Article by: anees

Fukuoka's classic noodle dish is "Yaki Ramen.

Along with pork bone ramen, Fukuoka's classic noodle dish is "yaki ramen." Born in 1968 at the Hakata stand "Kokinchan". Yaki ramen is the royal road of food stalls, and the menu was originally derived from pork bone ramen.

This time, we asked Mr. Uemura, a local ramen writer, to introduce us to a recommended restaurant where you can eat delicious yaki ramen!

Report by the best ramen writer in Kyushu

Toshiyuki Uemura

Born in Kagoshima City in 1976. Representative director of J.9 Co., Ltd. While attending the Department of Photography, Kyushu Sangyo University, I went to Yakushima to shoot my work. Fascinated by the life of the island, he settles down as it is. In 2002, started the writer business in Fukuoka. In the same year, he was active as a ramen writer with the serialization "Bali Uma! Kyushu Ramen Strongest Retsuden" in Kyushu Walker. He is in charge of numerous ramen pages in each medium and has interviewed more than 3,000 ramen shops. He has a close relationship with the shop owners in the ramen world, and also serves as a judge for the Kurume Tonkotsu Ramen 80th Anniversary Festival, Fukuoka Ramen Show Public Relations, Softbank Hawks Ramen Festival and other food event supervision, and NEXCO West Japan Gourmet Contest. His success as a ramen writer was also introduced in the British Guardian newspaper and the German television ZDF.

It's not just that popular food stall. Yaki ramen is freedom!

This time, I would like to introduce you to the "secret shop" of "yaki ramen," one of the standard noodle dishes you'll want to eat when you come to Fukuoka. First, let's take a brief look at Hakata's yaki ramen situation and history.

Yaki ramen was born in 1968 (Showa 43) at the Hakata stand "Kokinchan". A long line at the entrance of Oyafuko Street. Speaking of yaki ramen, it's a royal road stall, so I think many people have visited it.

Yaki ramen is originally a menu derived from pork bone ramen. Kokinchan's first-generation tried to make use of the surplus noodles, and soon after the opening of the business, he devised it.

Grilled ramen from "Nagahama Mangetsu"

Kokinchan is so popular that the restaurant's grilled ramen (doteyaki-style rich sauce, a small amount of pork bone soup, and stir-fried thin noodles) is the standard, but in reality, it varies at each store and each stall. There are various styles.

In addition to the “Monja Like” grilled ramen that is as thick as Kokinchan, the “Yakisoba Like” has less juice.

In addition, there is a lot of juicy "Champon Like" grilled ramen. The ingredients on top, such as fried eggs and baby stars, also bring out the individuality of each store.

In other words, just as it is "Ramen is Freedom!", Yaki ramen is also free.

Add a small number of thin noodles and pork bone soup. The strongest knob with anything else

If you call it "Hakata" yaki ramen and define it strongly, it's about using thin noodles for ramen,
adding a small amount of pork bone soup, and roasting
it. The rest is free!

I also eat pork bone ramen when I drink it, but I also add that "yaki ramen is completely a" knob "of sake" as a local sensation.

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. From here, I would like to introduce the "Nagahama Mangetsu" yaki ramen that I recommend.

Sip the grilled ramen from the little-known store "Nagahama Mangetsu"

The location of "Nagahama Mangetsu" is the Nagahama area, a sacred place for tonkotsu ramen. It is located in the fresh fish market area, where many food stalls used to line up. The nearest subway is Akasaka Station on the Airport Line. It takes a little from the center of Tenjin, but you can walk there.

A ramen bar with the stalls as it is. All-weather type that can be used during the day

Reasons to recommend "Nagahama Mangetsu". Not to mention the deliciousness of other dishes such as yaki ramen, which is the main character of this time, but above all, it is attractive that it is a "store with the stalls as it is".

Many food stalls take a rest in stormy weather, but this is an all-weather type. And it is now possible to serve "raw food" such as sashimi, which is taboo at food stalls according to the Fukuoka City Ordinance, as a roadside store. The width of the menu has expanded since the stall era.

Since the food stalls in the basic city are specialized at night, they are open irregularly under the current circumstances, but since the store is also open for lunch, you can enjoy the standard food stall menu in the daytime. It's also useful as a place to entertain friends who have come to Fukuoka.

The stalls that were in Nagahama are brought into the store as they are. Eight seats are set up around the stalls, and there are also spacious table seats.

After all, the counter of the stall is a special seat. It feels like a more comfortable stall with air conditioning and heating, regardless of the weather.

The grilled ramen of "Nagahama Mangetsu" should be "simple"!

"Yaki ramen" 750 yen

It's a simpler visual among the grilled ramen in Fukuoka. Ingredients such as chopped pork, cabbage, peppers, and green onions. The taste of the ingredients exudes into a small amount of pork bone soup, making it thick like "concentrated champon soup". It's entwined with thin straight noodles!

The process of boiling noodles is the same as regular pork bone ramen. You can also specify the hardness of noodles such as grilled ramen, kata, and yawa.

After frying the ingredients in a wok, add the boiled noodles.

Pour a small amount of pork bone soup here and mix it with the noodles so that it is simmered.

Free pickled ginger on the table is your choice. For paid toppings, we recommend takana, bean sprouts, and boiled eggs. Highly viscous, rich, and dense pork bone soup matches thin noodles.

The yaki ramen at the restaurant is somewhere between the categories "Champon Like" and "Yakisoba Like" mentioned above.

We also have a wide selection of single dishes such as "green onion char siu" for 400 yen and "gyoza" for 400 yen.

The classic "Nagahama Ramen" that hasn't changed since the stall era is 550 yen. A masterpiece that combines pork bone-like punch and ease of drinking. This thin straight noodle is also used in grilled ramen.

The author who slurps yaki ramen

Like ramen, yaki ramen has a wide variety of flavors in Fukuoka. Not to mention "Kokinchan", which is famous as the origin stall, but if you find "Yaki ramen" on the menu table at "Nagahama Mangetsu" introduced this time, and other stalls and izakaya, please order it. You should be able to discover the charm of each by eating and comparing.

In the beginning, I said, "Yaki ramen is a knob," as a local sensation. One person asks for one cup of ramen, but yaki ramen is a menu that is often shared by everyone. When ordering at a noodle bar, start with a plate with sake. recommend.

* All prices include tax

<Store information>
◆ Mangetsu
Nagahama Address: 1F Minato Building, 2-5 Nagahama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
TEL: 080-3963-1105

* This article is as of the date of the interview (September 1, 2021). It is created based on the information.

* Please check the store's SNS and website in advance as the timeliness, business hours, menus, etc. may change.

* In response to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, restaurants have been requested to refrain from doing business and shorten their time in some areas. Please refer to the information of each local government, take sufficient measures against infectious diseases, and use them appropriately.

Text: Toshiyuki Uemura, Tabelog Magazine Editorial Department
Photo: Kosaku Kitajima