Fukuoka :: Home to Hawks and Ramen

Last month, my husband had an opportunity to watch the final game of the Japan Series from the owner's box of one of the competing teams. That is not an opportunity you turn down, especially when it means you get a good excuse to take a weekend trip. I myself did not have a ticket to the game, but was happy enough to tag along for the 6 hour Shinkansen ride to Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is the largest city on the island of Kyushu. It is known for tonkotsu style ramen, my personal favorite. Typical ramen broth is made with a salt, soy sauce or miso base. Tonkotsu ramen, or Hakata Style, is made with a pork bone based ramen that is milky and very rich. One of the most famous ramen restaurants in the world (not an exaggeration) is Ippudo. If you've ever waited in that line in NY, you probably know why. Ippudo originated in Fukuoka and serves up a bangin' bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Another famous chain in Japan is Ichiran, which I wrote about way back when.

Going straight to the source. It's what dreams are made of. This humble looking bowl of ramen may have been the best thing I've eaten since moving to Japan. *WHOA* To be fair, there were a lot of factors working in its favor - it was cold, I was eating outdoors and I had just drank a 500 ml bottle of beer on my own. 

"Eating ramen outdoors alone?" you may have asked yourself. Why, yes. Fukuoka is also known for their delightful yatai - outdoor nighttime food stalls. And since I didn't have tickets to the game, I wandered around downtown Fukuoka in search of ramen. As with most places, some of the best food can be found in or near the red light districts. What can I say, pervs just know how to eat. These yatai along the river were just a stones throw away from some pretty seedy stuff. Gross or convenient, depending on who you are. 

Meal of champions. 

Fukuoka is also known for their adorable bite-sized gyoza.

The opposite of bite-sized - a sumo wrestler. November is sumo season and along with the Japan Baseball Series, there was also a big tournament over the weekend. 

It's really hard to find experimental sushi that is not gross, but I managed for find something really unique and delicious at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in the basement of a shopping mall. This is raw salmon nigiri brushed with mayonnaise, half-cooked and caramelized with a blow torch, topped with a slice of jalapeno pepper and cracked pepper. I really wish this shop had an outlet in Tokyo because it was amazing. 

Oh yeah, the baseball. Now, as you may know, I am a big Yakult Swallows fan. The Swallows made the playoffs this year and even beat their nemesis, the Yomiuri Giants, to move on to the 2nd stage. That's not nothing. But they eventually lost to the Chunichi Dragons. Needless to say, for various reasons, I was rooting for Softbank Hawks to beat Chunichi. 

This by the way, is a bronze mold of the hand of Sadaharu Oh. Along with being a lyric in a Beastie Boys song, he is also the original Homerun King of Japan and former manager of the Softbank Hawks. 

I watched Game 7 from the Stadium Gift Shop with a bunch of die hard fans who were also ticket less. 

And Softbank won! 

My Lunch :: March 13th :: Zenya Ramen Akasaka

There are a few new shops opening up just in time for the nice weather. Zenya Ramen specializes in Hakata ramen but also makes other varieties such as miso and tsukemen. Hakata style ramen uses a thinner noodle and the broth is cloudy since it is a variation of tonkotsu (pork bone) broth.  I got the basic Hakata ramen which comes with green onions, half of a soft boiled egg, a slice of charshu (roast pork) and a nice fatty piece of pork belly. I love pork belly, so this was a welcome change to my ramen routine.

Zenya reminds me of a popular Hakata ramen branch, Jangara, but I think Zenya is better because they have better eggs. Over boiled eggs - ladies, that's a deal breaker! There are 4 other locations in Japan, with the Akasaka station the newest of the bunch and only 1 of 2 in Tokyo.

Zenya Ramen
5-1-1 Akasaka
Akasaka Station (Chiyoda)

Ichiran Ramen :: Have It Your Way

Hungry, wandering around Shinjuku on a cold and rainy day, I fortuitously stumbled upon Ichiran, a famous ramen chain in Tokyo. Ichiran is famous for it's single eating stalls and their "have it the
way you like" ordering system. There's a ticket machine out front where you order the basics but once you get inside, a waitress hands you an order form to fill out. Like garlic? Order extra. Not a fan of
green onions? Have them hold it. There are about 6 categories which you can adjust according to your preferences. This is tonkotsu style ramen, so I prefer lots of greens to offset the richness of the broth.
They also have a special red sauce unique to their shop - I suggest getting 2 scoops of the stuff.

Their slow boiled egg comes in the shell, so you have to do a little work to get to it but it's worth it. I judge any good ramen shop by their eggs - they must be slow cooked, the old fashion style - no hard
boiled eggs please! (eggs at ramen shops are like fries at burger joints - it won't make your meal but it can certainly break it) According to the Momofuku Cookbook, Japanese women used to take
baskets of eggs to the hot springs back in the day and that's how they slow cooked their eggs.
If you've never had a slow boiled egg, do yourself a favor and have one. I'm not a yolk lover at all, but I cannot resist the creamy custard yolks of slow boiled ramen eggs.

Ichiran Ramen
Multiple locations in Tokyo
Shinjuku 3-Chome
Shibuya 1-Chome
Roppongi 4-Chome
Tokyo Dome

There is also an Ichiran in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Tokyo Ramen Map

The Frugal Traveler of the NY Times recently wrote a piece about ramen in Tokyo. The article and accompanying slideshow are mouthwatering. He also put together a Google map of some ramen shops in the city.


View Tokyo's Ramen Shops in a larger map

I have been on a bit of a ramen kick since coming back from Vietnam. One thing I've learned is that the ramen egg is really important to me. It has to be a slow cooked egg so that the yolk is creamy and yummy. I had a hardboiled egg in a bowl this week and it just really ruined things for me. David Chang has a great little write up in his Momofuku cookbook about slow cooked eggs in Japan. You should buy his book if not for the recipes, for the interesting stories.

Kamukura Ramen :: New Year's Dinner

Most Asian cultures believe that eating noodles on New Year's brings you longevity and Japan is no different. Traditionally, soba noodles are eaten on the New Year's Eve but we opted for ramen noodles instead. We stumbledupon a poster of Wentworth Miller of Prison Break (huge in Japan) outside Kamukura ramen shop in Shibuya and had our last meal and beers of 2009.
あけまして おめでとう ございます‼

The giant menu and ticket machine is outside of the shop. They have lots of different iterations of their veggie broth ramen, but I would stick to their recommendations such as the negi/cha siu ramen pictured above. I like this place because their ramen doesn't weigh you down and knock you out like tonkotsu and hakata varieties. Lots of seats and hardly ever a wait, it's a great fall back if you can't find anything easy in super busy Shibuya. Other locations in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.

Kamukura Ramen
29-4 Udagawacho
Shibuya Station (JR, Marunouchi, Ginza, Hanzomon)


View Larger Map

My Lunch :: Sept 18 :: Daisugen Ramen

Shouyu Ramen at Daisougen in Akasaka. Passed on the chance to try Miso Ramen with CHEESE. Hmm...I like that they're trying to be inventive, but I much prefer traditional ramen. Portions are pretty big for lunch, at least for someone like me, but that just means it's a pretty good deal.

Daisougen Ramen
Akasaka Mitsuke Station (Marunouchi, Ginza)