Aji Furai@ Aji Furai Shokudo Kaba, Befu, Jonan Ward, Fukuoka

 

There is always something special when something simple is elevated to another level. Fried horse mackerel or aji in Japanese, can be something that you can find in almost every Japanese diner. But few has the gall in putting it as their main item. And doing it this well? Oh my lord. 

Simple menu but do not judge a book by its cover. 

Aji Furai Shokudo Kaba [あじフライ食堂かば] is a simple diner that sells, you guessed it, fried mackerel. So in terms of their menu, there is not much variety. The again, when quality is this good, I can probably come here again just for the same item. Yes, it is indeed that good. There is chicken nanban in the menu. But as aji furai is literally on the name, it just just obvious to stick to the fish. However, despite such a monotonous menu, there is some customisation. It should be noted that aji is not blue mackerel, which is called saba in Japanese. However, for the uninitiated it may be easy to confuse the 2. 

Glorious!

You are allowed to choose 2 dipping sauces of your choice. I opted for the classic tartar sauce, which is it is the staple for fried dishes like this. A meal set comes with rice, 2 small sides and a bowl of miso soup standing at 1000 yen, which seems somewhat standard. However, the final product was anything but. What popped up in the end is a bit on the unusual side, in a good way. Unlike being totally covered in golden fried breadcrumbs, the coating seems quite light and delicate. 

Well deserved close up

There is a slight yellowish hue rather than the jagged and striking colour you see for such fried dishes. And the taste does translate to the visuals. The dish did not feel deep fried at all, despite the establishment smelling of cooking oil. It was soft, flaky and extremely tender, signs of fresh fish being used for such a simple item. 

What magic is this?

The fish was then elevated many miles upwards with that tartar sauce. it was tart, sweet, silky, chunky and has a good amount of personality. I could probably eat this with any friend item to be honest. it was that good. I might give the other options a try if I am in this side of town. The chive-based one did strike my fancy. But seeing that this is my first time, it would be a better idea to try something that I have a reference to. 

Classic companion

The soup and side dishes were standard fair. However, it did help round out the overall experience which was not bad. What I liked was the salad which the fish was sitting on. It has a very zesty and fruity salad which gave some great contrast to that deep fried morsel. The fresh flavours help cut out some of the grease from the fish and was a decent palate cleanser. 

Front of the house. You cannot miss it. 

Overall, I was pretty surprised by the total experience. Only this place can elevate something so simple like fried fish into something pretty incredible. The only gripe is that it is located deep in the suburbs of Befu, which is quite far away from the main city centers of Tenjin and Hakata. Having said that, if you can spare some time to travel to this side of the prefecture, then this shop is such an easy recommendation. So if you fancy a go, then the address is as follows;

2 Chome-21-5 Befu, Jonan Ward, Fukuoka, 814-0104