Dinner @ Takohashi Honten, 1Fukuoka Building, Fukuoka

 

The 1 Fukuoka building has opened pretty recently, but it has become one of my go to spots when it comes to some serious dining outlets and having a good time with friends. And one such outlet is the Takohashi Honten. 

Your new favourite spot. 

Before that let's back up a little. This new building has been built with the intention in becoming the main hub for dining, shopping, and entertainment of this wonderful city. Many brands have set up their new flagship stores here. Heck, the only Krispy Kreme in Fukuoka is here too. But we are not here for donuts right? And with that being said, one of the main dining spots is located in their very impressive  gourmet floor located at B1. There are many food items to choose from. So much so that you may see a few more posts about what is in store here. But what happens if you are spoilt for choice? Then let me introduce you to you new favourite izakaya, Takohashi Honten. 

A shot of their impressive counter space

Premised around the classic izakaya concept, it is a place where you can have classic Japanese small meals and snacks alongside a nice cold beverage, whether alcoholic or not. What I like about this place is that the variety of dishes here is quite wide that there will be something for everyone. 

Don't worry, things do get better from here. 

And speaking of something, their otooshi is a jelly sashimi. You probably know my opinion about this compulsory starter as a seating charge. Standing at 290 yen, it was somewhat decent. It was a bit bland but worked very well with some soy sauce. However, it is the rest of the dishes that really took the biscuit. 

Now the fun really begins

Being a seafood speciality spot, sashimi is something you need to get. Me and my party of 2 got ourselves a sashimi platter of 5 different seafood pieces which stood at 750 yen. And oh boy, this was a good start. Our platter consists of a piece of octopus, salmon, tuna, amberjack and herring each. Each piece was fresh and tender to the touch. It was so good that we got ourselves another plate so we can try every bit of it. 

Epic!

The next thing we got was the cheesy potato salad. Literally spiked with fried cheesy pieces, this potato salad really comes with the intention to impress. The crunchy cheese bits worked like a tortilla chip, enabling you to scoop the potato salad. Biting through both of them at the same time was a delicious combo. The sweet and salty cheese combining with the creamy and savoury spud mix provided a texture combination which was interesting and exciting. Who ever thought of this was a mad scientist that needs praise. Standing at 380 yen, this was a steal. 

Golden brown... and oh so crunchy

Not to be outdone was a platter of tempura pieces, consisting of fried veggies and seafood. Specifically, shrimp, eggplant, pumpkin, lotus root, and mushrooms. Each piece was expertly fried. Light and crispy the batter provided again, a great textural contrast to the inside content which was delectable and tasty. My favourite was the pumpkin, where the slightly salty tempura crust worked well with the honey-like sweetness of the pumpkin flesh. This can seriously compete with other tempura only shops. it was that good. This stood at a modest 680 yen. The fried times keeps on rolling as the seasonal special for this place is zucchini tempura, or courgette to the more British inclined like myself. This was also a tasty treat. the gourd was surprisingly juicy and held a lot of juice, but at the same time, help extinguish some of the hard bits of the batter. Contrasts were well combined again for this one. Standing at 350 yen, this was a bit pricey in my view, but still good. 

Sleeper hit

The next thing we had (yes we had a lot of stuff!) was the akashiyaki. The distant cousin of the takoyaki, the dumplings were soaked in a clear broth, making it somewhat soft and cakelike. Similar to the takoyaki, there is a piece of octopus inside. Unlike the takoyaki, the batter has more egg in it and thus the cake like texture. A serving of 2 dumplings stood at 290 yen, which was decent. 

The classic

Speaking of stuff that comes with broth, we then ordered an oden platter. This is an obvious choice, since this is an izakaya after all. Standing at 650 yen, one platter comes with a piece of daikon, an egg, a piece of fried tofu, fish cake and konjac jelly. The broth was savoury and punchy but at the same time, the classic combination of sweet and salty you would expect from a dish like this. This was a classic dish, and being that, provided classic comfort. A contrast to the more interesting dishes earlier on, but still great. 

Gorgeous

But if you need something more substantial, and more specifically, if you need meat, this place has got you covered too. The grilled pork with miso was a serious star maker. The miso provided a sweet and salty marinade for the fatty pork to cling on. The meat was tender and had a slightly smoky taste to it. It was pretty good and I could probably just have this with rice and I would be satisfied. This stood at 390 yen, pretty good considering it was 4 pieces. 

This peachy tonic was very refreshing...

Being an izakaya, drinks are in order as well. And they are pretty cheap. A Jim Beam highball for just 290 yen? Now that is a serious bargain. But if you like something more refreshing, I recommend the peach arakoshi chuhai, which was for 550 yen. Considering that most drinks in Fukuoka over around the 800 yen mark, this was also a delicious bargain. It was pretty refreshing too. But if you would like something non alcoholic, the oolong tea stands at 300 yen. 

Front of the house. 

For full and frank disclosure, this is the first of many times that I have visited this place. In fact, since the date of publication I have been here for a total of 4 times! The food is good and cheap, the atmosphere is amazing and this location is pretty central. What is there not to love? And I think you probably figured out that I really like this place since it has been a long time I have written an article for the blog that has this length. So if you are a fan of good food, or are just in the area, you need to be here. The specific address is as follows:

 〒810-0001 Fukuoka, Chuo Ward, Tenjin, 1 Chome−11−1 1 Fukuoka Building, Tenjin Norengai