Ramen @ Akanoren Setchan Ramen, Daimyo, Fukuoka

 

The hunt for the best bowl out there continues. This time, I ended up with a local legend Ganzo Akanoren Setchan Ramen. Or rather, in short, just Akanoren. And while it was a bit rainy when I arrived, I was pretty surprised at the line that was before the shop. If people are willing to fight unsavoury weather just for a bowl of noodles, then it must be pretty good!

Old school menu

Lucky for me the line cleared pretty quickly and not long after arriving, I was able to get a seat. I initially was thinking to get their base bowl, since its always good to have their most basic to figure out what is their strong points. However, there was something that caught my eye that I cannot resist in trying. Namely, they had wantans. I was not too sure if they are the same as the ones I had back home, but I was very curious and ordered them. The regular base bowl is 580 yen while the ones with extra wantans were 780 yen. And soon enough, my bowl of noodles arrived piping hot. 

At the ready!

The bowl itself looks pretty basic, but I guess that is part of the charm. It was familiar but charming. Basic fundamentals that were done well. And the execution was pretty spot on and I easily devoured everything. Firstly, the soup was actually somewhat crisp. You may think a pork bone base broth will be pretty heavy, but this one went down well. It was a bit salty, but it was still tolerable. There was also a bacon-like aroma after every sip which made this very decadent. However, the texture was still light, akin to diluted milk. Pretty good, and a good choice for a rainy Saturday afternoon. 

Time for a good slurp!

The noodles were pretty good too. There was a nutty profile to the whole thing and the noodles had a nice snap after every bite. They go down very easily and the flavour just compounds with the soup latching on like some sort of light gravy. This was thoroughly enjoyable. 

Succulent.

With regard to the toppings, there was the classic charshu pork that came with the bowl. It was decent and I liked it. It was sweet and slightly salty, with the fat just barely hanging on. However, I have tasted better ones out there. That is not to say that it was bad, but its just that I had better. Still, I enjoyed this. 

Delicate

The main event of the bowl was the wantans. I was pretty surprised as to how similar it is to Chinese wantans I can get from a hawker back home. The skin was delicate but supple, and the meat inside had a savoury profile and was pretty well seasoned. In the end, this was simple but still delicious. It was a great time slurping. Not to mention this was some gourmet on a budget, which is always good. Is it one of the best bowls out there? Probably not, but this was pretty good and the hype is justified. So if you fancy a go, then the address is as follows:

〒810-0041 Fukuoka, Chuo Ward, Daimyo, 2 Chome−6−4 プラスゲート天神 1Ｆ

Look at the line!