Touted as the most coveted tonkotsu ramen shop in Fukuoka with arguably the longest lineup, Hakata Issou (博多一双 博多駅東本店) is indeed very popular among the locals as seen by the early crowd in front of the ramen shop waiting for its opening at 11am.
They have a very simple menu and just one type of tonkotsu (pork soup based) ramen. The only choice we needed to make was whether to get our ramen with eggs, more barbecued pork or homemade dumplings.
That wasn't hard so I quickly got my tickets and handed them to our hostess before heading back to the end of the lineup.
After a 15-minute wait, we were finally summoned in. And it didn't take long before my tonkotsu ramen (780 yen) showed up.
It looked a little small comparing to the one we had at Ikkousha but the ingredients were more or less the same. Soft-boiled egg, wood ear mushroom, fresh chives and a sheet of seaweed.
This wasn't bad but I was a little taken back by the gamey odor from the pork bone broth. In fact it was so strong that I could smell that even from standing outside the ramen shop. Some ramen fans might actually enjoy that (taste) but personally, I didn't find that very appetizing.
The yolk from my soft-boiled egg could have been a bit more runny too.
Mom had the deluxe version of it that came with some homemade dumplings (and more seaweed at 1,050 yen). I had one of her dumplings and thought it was okay.
I certainly expected more from the most popular ramen shop in Fukuoka but since it's so close to Hakata Station East which was just a short walk from our hotel, I wasn't complaining much.
Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 3-1-6 Hakataekihigashi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, 812-0013 Japan
Closest Metro Station: Hakata
Tel: +81 (0)92-472-7739
Website: www.hakata-issou.com
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:00pam daily
Post a Comment
Please tell us what you think