Hanagen, located inside Hakata Daimaru department store, is a soba specialist. The shop removes the black hull and only uses the soft inner seed of the buckwheat. This makes for a slightly sweet noodle that remains firm even when served cold. The cold soba with tempura is one of the most popular menu items. The tempura is fried lightly in canola oil and served with a handmade dipping sauce made daily from several kinds of dried fish. With the weather getting warmer, the fried eggplant, doused with the trademark broth, is another great partner for a bowl of cold soba.
All photos ©Gen Food System
Menu: Tempura and cold soba ¥1,650, tempura and hot soba ¥1,250, tempura rice bowl ¥1,390, fried doused eggplant with cold soba topped with shrimp and okra ¥1,110, cold noodles with seaweed ¥810, set of the day (soba or udon with rice and appetizer) ¥1,020, sake and shochu ¥600 ea., draft beer ¥600
*Foreign language menu: None / Credit cards accepted / Reservations possible (after 13:00) / No smoking
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn245, May 2019)
