Owner Yasunori Mori was born in Fukushima, home to Kitakata ramen, one of the “big three” styles in Japan after Sapporo and Hakata. The culture of Kitakata, where people eat ramen any time of day, suits Fukuoka’s own noodle ethos. The shop opens at 7 am, a rarity in Fukuoka, so its reputation quickly spread. The mainstays are the shina soba (an old name for ramen), the niku soba chock full of roast pork and the dashi soba, which only comes topped with green onions and wheat gluten. Choose from three flavors: salt, soy sauce and miso. Surprise! The clear, light soup is actually made from pork bones. “After boiling the bones to get a milky broth, I put minced chicken in the following day and boil it again until it becomes clear,” says Mori. The thick, handmade noodles curl slightly and have a slippery mouthfeel, setting them apart from Hakata ramen noodles. Born in Fukushima and raised in Fukuoka, Mori’s ramen is the best of both worlds.
Menu: Salt shina soba ¥700, soy sauce shina soba ¥700, miso shina soba ¥850, salt niku soba ¥950, soy sauce niku soba ¥950, miso niku soba ¥1,100, salt dashi soba ¥550, soy sauce dashi soba ¥550, miso dashi soba ¥700, shina soba curry ¥900, white rice ¥100, rice with raw egg ¥150, roast pork on rice ¥300, bottled beer ¥500, shochu ¥350, high ball ¥300
*Foreign language menu: None (*Ticket vending machine) / Cash only / Reservations not required / No smoking
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn246, Jun. 2019)
