Two Bowls of Kurume Ramen; Two Serves of Coffee.
Tonkotsu ramen came from Fukuoka.
You know that.
Pop quiz hot shot:
Where exactly in Fukuoka?
The first emulsification of pork broth, the white soup, happened in a town call Kurume. If Fukuoka is the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen, then Kurume is the cradle, the womb.
It’s the age-old story of ‘chef makes soup, chef forgets about soup, chef finds cloudy soup, chef serves soup anyway, chef is genius’.
‘Dry’ Bah Kut Teh fans, my homies in Klang know what I’m talking about.
Don’t take my word for it, I stole everything from NHK. I stumbled across their YouTube special on ramen a couple of months ago. With interviews, backstory, and history, it’s the best feature on ramen since the first issue of Lucky Peach. (You just need to get over the voiceover.)
So what’s the difference between Kurume Tonkotsu ramen and Hakata Tonkotsu ramen and Nagahama Tonkotsu ramen?
If you’re too lazy to watch the video, let me summarise:
Kurume ramen uses thicker noodles compared to the usual angel hair ramen in Hakata. The soup should be cooked in a Hagame pot, and it’s never empty. The shop tops up pork bones and water daily. Like those beef noodle soup stalls in Hong Kong, shops in Kurume claim to have had the same pot of tonkotsu broth boiling since 1947.
“Also, it’s only pork bone and water, nothing else,” Max said.
Max is the childhood friend / relative of Sayaka.
Sayaka was the first person I met (at reception) in International House Melbourne.
She’s 10 years older than me, and I’m 10 years older than Max.
But Max is the local resident of Kurume.
So age didn’t mean shit.
“Modern tonkotsu ramen add soy or other flavourings, but that’s not proper tonkotsu,” Max adds.
Turns out Max is also a purist.
When I knew I was meeting Sayaka (I drove from Fukuoka; she drove in from Miyazaki), I sent her a list of ramen places by triangulating various local ratings and reviews.
The shortlist was Taiho, Maruboshi, Hachi.
Taiho is synonymous with Kurume ramen, but also the most commercialised.
I’ve been to the Tenjin branch. Sayaka and Max have been to the original store countless times. My gut feeling, even if I tasted the ‘original’, my brain would probably not accept it as something new.
Max summed Maruboshi up perfectly in his text with Sayaka: ‘baseline ramen, no fancy bullshit pure standard tonkotsu’.
And he was right1.
I could smell it when I arrived outside the shop, but tasting it was just confirmation.
Perhaps because it was also ten in the morning, ‘baseline no fancy bullshit pure standard’ ramen was too much for me to handle.
I say ‘stinky’, but ramen experts call it kotteri, rich.
What’s great about Maruboshi though, is that if you order rice for 150 yen, you get unlimited access to side dishes like pickles, vegetables, potatoes. Japanese ‘banchan’.
A true family restaurant right next to the highway.
“Rumour has it, that they employ ex-convicts. That’s why they could open twenty four seven all the time,” Max said.
Coffee County opens at eleven, and a short queue formed right before they open.
I’ve been purchasing their beans by mail for a year now, and I always wanted a reason to see their Probat roasting machine in person. Surprisingly it’s Max’s first time even though he frequents a burger shop just around the corner.
I squealed internally at the ‘one-third latte’ on the menu. I’m so tired of asking cafes to go ‘less milk’ on my lattes in Japan I’d given up. Some places offer cortado, not many piccolo. (You’re asking what’s the difference? I know I know, wank talk.)
Anway, this place gets it. Latte with one-third of the usual milk.
The best way to enjoy milk coffee in my opinion.
What I did not expect, was to see a sandwich and cake bar. Max bought an apple tartetin and hazelnut tart. (Did we not just eat really thick ramen?)
There’s been a big push on Kurume to be the new cultural hotspot in Fukuoka. You can tell by the design on the tourism website. There are some real street creds here. The home of Bridgestone, Moonstar shoes are made here. The origin of Tonkotsu ramen is here. Kasuri fabric is here. Coffee County has been roasting here for ten years. But I wanted to hear from Max. How did this coolness come to be? How did I just taste coffee and cake as good if not better than Melbourne?
“We have this ghost street for ages some skater kids just went to the city and brought the culture back. Some went to America and bought really cheap stuff and sell it at a high price here.”
Is it easy to set up business here?
“This is just from a friend of a friend. It’s probably easy, but the older generation like landlords expect to be respected. Some that has no contribution to the business want special treatment just because they are seniors.”
Business in Japan has an invisible ‘relationship’ cost attached. Something more than money. I won’t say it’s better or worse than western capitalism, it’s something that I’m trying to learn.
I bought a bag of beans to take home on the way. The staff said customers get a free drink with every bean purchase. Since we’ve already had coffee, they will just apply a discount to the beans.
I will declare Coffee County as the best coffee spot in Japan.
Don’t take my word for it. Toshi from Market Lane rates this place. Ken from Bench Coffee rates this place. Sawa the Japanese lady at Small Batch North Melbourne rates this place. There is no business for a shop to be this good in Fukuoka, let alone Kurume.
I did not feel like a wanker tourist like I did in places like Fuglen, Kisume, or Camelback in Tokyo. Maybe I’m just biased because I had company.
I have a theory that only lonely people leaves one star reviews, but that’s for another post. We have another ramen place to catch.
“This place is like a machine,” Sayaka said.
Indeed you could feel the immediate ‘system’ compared to Maruboshi. They don’t have ticket machines here, so humans take order from you. The colour scheme is black, red, white and timber. Kitchen looks clean. Menu is small and concise.
Turns out Hachi was on the 2019 Michelin guide as a ‘plate’, a rank below ‘bib’, two ranks below the ‘macarons’. Do they still give that out in 2023? I don’t give a flying fornication.
When we arrived at 12.15pm the place was packed, but we managed to get seats on the counter.
Ramen, gyoza, fried rice were on the counter by 12.30pm.
If I did not experience Maruboshi, I would not have appreciated Hachi. The charsiu is made from the shoulder compared to the usual fatty belly.
The taste is more contemporary, broth easier to stomach.
I say ‘clean’, but ramen experts call it assari, crisp and light.
Hachi’s efficiency made the shop feel drastically colder than Maruboshi. We did not feel like we could linger and chit chat. Sure you can bring your children here, but they won’t be as comfortable. Definitely no refillable pickles or old ladies to strike up a conversation with you.
The plan was to do two ramen spots and two coffee spots from 10am - 1pm.
Alas Max’s mate’s place Boat was closed. It was the first time I realised it was a Monday. Sayaka had to drive back to Miyazaki and return her car before 5pm.
We hugged knowing we’d catch up again in Melbourne.
I asked Max where to buy souvenirs for the family, he recommended Toraya, a wagashi place not too far away.
A Japanese traditional sweet costs 200-300 yen. Last weekend we paid double for a toffee apple. Something was fundamentally wrong.
On my way back I stopped by a 7-Eleven and bought a Blue Mountain blend made by a machine to complete my game plan.
Yesterday I had two bowls of ramen.
One old-fashioned, one modern.
Two serves of coffee.
One specialty white, one instant black.
Met two friends.
One from 2003, one from 2023.
A video version is available here.
Max also had the best summary of Japan: Efficiently inefficent.