Best-Kept Secret

Sitting comfortably next to crowd-favourite cities such as Osaka, kyoto and Tokyo is Fukuoka, which is fast gaining ground as a popular gastronomic destination in Japan

- Angelo Comsti

Two testimonials from Japanese friends and a quick Google search— were the only things I needed to zero in on my next food adventure. Penang, Malaysia and Tainan, the former Dutch colony of Taiwan, were in the running. Still, the moving image and call of Fukuoka’s sweater weather tempered with a balmy bowl of bold-flavoured Hakata ramen, where it originated from, was just too hard to ignore.

As if the image were not enough of an appeal, we were welcomed by a cloud cover and the unique aroma of the ramen broth (which to some reeks of wet socks, but to me smells of a very potent bone soup) as we hit the streets armed with our luggage, looking for our hotel. The photos that hung outside the restaurant’s walls didn’t help either.

And so, we quickly dropped off our bags upon check-in and headed to the city’s most recognised shopping complex, Canal City, where one can find a whole floor featuring the most iconic ramen brands from all over Japan. Aptly called the Ramen Stadium, the food court gathers eight stalls serving distinctive noodle bowls from Hakata, Kurume, Tokyo, Kyoto and Sapporo.

It was only appropriate for us to sample ramen from the region, so we got one of the prefecture’s most beloved dishes, renowned for its flavourful tonkatsu (pork bone) broth and thin noodles. Shodai Hide-chan’s version came with tender