Mentaiko Mazemen @ Ramen Unari, Deitos, Hakata Station

 

Very few things define Hakata-style food like the mentaiko. Strong, salty, spicy, just packed with flavor, it is the symbol of Fukuoka's gastro scene for a reason. And when it is topped off in a bowl of hot and steamy noodles, then you are in for a dangerous delight! One such place that makes this dangerous combo of noodle and mentaiko is Ramen Unari (ラーメン海鳴). It took me a while to find the right name for this as 海鳴 can also be read as "kaimei". Well, time to go for more Japanese lessons. Linguistics aside, it literally means "rumbling of the ocean". And with this mentaiko special, they are not kidding. 

Welcome!

As my visit for this round was during a working day, I decided to visit the outlet located near the office which is at Hakata Station. This is probably the most convenient for most people as well, seeing this would be the main stopping point for almost every traveler to Kyushu. It should be noted that as this was a Friday afternoon, the line was not long. But if you are here for the weekends, get ready for a wait. Having said that, I did have to wait for a total of 15 mins in line for my food to arrive. But it was worth it.

So epic, that the bowl has a handle!

Everything in that noodle bowl was just on point. The mentaiko that has been generously topped off the bowl gave a scarlet hue to the whole bowl. But being a mazemen, this means it has to be mixed as it is a dry-style ramen, compared to the more conventional soupy ramen. It may be unusual to some, but soupless ramen is actually more common than you think. So after a good mix-about, I had my first slurp. And it felt like a punch to the face. A powerful and loaded punch. 

Goodness me...

The noodles were very chewy and had a good nutty flavour to it. The sauce and mentaiko that was in the bowl then latches onto the strands of noodles like glue on paper, giving each strand a powerful and flavourful kick. And as mentaiko is essentially spicy caviar, there was also a good contrast in terms of texture. The variations on texture made this doubly explosive. Such a great joy to have. 

So tasty. As you may have figured, this was prior the vigorous mix. 

However, this bowl is not just noodles and fish eggs alone. It has huge hunks of charshu in it as well. It was expertly braised and still had some fat in it. It was juicy, savoury, and slightly sweet. The meat was also very flaky and was almost melt-in-your-mouthlike. An amazing condiment to the meal. Additional toppings like beansprouts and pickles round off the meal. 

The front of the legendary Ramen Street of Hakata. 

 As this great bowl stood at 1270 yen, this was an absolute steal in terms of flavour, portions and cost performance. Also, it should be noted that although there are other Unari outlets in Fukuoka city, only the one in Ramen Street has this mentaiko specialty. Yes, this outlet in Hakata Station is based in the legendary Ramen Street. So if you are a hungry traveler, an office worker who is somehow near the station, or a ramen fanatic that needs something special to try, it is hard not to recommend this place and such amazing noodles. So if you fancy a go, the address is as follows:

〒812-0012 Fukuoka, Hakata Ward, Hakataekichuogai, 1−1  2F, Hakata Ramen Street