Ramen @ Ramen Family, Motooka, Nishi Ward, Fukuoka

 

After over 2 weeks of isolation and convenience store food, a cross country flight and confusing bus routes, I can finally say that I have properly settled down in Fukuoka! And the first thing to tick off the box on the first-to-do checklist is to get some proper food. Being a newbie at this point, Google Maps was the saviour. After some searching around, me and a few friends spotted a ramen shop, literally in the outskirts in the middle of the darkness. No surprises that a fresh bowl was my first meal huh? 

Ramen Family, is a quaint road side restaurant in the outskirts of Nishi Ward. Located about 15 minutes off campus, its not the most convenient place for some food. But it was sure a great place and the trouble was worth it. 

Oh baby!

Being a real local haunt, expect no English menu and everything is written on the walls. It was a no brainer that ramen was the highlight of this meal and we ordered some sides as well as we were quite famished. So translation was not much of an issue. As this is Fukuoka, ramen automatically means tonkotsu. Thick and creamy bone broth was the ultimate comfort solution for a cold autumn evening. The noodles that came with it had a great bite and latched onto the broth like a creamy sauce. The charshu was decent and finished off the dish well. Slices of spring onions and earwood mushroom gave it an extra textural bite. 

Look at how it shines!

If you are not a fan of thick and heavy soup, they do have shoyu soup as well. This was much cleaner and had a more vibrant taste. It was still quite intensely flavoured and was comforting too. Then again, this would more be a matter of preference. 

KFC's Japanese cousin. 

With regard to our sides, we ordered a plate of fried chicken and grilled gyoza dumplings. The chicken pieces were tender on the inside, but crunchy and decedent on the outside. It was well seasoned as well. I would not be surprised if the extra crunch factor was due to corn starch or rice flour in the batter, as it is a common trick in Japanese kitchens. 

Look how golden this is. 

The gyoza were pretty good too. The bottom parts were charred to perfection, leaving out a crispy skin, while the top part was soft and chewy. It was really pretty too, as the pleats of the dumplings resembled dim sum from a high end tea house. The porky filling was savoury, and slightly sweet, probably due to the use of cooking rice wine inside. Awesome stuff. 

This deserves a close up. 

They do serve other stuff like curry rice and fried noodles, but since there is "ramen" in their name, it was pretty obvious what you are here for. And the price fits the establishment, where a bowl of ramen was just 550 yen each and the chicken and dumplings were 330 yen a plate. 

Front of the house. 

Being really out of the cityscapes and nearby rice fields and factories, this was a hidden gem that is really worth the effort going out for. If somehow you in some strange way you ended up in Nishi Ward, why not give Ramen Family a go? The address is as follows:

2633-1 Motooka, Nishi Ward, Fukuoka, 819-0385

PS: as the place does not allow photos of the restaurant itself, I did not take any photos of the dining area. Still, that should not deter you from coming here in getting some great noodles.