French Dinner @ Remy-Chan, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka

 

Despite living in Fukuoka for over 4 years, I have never been to a yatai before. For those who are not familiar, yatais are street vendor stalls that are scattered around the city of Fukuoka, and it is one of the few places within Japan that still does this to this day. On top of that, I have also have not had French food since I started living in Japan. So why not hit 2 birds with 1 stone? And with that, I would like to introduce you to Remy’s, or affectionately called “Remy-chan”.

Le menu

Remy’s has been a Fukuoka staple for many years and it is one of the few foreigners that operates a yatai, to which are mainly dominated by Japanese locals. And due to his reputation, which is rightfully earned, you have to wait in line for this. In fact, he is so famous the line started to form even before the stall was properly installed. So if you really want to come here, a good piece of advise is to come early. 

Off to a good start.

As my party of 2 arrived way before the yatai was fully erected, it did not take long for us to eventually be sent to our seats. It should be noted that it was the beginning of autumn when we visited the place. So to keep customers warm, they have installed curtains around the stall to keep everyone warm. A good play. And since we were very hungry, and also we were also given a seating time limit of 45 minutes, we blitz through the menu rather quickly and ordered the first entre for the day, which was a slice of quiche which stood at 650 yen. 

A conglomeration of many nice things here. 

The quiche was pretty substantial. It was loaded with veggies while having a very tasty and flaky crust that carries everything else. The crust was butter and despite its flaky and crunchy texture, was able to hold onto the eggy interior. It was quite savoury and was thoroughly enjoyable. Paired with a glass of wine, and you get a very good start to the night. 

Words cannot describe how good this is. 

The next thing that came to us was the mushroom ajillo that stood at 750 yen. This was absolutely astounding as it was something you would expect from a high-end restaurant, and not a humble establishment like this. Coming in hot, literally, in a cast iron skillet, the mushroom packs so much punch in terms of flavour. There was a walloping of garlic and onions too in this dish that made this quite earthy and savoury, despite being a vegetarian dish. Well done chef. This was a touchdown. 

This is actually very very good. 

Now with regards to protein, we shared a chicken leg confit, which was also something worth noting. It is not as punchy as the previous mushroom explosion. However, it was just a simple chicken dish which somehow turned to a palate cleanser. The chicken was fresh and had a clean taste. But if you like to add some personality, the carrot pickles and grainy mustard that comes with it will provide some kick. Still, I liked this the way it was. It was incredibly tender and just easy to take down. This chicken dish stood at a modest 850 yen. 

Glorious. 

Still with more space to fill, we followed up with the French staple of snails. I mean, you have to expect this to make an appearance eventually right? Despite its divisive reputation, we enjoyed it a lot. It reminded me of dried oysters which have been boiled again. The texture is a bit chewy but still enjoyable. The garlic butter did help the flavour profile to the overall dish though. So if you are someone who is a bit squeamish with regard to this sort of thing, do give it a try. It taste much better than it sounds. This portion stood at 850 as well. 

A true star of the show tonight. 

However, we were not done! As the food was so good, we thought might as well we maximise the 45 minutes that we had and order the cheese gratin gnocchi which stood at a modest 750 yen. This one, like the mushrooms, need a special mention. It was just fantastic. The gnocchi were soft, chewy and slightly sweet. The yellow hue does point out the fact that a lot of pumpkin was included in the dish. Served alongside a crusty cheesy topping, and this was the perfect dish to celebrate the colder months. Honestly, if I can only choose one thing to eat among all the amazing dishes that we had, this would be the one. No competition. 

There is nothing wrong with more garlic and butter! 

To finish things off, we got ourselves some of their infamous garlic toast. As it is the same garlic butter that was used to spike the snails, it was no surprise this was also very delicious. And paired with some wine, this was another humble dished that surprised me. One portion stood at a very modest 450 yen.

One more for the road. A nice night cap. 

Of course, you cannot talk about French food without French wine. And with that the yatai has got you covered. Throughout the night I got myself a red to start things off and a white as a finisher. But the most important thing in this meal was the company. Remy and his staff were very friendly and cracks lots of jokes. And do not worry if you cannot speak Japanese or French. English will do just fine as well. If not for the 45-minute limit, I would not be surprised if both of us would be sitting until next morning. The food was great, the company was amazing, and I definitely had a good time. Long story short, I would probably come again fairly soon!

Front of the house, literally! Not easy to miss. 

So if you want your street food experience to be a bit more international, or you just love good food in general, then Remy and his staff has gotten you covered. And if what you have read has caught your attention, why not give him a visit? The address is as follows: 

4 Chome-9 Watanabedori, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0004, Japan