🍜 You can even drink the dipping sauce! The dipping noodles from the famous Mentaiko bento shop are also super delicious and can be bought to cook at home!

Both times I visited Fukuoka, I came to eat at this original Hakata Mentaiko restaurant. I can't eat too much by myself, so I finally got to try the dipping noodles that I missed last time! Before coming, I saw other comments on Fooday saying that the dipping noodles are better than the rice, which really boosted my confidence 🙌🏻

Other reviews said that the dipping noodles can't be ordered separately, but actually they can! On the "À la carte" page, you can see the prices for separate orders. This time I ordered the noodles and a soft-boiled egg!

You can choose the amount of noodles: 100, 200, or 300 grams, and the price is the same. For an average girl feeling a bit hungry, 200 grams is just perfect to feel full. You select the spiciness of the rice when ordering, but with the dipping noodles, you get the spicy sauce and can adjust it yourself.

The chewy, thick noodles paired with the slightly strong dipping sauce have just the right saltiness! The dipping sauce also has many chunks of meat that melt in your mouth, along with plenty of diced mushrooms and white radish. Amidst the spiciness of the Mentaiko, you can still taste the sweetness of the base broth.

After finishing the noodles, the staff served a pot of hot broth, which you mix with the dipping sauce, and it turns into a bowl of Mentaiko soup that you can drink down! Some dipping noodle shops in Japan offer this service of adding broth to the sauce, so everyone should try it next time!

After having the dipping noodles, I can understand why they also have a set that you can cook at home, and in Tokyo, there’s even a store that specializes in dipping noodles! Anyone who hasn't tried their dipping noodles must plan a return visit!

Fukuoka's mentaiko production ranks first in Japan, so you must eat mentaiko when you come to Fukuoka. This "Original Hakata Mentaijou" is called one of the must-visit restaurants in Fukuoka by a bunch of bloggers and YouTubers. The must-eat is " "Mentaiko (Mentaiko Rice)" and "Mentaiko Tsukemen"

I heard that the queue time during the dinner period can often last an hour or two, so we decided to get up early to eat. We arrived at 8:30 on Monday morning and were seated directly without queuing. When we walked out at 9:30, we found that there was already a queue outside. There were a lot of people and it was raining. This shows that this store is very famous.

The lights in the store are dim, with Japanese-style music, and it's very atmospheric; the service by the clerk is like haute cuisine. He even knelt on the floor when he helped us order food, and even provided us with bibs to avoid eating. Sprayed on clothes during the interview

The menu and food descriptions are all in Chinese, and it’s tourist-friendly ~ We both ordered the popular rice and noodle set for ¥3168, which includes a portion of mentaiko rice and a portion of mentaiko tsukemen, two signature items that are satisfying at once !

Let me start with the conclusion: both are delicious, but the tsukemen is better than the rice. The mentaiko rice is a bit too salty for me, but it is a pity that there is no option to sell tsukemen alone on the menu.

mentaiko rice
In fact, it is rice covered with seaweed, and then a whole strip of mentaiko and mentaiko dipping sauce are placed on it. You can choose the spiciness and pour it on the rice to eat together.
It's delicious, but even if you eat mentaiko with rice, it's still quite salty. You'll need to drink water after eating it. As expected, mentaiko is a food that Taiwanese people can just try in moderation.

Mentaiko Tsukemen
This is highly recommended. It is a type of ramen that you can’t get in Taiwan. The sauce is full of mentaiko, and the taste is very rich. Of course, it is also a little salty. The noodle is a thicker ramen. The elasticity is delicious. After finishing the noodles Finally, add the attached stock to the sauce and it will turn into a bowl of hot mentaiko soup. It is delicious, but because the taste is still strong, I did not finish the whole bowl.

We also ordered Nishi-Nakashu Ryotei pudding, which was marked "very popular!" on the menu for ¥748.
It doesn't look like much, but I was surprised. After eating their pudding, I can no longer say that other puddings melt in your mouth. It really melts as soon as you eat it. It has the texture of ice cream. ~~The top of the pudding is similar to crushed tea jelly, which adds a layer of texture and is the finishing touch.

Overall, although the mentaiko tastes strong and the price is not cheap, it costs NT$1,500 for two people to eat, but the overall dining experience is very good, and the food performance is also above average, so I will recommend it to friends when they come to Fukuoka. Take a look once! (Looking forward to the day when a set meal with only tsukemen will be launched)

ps If you don’t want to queue up, I suggest you visit early in the morning on weekdays. It’s also good to have a rich breakfast~