Noodles are an integral part of Japanese culture, eaten on a daily basis or on special occasions such as during the New Year. A good number of Japanese-style noodles have become increasingly common worldwide – ramen, udon, and soba, to name a few – with countless variants and styles of cooking for each, making it an exceptionally versatile ingredient. Noodles make for a cheap and filling meal, which makes for a popular option for dining out especially when travelling on a budget.

Our time in Japan started in Fukuoka, though not as popular of a city to visit as its more central counterparts, is home to a number of its own noodle dishes. Though familiar with the names of the noodles, we set out to try them from its origin – the place where it’s done best.

Much like during our time in other countries, we searched for restaurants local to where we were staying or close to sites we aimed to visit as we believe it isn’t necessary to go out of your way to stop by the most famous restaurants to get good food. This also supports local businesses, and allowed us to explore our neighbourhood for a much more local feel. Finding good local restaurants can be done on Google maps by entering the name of the dish into the search bar in the region of interest. Alternatively, we also relied on Tabelog, the Japanese equivalent of Yelp, which isn’t the most intuitive website but can be a goldmine of local perspective.

Udon

When one thinks of noodles in Fukuoka, the first thing to come to mind is often the thick, creamy, pork-based Hakata-style ramen that has become the one of the most loved Japanese dishes worldwide. Still enjoyed though often to a lesser degree is udon (うどん), a thick, slippery, wheat-based noodle that can be served hot, cold, in soup, stir-fried, or topped with curry sauce, amongst others. Regional variations can also come with different toppings, in different shapes, and different textures, making the umbrella term udon impressively flexible.

Fukuoka totes itself as the origin of udon in Japan. Though the real history remains unclear, locals take pride in their thick, soft style of udon. Two of the most popular toppings in Fukuoka are maruten (丸天), a round, flat, deep-fried fishcake also known as satsuma-age (さつまあげ), and gobou-ten (ごぼう天), or burdock-root tempura fritters.

Udon Wasuke (うどん 和助)

Udon Wasuke is one of countless udon shops throughout Fukuoka, with a branch each on the eastern and western sides of Ohori Park and the Fukuoka Castle Ruins. They have a fairly extensive menu (English available) with hot and cold options, with a number of different toppings to suit your fancy. We opted for a maruten udon (丸天うどん) at ¥550 (US$5.20) and a gobou udon (ごぼううどん) at ¥600 (US$5.65). Both udon came in hot broth which we later lamented, as the cold udon dishes were a popular item especially on the hot day of our visit.

The udon surprised us, firstly with the appearance. It had a translucent sheen that was unlike the opaque noodles of packaged udon we were used to at home. This udon was tender, with just the right amount of chew for such a thick noodle, and also seemed to soak up the light but very savoury flavour of the broth it was served in – likely a combination of seaweed and fish – incredibly umami, though not at all fishy or pungent. It was by far the best udon we’d ever eaten, a far cry from the bland pre-made versions from home.

The maruten is a tasty, cheap topping that is indicative of udon as a fast food in Japan. Like a bouncy fishcake, this one was a little softer with a certain chewiness from the flour binders used in the fishcake dough that lent a texture similar to the batter if you’ve left deep-fried food in soup. It has a delicious savoury flavour that’s easy to enjoy.

The burdock root tempura, on the other hand, is much more of an acquired taste. Burdock root can have a slightly bitter, medicinal flavour with a mild, lingering sweetness which is considered refreshing to some but may be a shock to those who aren’t expecting it.

The texture of the burdock root is similar to a sweet potato, a little starchy, but fries up nicely as a tempura. If you’re up for something different, this local specialty is highly recommended.

Champon (ちゃんぽ)

Ramen noodles have a tonne of variations, with champon being a similar derivative developed in a Chinese restaurant in the city of Nagasaki south-west of Fukuoka. The dish consists of noodles boiled in a chicken and pork soup, then topped with vegetables, meat, and seafood stir-fried in lard. This dish is supposedly the basis of the Korean-Chinese dish jjampong (짬뽕), brought over to Korea from Japan by soldiers.

Ittetsu (一鉄)

Just south of Fukuoka’s Ohori Park is a little ramen shop called Ittetsu, known for its champon noodles and miso-based ramen. Though neither are traditionally Hakata-style we thought we’d give it a go in order to try a variety of ramen dishes in Japan. The menu is pretty limited, and in Japanese only consisting of pork ramen, miso-based pork ramen, champon, gyoza dumplings, and rice.

We opted for two of their recommended dishes: miso-based pork ramen with extra charsiu pork (みそチャーシューメン; ¥910; US$8.55) and the champon (チャンポン; ¥720; US$6.75).

The vegetables on the champon were cabbage, beansprouts, and onions, stir-fried with ham and pieces of pork. They were unbelievably flavourful, with a delicious toasty flavour from the pan, and gave the soup a delicate sweetness. The noodles are thick and straight, similar to a Hokkien noodle, which stood up to the thick, creamy soup well. It was a very hearty, flavourful bowl of noodles that is a little less salty and rich compared to usual ramen.

The miso ramen was also thick, rich, and creamy, with the added nuttiness from the miso paste which is made using fermented soybeans. It was savoury but not too salty, with a delicious hint of spice from added chilli. The noodles were thinner than in the champon, firm and straight, and the addition of a pile of blanched beansprouts made for a good play of tender and crunchy textures. The charsiu pork was tender and melty, carrying the flavour of the broth well. Two excellent ramen dishes, kickstarting a long and delicious ramen journey through our time in Japan.

Japan takes pride in their noodles, and you can find an incredible bowl everywhere you go. We highly recommend searching for places to eat in your area, which may lead to some hidden treasures close to home.

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