A Ramen Review Without Photography.
The Yen is weak.
Paired with the ability to shop tax-free, Japan is currently the cheapest place to buy Apple products. Here’s the thing though, don’t be the idiot (i.e. me) who drove all the way into the city, only to realise Apple stopped offering tax-free since June last year.
Head to electronic stores like Bic Camera, Yodobashi, Yamada, or Best Denki …they’ll gladly grant what you deserve, provided they have stock.
If you’re lucky you’ll be served by a salesperson with the same last name as you. And he’ll tell you where to go for authentic Chinese food.
This is how I grow my ‘to-go’ list in Fukuoka.
Silver lining number two, since it’s mid-autumn festival, Komaya made a special dango for the occasion.
I bought six for the family.
Walked back to the car, looked at the time, then at Google Maps, and then the time again.
I can make it.
And I drove to Yakuin.
Five minutes before opening, there were already nine people waiting.
Sucks to know I would not make the first seating.
Thank god Steve Jobs for smartphones right?
Check out the notice at the front, translated by Google.
This should give you an idea of Mendohanamokoshi - my favourite ramen place in Fukuoka. A complete 180 from my ramen experience two days ago.
This will be my attempt to review a ramen restaurant without any photos of the restaurant.
Let’s start with the menu in 2017:
2019:
Yesterday:
Even though I told myself ‘the menu looks the same’ as I sat down, it was not the case after comparison.
He was more into calligraphy in the beginning, using a thinner pen for the descriptions.
And then he went ‘fuck it let me do calligraphy for everything’.
Present day, descriptions are printed; title handwritten in a thinner pens. There are now more items on the menu. It reminds me of those seasonal menus in ryokans. Elegant, and refined.
You don’t need to be fluent in Japanese to see the item 濃厚鶏そば moving from first to third over the years, and 中華そば went from second, third, then number one, crowned with 特上 (premium) title.
If it’s your first time here (without me? Do you even dare) go for the
濃厚鶏そば
Rich chicken soba.
Translated from the website:
This bowl features a rich chicken white broth made by simmering a large amount of flavorful herb-infused chicken bones and a minimal amount of pork bones. By blending this intense chicken broth with a rich soup made from ingredients like Rausu kelp and dried scallops, the result is a rich yet moderately salty and refreshing flavor. The noodles are thin, flat, and made with fragrant wheat from Fukuoka prefecture, designed to complement the soup by allowing for a good interplay of flavors.
It was my first-ever bowl here.
Since then I have kept telling myself to try the others, but failed to take the leap. It’s not exactly tori paitan from Ginza’s Kagari (if you know you know), but it scratches the itch.
I thought about my own advice I give to others:
The first item on the menu is usually the shop owner’s favourite.
特上中華そば
This bowl is a unique interpretation by Hanamokoshi, constructing a ramen with a clear broth, which is not very common in Fukuoka. In addition to domestic young chicken and pork bones, it uses ingredients such as Rausu kelp, saury flakes, urume flakes, mackerel flakes, and premium dried bonito flakes often used in high-end traditional Japanese restaurants. The aim is to layer the umami of the ingredients in a complex way, not to create a taste that stands out, but rather to bring balance. It does not use expensive ingredients, and the aromatic oil is kept minimal. No chemical seasonings are used. This bowl is recommended for those who don't usually eat ramen or have tried various cuisines. The noodles are thin, and hand-kneaded, prioritizing a smooth texture in your throat.
As the guy stared at me, I could only repeat what the three ladies said before me:
Tokujo Chukasoba kudasai.
Hello history, my old friend.
As we wait for my noodles, did you know:
There was a time in the 1910s, when Japan had no concept of noodles 面 ?
They had soba, which was milled from buckwheat and hand-rolled and hand-cut and all that. Like General Tso’s Chicken, the Chinese migrants brought these springy wheat strands made with alkaline water, with chicken soup and sliced pork on top into the country, sold as street food, cheap food, easy food.
That’s why they were called chuka soba - the Chinese soba.
Well acshually, before chuka soba 中華そば, it was shina soba 支那そば , a name that reminds both sides too much of the big fight that concluded in 19451.
Momofuku Ando then invented instant noodles in the 50s and - this is me speculating - thought spelling the name chikin ramen phonetically in katakana ‘チキンラーメン’ - would make it look and sound way cooler than tori chukasoba とりちゅうかそば2.
Kanji, hiragana? So old-fashioned. So lame.
Then Japan went through a roller coaster of expanding and keeping the expansion from collapsing, during which ramen-making became an advanced and refined soft power export, bordering a spectator sport now.
Many new shops nowadays will use the old chuka soba name to pay respect, or feign superiority.
Katakana, English? So old-fashioned. So lame.
Marketing trends they uh, love to come in circles.
Wait, I think I see the guy ladling my bowl of soup.
We’ll talk about the difference between hiragana, katakana and kanji next time.
The conclusion is, that ramen and chukas oba mean the same thing.
Noodles.
My first sip was surprising, familiar and narcissistic at the same time.
This is really close to what I made last Saturday.
Maybe because we used the same konbu. If I amped and mixed up the bonito flakes (which I can’t do in Melbourne), it’s not that far away.
‘Deep’ was the only primal reaction I had. Couldn’t taste the pork as described. Almost udon-like.
The similarities ended there - noodles were different (much thinner), the charsiu was different (shoulder), and there was a hidden piece of chicken that was - I don’t know - sous vide or slow-cooked to perfection.
But to even recognise the broth profile, thinking back to past-Harvard who never cooked, made me wiggle my feet under the counter.
The guy next to me ordered something else (item number two), and it came in a different bowl.
This is what I hate about choices. Food envy is guaranteed when you’re alone, can’t share, and have to wait 30 minutes at a ramen restaurant.
Number two was ‘chuka soba for adults with bitter taste’. What does that mean? Am I adult enough to appreciate it? Did you see number three? It says ‘pork resurrection’. Was it way before the chicken? Did he start making tonkotsu? Should I get another bowl, or just a kaedama?
I ordered a kaedama, the one with ‘egg’ written in the description. I assumed it would come with a ramen egg.
“Hakata no kaedama!” The guy next to me yelled, like Gandalf.
Can you stop being so sure of yourself? I’m imploding here.
And when his kaedama came, the smell of spicy mustard leaves with sesame oil permeated the whole shop. He wolfed everything down.
I should’ve gotten that. You idiot you idiot you idiot. Can you stop fidgeting and enjoy your bowl of ramen. No, shut up you idiot.
So severe was my food envy, that I couldn’t finish. I know, I know, to not finish your noodle or soup, is the equivalent of premature ejaculation - the biggest sin a ramen eater can commit.
I thought I was going add the noodles into the remaining soup, as normal kaedamas go, but seems like the rule here is to eat it as is, to taste the wheat.
I tried dunking some noodles into the soup, it became sort of lukewarm, eggy, noodles. And I just …. apologised, and paid.
The owner said it’s ok. It happens.
Liar. I don’t believe you.
Then again, you can’t blacklist me who only comes every three years.
I drove away thinking that was a disaster.
Why didn’t I Google image search the menu before ordering?
Why didn’t I just wait and follow the guy?
Why did I even order a kaedama?
Why didn’t I order no.2 or no.4?
Why didn’t I just order the usual?
I think I even ran a red light, clipped some cyclists, and gave a finger to some school kids.
Now you know why Genki Ippai offers only one ramen.
But as I exited the city, looking at all the fast food chain restaurants, the franchises, my heart rate slowed down.
If I wanted to get exactly what I wanted, there’s Ichiran, Ippudo, McDonald’s, all the konbinis.
Sure, I didn’t get that ‘new shop smell’ like I had two days ago, but then again, I also didn’t get to have this conversation with myself.
Mendohanamokoshi is always out of my comfort zone, and makes me question many things outside of taste. Yet at the same time, all I could think about was ramen.
Did you even notice the owner engraved his own face on the bowl?
To be honest, I’m probably over ramen at this point.
But if it’s your first time here, this will be part of my food tour. We’ll struggle together, but that’s part of the fun.
I think it’s still my favourite ramen place in Fukuoka.
I started the day expecting a new discounted iPad.
Noods were a bonus.
Don’t forget the limited edition dango for the family for the mid-autumn festival.
The day was good.
Before Sina Soba some called it Nanking Soba 南京そば and that’s waaaay too close to the bone. Auschwitz coffee, anyone?
Fun fact: the first pack of instant noodles was 6 times the price of a bowl of normal noodles. Fun fact #2 Nissin Chikin Ramen is still one of the best-selling instant noodles in the country. It’s not my cup of tea, but I can see why many Japanese have a nostalgic soft spot for it.