Kebabs @ Ampoules Kebab Bar, Daimyo, Fukuoka

 

It is pretty amazing to sometimes find international food that is a bit out of the radar in Fukuoka. Granted, this is an amazing city with a lot of vibrancy and culture. Still, it still catches me by surprise when I find an eating spot that serves food from a culture I did not expect. And for this time, it is kebabs. 

Not bad for a Sunday evening

Ampoules is a bar and restaurant located in the heart of the food and drink part of the area. Known for its Instagram advertising featuring very good looking bar staff, having gorgeous people manning the area is not their only strong suit. Seriously, the guys and gals that are in their Instagram posts and feeds look as though they just came out of a runway. But other than that, their food also looks pretty good and kebabs are one of their main star makers. As such, it was just a matter of time me and another friend pop by to try their killer wares.

Munch time! The sesame is on the left while the yogurt is on the right

 

Naturally, we each got the kebab set which consists of a kebab pita, fried potatoes, and a side salad standing at 990 yen each. To add more substance to the meal we got ourselves a mushroom ajillo and bread, which stood at 580 and 380 yen respectively.  And to top it off, we got ourselves some ice tea at 400 yen each. With regard to the kebab you can choose a variety of sauces. Their main seller was the sesame sauce which I selected, while my friend chose the spicy yogurt. And soon enough, our food arrived and came forth with astounding fashion. Ok that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it did looked pretty good and tasted the part too. 

Black beauty

The meat was juicy and had a nice bite. It is definitely not just some random combination of meat and rind. There was a good wallop of spices in this thing, with hints of garlic and cumin at the background. The sauce that came with it also added more personality. The sesame one that I got provided a nutty aftertaste and was thoroughly enjoyable. It tasted as though it had tahini, since that is essentially sesame paste. A strong Mediterranean influence indeed. 

Scarlet terror

The yogurt sauce was also very fragrant. The dairy did cut some of the chilli impact, but it had a nice paprika-like aftertaste and had more kick than what I got.  The sleeper hit was the fried potatoes. They tasted more like roasted potatoes and the seasoning was some form of magical powder made of garlic salt and dried parsley. How can such simple spud taste so good? 

Explosive

The mushrooms that we had were also enjoyable too. The spicy and savoury oil was a joy to take down. Although it did make a lot of sense to dip into with our bread instead of just downing it as it is. I mean, I do take olive oil straight as a supplement, but drinking oil like this may be a bit of a hard sell to me. Still, it was quite tasty. It was also quite spicy too, as it was laced with dried chillies and garlic. You have been warned. 

What a way to make an impression

Overall, this was pretty enjoyable. The place had great vibes, with bottles of various colours decorating the wall, giving it a stained glass sort of feel. The food was reasonable and definitely something out of the usual Japanese diet. And of course the staff were friendly and looked like they came out of a fashion magazine. Seriously, the person who is recruiting these people have a keen eye on aesthetics. They do have a long list of alcoholic drinks too but as I had to anticipate a heavy workload the next day, I think abstaining for that night was a smart choice. I was very tempted though as a beer would go very well with the kebab. So if you are at this side of town and you are hungry, why not give this place a go? The address for Ampoules is as follows:

1 Chome-1-21 Daimyo, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0041

Front of the house.