pickled ginger, is gorgeous here.  The balance of sour, sweet, spicy, and umami (kombu) is perfect.

 

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All the nigiri is seasoned here.

From the left, flounder with anchovy, tuna with garlic, yellowtail belly with miso.

 

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From left, ‘Anago’ conger, spanish mackerel with radish, pandalus with its liver.

Spanish mackerel is a spring fish.  I liked this one the best.  Loaded with fine light oil.  Radish was such a perfect garnish.  Pandalus was beautiful too with the flavorful liver sauce.

 

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Marinated snapper with Kombu.  Inari sushi.

 

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Salmon eggs and Uni.

 

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For JPY3900, we think it’s a very descent, delicious lunch.  All the fish is prepared and seasoned very carefully.  Great sushi.

 

 

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Ramen Genei.

We could not stop.  We went to check out a Ramen place.  The owner chef of this place has showed in a Japanese famous TV show “Iron Chef”.  He was the only Ramen chef who was in that TV show.  They became very famous for their creative delicate ramen through TV and now they have started a new location in the central Tokyo, Roppongi.  But this is where they started.

 

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A very unique theater style restaurant.

 

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Soy sauce base ramen with shrimp flavor.

 

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Their original style of Tonkotsu (pork base) ramen.

 

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Unfortunately we didn’t like it one bit.  They said the seasoning sauce is made of all kinds of dried foods like kombu, different fish, shrimps, scallops, and abalone.  But we didn’t find any of those Umami in the soup.  It was just too salty.

 

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We went out for street wagon stall for dinner.  Fukuoka is very famous for this kind of street foods.  It’s a bit like night market in Taiwan.  We hear a lot about it, but we’ve hardly experienced it.  I’ve been to several in the past, but I just had Tonkotsu ramen.  I didn’t know the full potentials.  We are here to find out.

The one we chose was Okamoto, near Hotel New Otani.

A very popular one.  So we went before it opened at 19:00.  There were people waiting in the rain already.

 

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There are only 10 seats (shared bench).  We have managed to get our seats in the first round.

 

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Oden.  The raddish was beautiful and so was the rest.  Very tasty light soup in Kansai style.

 

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Char-grilled beef hanging tender.  A muscle near diaphragm.  Done in perfect temparature.

 

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Char-grilled beef tongue.  (Picture shows just a part of it.)  Very tasty.  Perfectly done of course.

 

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This was such a delight.  Beef liver.  I’ve never had liver cooked this perfectly.  Fried and caramelized outside, so juicy and tender inside. Scallion and ginger is a great idea for the simple garnish too.

These 3 kinds of beef char-grill is like the signature menu I think.

 

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Chichen thigh x 2 and chicken skirt (diaphragm) x 2.  The skirt was surprisingly good.

 

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Char-grilled mackerel.  Just beautifully done.  Perfect temperature, perfect seasoning (salt only), fresh (non-frozen) fatty fish.

 

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Delish!!!

Everything was amazing.  Everything was simply but perfectly prepared and cooked.  And all this came from a tiny stall on the street!  It’s very very impressive.

 

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We were so full.  We decided to walk back to our hotel.  It was a pleasant slow 40 minute walk..

 

 

 

 

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