Mazesoba @ Chukasoba Sakae , Daimyo, Fukuoka

 

Mazesoba is one of my favourite ways of eating noodles. It is not as common as the regular soupy ramen bowls that most people would associate noodles in japan. However, as the weather is heating up and the temperature rising, having a steamy bowl of soup seems like an idea that would backfire. So for me, the mazesoba is the best route to go in the realm of heavy carb fixes. And this is where our new contender comes in. 

So tempting!

Chukasoba Sakae is a ramen shop just a minute walk away from Akasaka Station of Fukuoka city. This is not to be confused with Tokyo's Akasaka, or worse, Asakusa. Well I have made that mistake before, so I can empathise. In any event, I have always passed by this shop as my Japanese language school is just across the street. However, I have never stepped in until recently. I actually was contemplating some wet and soupy ramen as this was their specialty. I mean, it is in their name, where 'chuka soba' literally means Chinese noodles. However, the photos in front of the establishment of their dry version of their wares caught my attention and I diverted to that direction instead. 

Beastly!

And indeed it was a good call. The mercury was hitting 25c and higher during that evening. It was not too bad as the wind was somewhat strong that day. But going all sweaty in the evening, is probably not going to feel comfortable. So after slotting my money into the ticket machine, I patiently waited for my meal to come. That bowl stood at the modest price of 950 yen.  Despite that price below the thousand mark, the portion was incredible. The bowl was a literal monster loaded with various goodies and a whole mountain of noodles. I am a big eater but even I found this to be a little too voluminous. A 30% reduction would be just nice. or probably I cannot take that much carbs at the later time of the day. Is this a sign of aging? Who knows. But this did not detract the fact that this was delicious. 

Let the slurp begin!

And delicious it was. All the elements in that bowl mixed well and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The sauce that was enveloping the golden threads had an interesting mix of porky and fishy flavours. There were strong hints of mackerel and bonito, with some bacon-like kick you get from tonkotsu broth. Additionally, I liked the fact that the toppings were chopped into  bite sized pieces so they can be mixed into the noodles before the slurping begin. Well, mazesoba does literally mean mixed-noodles. And I began slurping after a good mix, which just brought in an onslaught of intense flavours.  

Chunky!

The charshu gave the sweet and salty attack to the senses. It was a bit like a teriyaki profile to it, with a combination of porky fat. This was really great. The raw onions and blanched spinach that accompanied the porky treat provided some freshness and balance. The fried garlic chips and shredded seaweed added some texture and gave a slightly smoky profile. And lastly a squeeze of lemon help brighten the mood. With so many different elements combined, this was indeed fireworks in a bowl. Was it the best mazemen I had, probably not. But it was pretty good and if you are a fan of noodles, you should probably consider taking a slurp here too. 

Decadence...

Not to be outdone were the eggs. Each bowl came with a marinated egg which I enjoyed alot. And when the seaweed was just sticking onto the gel-like yolk, the extra textureal element really gave this an amazing mouthfeel and flavour. Oh boy, this was good. It is noted that you can add some white rice once you are out of noodles to soak up all the glorious sauce at the bottom of the bowl. Personally, I would avoid that as the amount of noodles here was already a lot. It was like a mountain, and as mentioned a 30% reduction for me in terms of volume would have been idea. Still, I really liked this bowl. 

Front of the house. 

So if you are somehow in this side of the city, why not give this a go? And if you really like noodles, you are doing yourself a serious favour. Fancy a go? Then the address is follows (ps: again this is in Fukuoka and not Akasaka, Tokyo) :

2 Chome-11-16 Daimyo, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0041