- Hi, check it out, guys, it's Trevor James.
Just got into Fukuoka in Southern Japan.
This is the home of soba and the Hakata pork-based Tonkatsu
bone marrow ramen.
Today we're bringing you for a full-on noodle adventure
on our World Noodle Tour.
Check it out.
And this is it, guys.
Just got into Fukuoka, Southern Japan,
on our World Noodle Journey playlist.
So far we've brought you all the way from the north of Japan
down here to South in Fukuoka
before bringing you to Tokyo
and crossing the ancient Silk Road all for noodles
through Central Asia and ending up in Italy.
And this here, Fukuoka, is the home of soba noodles
and Hakata noodles.
So today we're bringing you for five delicious bowls.
We're gonna have a spicy Hakata miso ramen,
we're gonna go have a bowl of soba, citrus soba,
and visit the temple where soba was invented.
We're gonna have a spicy Tsukemen,
and we're gonna have a meat blanket Hakata ramen,
and then finish up late night for a spicy Hakata ramen
at Ichiran, let's go check it out.
Before we get into this big ramen, udon, soba adventure,
I wanna give a big thank you to our longterm partner,
ExpressVPN, for providing all Food Ranger viewers
with 49% of a one-year pack in the description below.
First bowl of noodles in Fukuoka, spicy miso Hakata ramen.
Look at this, we've got beautiful looking ramen menu.
We are gonna get the Hakata-style ramen spicy,
because we are going for the classic a little later on,
and we're going to be gonna the birthplace
of Ichiran, the famous Hakata ramen chain here in Fukuoka.
But first we wanna try a little bit of spiciness
to start the day.
(speaks foreign language)
(woman speaks foreign language)
(Trevor speaks foreign language)
We're gonna get this one right here,
the red Ajitama Cha-shu ramen, spicy Mentaiko oil.
And let's get some Gyoza and extra noodles.
1,700 yen.
Confirm.
And put the money in.
So we just got the tickets, guys.
We're gonna wait and then get our spicy Hakata ramen.
Wow.
I think we just hit the noodle jackpot.
We just entered into the ramen factory,
Hakata spicy ramen, and I've been looking forward
to trying this bowl for a long time,
because Fukuoka is the home of Hakata Tonkatsu
pork bone bone marrow melting into stock ramen.
Look at the way the chef
has completely got the noodles down, get the water out.
And look at that, guys, we're churning up,
that's the pork stock, and you can smell the bone marrow
in the back.
Spicy.
(speaks foreign language)
Ooh!
Wow!
We got that Cha-shu hanging out the side,
just ready to melt into the stock.
We got kata, little bit of an al dente noodle,
and wow, it's just looking incredible.
(speaking foreign language)
- All spicy.
(speaks foreign language)
That just looks beautiful.
And we've also got some oil to add in.
After you finish the bow you can add a little oil
with extra noodles.
We got some pepper, sesame seed,
and then we've also got a garlic press
and there's fresh cloves of garlic in here.
And it looks just so beautiful,
we're gonna put all that fatty Cha-shu in there.
And we've got that soft-boiled egg with wood ear mushrooms.
Oh wow!
This is gonna be a legendary first bite of ramen.
And we're just gonna try the broth first,
get a little taste.
Mm!
Oh!
Oh wow!
That is delicious!
And its quite garlicky but we can definitely add
another clove in there, look at that, wow!
And you can just mix all that garlic in
and we're gonna taste Cha-shu and extremely delicious broth.
You can really taste the bone marrow in that.
Mm!
That is insanely, insanely delicious.
That spicy miso bone marrow is creamy, rich,
you can literally taste the essence of pork
and spicy chili paste in every slurp.
(slurping)
Oh, this is a life-changing bowl right here.
That pork bone marrow, add some sesame,
get some nuttiness in there.
Life-changing.
Mm!
And I just took a bite of that gooey soft-boiled egg,
look at that, that is unbelievable,
and we just finished the noodles
so we can give our ticket to get a refill.
That's the joy of Hakata.
I got that Hakata, kata, kata. - Hakata.
- Okay, so the process here is you add in this oil
just a bit, you mix them up so they don't stick,
and you can just pour those right in.
Ooh!
This is all you need.
Mm!
(speaks foreign language)
Wow, that was so amazing, guys.
Unreal noodles on my world noodle journey.
And we're just walkin' along the water here in Fukuoka now,
guys, making our way to the Joten-ji Temple area,
which is the birthplace of soba and udon.
We're gonna make our way to a local little joint
that has sudachi lime citrus soba noodles.
Let's go check it out.
And this is it, we made it to Joten-ji Temple.
This is the birthplace of soba noodles, look at this.
The birthplace of soba.
So this is the destinations on our noodle pilgrimage.
We came here to the origin of udon and soba.
Let's go take a quick look.
Look at this, this is the Joten-ji Temple.
Very, very zen.
These monuments commemorate the foods,
like dumplings, udon, and soba,
a lot of which were brought over from China.
Wow, that is amazing.
Let's go get that bowl guys, got those delicious soba.
We just found a local spot.
We're gonna get the sudachi lime citrus
in a noodle broth soba right here at the source.
(Trevor speaks foreign language)
And here we are, guys, we're gonna order that sudachi soba.
It's 90% buckwheat, pure.
This is what we're gonna get here, the sudachi soba, cold.
Sudachi lime.
It's gonna be citrus and it's in a noodle broth,
and it's 90% buckwheat, so it's extra rich and healthy oaty.
It's gonna be real healthy.
(speaks foreign language)
Ooh, sudachi soba.
Wow.
(speaks foreign language)
Look at that.
Wow, that is cold, ice cold, even the bowl there.
It's so already refreshing.
And look underneath, there's the 90% buckwheat soba
with sudachi lime, this is Japanese lime.
Oh and you can smell it.
You can really smell that citrus, fresh fragrance.
It's like you're walking through a lime forest,
you can smell that really fresh citrus.
And this is in a noodle broth so it should be pretty clear
but you can also smell that rich oatiness to it as well.
Let's try it out.
(slurping)
Mm!
Mm, wow, that is really refreshing and cold.
Mm!
And it's just a slight lime flavor, it's not too citrusy,
it's not too strong.
It's got that oatiness from the soba,
the citrus kick from the lime, wow.
And it's ice cold and refreshing.
Mm.
Wow, it's literally is like an oat lime drink.
You could drink that on any summer's day
and it'll cool you down.
Combined with the texture of that full 90% soba,
we came to the source.
It's so refreshing, that lime, that sudachi lime,
and that oatiness.
Wow.
(slurping)
That is totally just like drinking a lime oat broth.
Cold and refreshing.
That was it, guys, another bowl down.
We got a bunch more to go, this is it, unreal.
So happy eating noodles.
Right up here for our next bowl
we are going for the meat blanket Hakata ramen.
And there it is, the meat blanket.
Look at that.
Let's go order it up.
Wow.
And I'm just lovin' these machines in Japan,
look at this, guys.
You put your cash in and then look at this,
they've got meat blanket with egg, wood ear mushrooms,
and greens, and out comes your ticket all ready to go.
(speaks foreign language)
(speaks foreign language) - Hi!
(speaks foreign language)
And here we go, look at this Hakata broth.
Gonna add in those noodles.
Here comes the meat blnaket.
There it is.
Oh!
(Trevor speaks foreign language)
Wow!
Ooh!
And we also just got all these pickled mustard greens,
all the way from not spicy to spicy.
But this is what we came here for.
Look at that, we covered it in fatty Cha-shu park,
we got wood ear mushrooms and Negi greens.
Oh yeah!
And a soft-boiled egg.
And then underneath, look, we're gonna have to discover it,
Hakata al dente ramen on the bottom.
Let's try it out, guys!
Oh this is one of the joys of ramen right here,
that soft-boiled egg, and we came to Fukuoka
to try the real, pure Hakata Tonkatsu broth.
You can smell that pork bone marrow.
Wow.
I think I'm just gonna cave it in.
Let's cave in that meat and get the blanket
smothering the noodles.
That's more meat than ramen!
And what I'm loving about the Tonkatsu ramen
that we've had so far is it's so creamy!
And there it is, okay!
Let's try it out.
(slurping)
Mm!
(speaks foreign language)
- Thank you.
(speaks foreign language)
Thank you.
That is creamy, it's really nice, mm!
Wow!
The defining feature is the stock.
It's creamy, it's got that rich pork essence to it,
and then that fatty Cha-shu is really nice as well.
And ordering it with kata noodles is really, really nice
with that al dente spring.
(slurping)
Mm!
And one of the things I love so much about Japan
is watching the ramen chefs at work.
We flew in for ramen just like this and to see them do it
in person, pouring the stock and boiling the noodles,
mixing it all up, adding in that sliced fatty pork
is worth coming here for alone.
Oh, and look at that egg yolk!
Pure lava, wow, let's try that out.
Mm.
Oh, mm!
Oh that is really, really nice.
It's kinda salted, mm!
(speaks foreign language)
Bye bye, thank you.
Wow, bye bye.
- Bye!
- Oh my!
We are eating so many noodles today and we got more to go.
Next up we're going for a very spicy bowl
of Tsukemen dipping ramen right up here.
Oh!
Here it is, guys!
Oh, and look at this!
That's Tsukemen dipping noodles,
so the ramen comes separate and then you got this spicy bowl
of fish and pork broth with tons of chili
and soft-boiled eggs.
Let's try it out, guys.
Wow!
This is what we want right here.
We got the spicy Tsukemen dipping ramen.
Just another one of the hundreds of varieties
of noodles and ramen to try in Japan.
So we're just gonna throw in our bill,
put that 1,000 in,
and here we go, that's the spicy Tsukemen dipping noodles.
Let's press that and then out comes the ticket down here
and then have a feast.
(speaks foreign language)
Okay, so we got the spicy level here
and I think we're gonna get very spicy.
Oh!
And here we go!
(Trevor speaks foreign language)
Wow and look at this, we've got our condensed,
extremely rich, almost gravy-like soup stock
with a mountain, it's a mountain of dried chili,
dried seaweed, with Negi greens,
and then down here we got these soft-boiled egg.
Oh wow, extreme amounts of gravy and chili.
Wow.
It smells like clams and pork and chili.
And then over here, this is the magic.
We've got a bowl of hot boiled noodles.
We're just gonna throw those in right in there.
Wow.
Look at that, just saturated and dripping
with glistening chili fish gravy.
Let's try it out.
(slurping)
Mm!
Mm.
(speaks foreign language)
Wow that is building.
It actually has a bit of a smokiness to it,
almost like an earthy, smoky, fishy essence
that is building.
It's definitely spicy,
but I say it's actually really delicious,
it's not overpowering.
Just because we ordered extra spicy,
we didn't order death level.
(slurping)
That is one of the most unique bowls of noodles
I've ever tasted.
This is definitely worthy of a World Noodle Tour,
coming here and tasting Tsukemen in Fukuoka.
And you can just hear all the locals slurping away
'cause it's fantastic.
(slurping)
And look at that half-boiled egg,
the yolk is filled in with that chili
and it's burning but it's so satisfying at the same time.
Mm.
Wow.
And the chef just gave me this Carolina Reaper chili powder,
I think he's maybe a little shy on camera
so we're just gonna take his advice.
Apparently this is the spiciest chili powder they've got
and we're just gonna, oh, just touch it.
Let's try it out.
(slurping)
Mm!
Oh that is definitely spicy.
Mm.
Slowly building.
Oh wow, now I'm burning after adding in
that Carolina Reaper, wow.
That is really burning and this is just a full-on day
of ramen and Tsukemen and soba.
This here is spicy yet so enjoyable.
(speaks foreign language)
we're gonna finish this off and keep movin'.
Wow, bye bye.
That was really, really delicious yet spicy too.
Oh, I'm burning.
The next up to finish up the night, late night in Fukuoka,
we're goin' deep into the ramen zone
for the first ever chain of Ichiran,
the world-famous Ichiran chain.
We're gonna get extra strong Hakata ramen
and we're gonna try it out.
Late night satisfaction right here.
Here we go, guys.
We're goin' up to noodle delight right here.
And here's the magic ramen dispenser machines.
We're just gonna order up Ichiran select five ultra combo,
and I think this comes in a box.
Press that and here you go, you got your coupon,
we're gonna go bring that in and we're goin' right
into the noodle zone.
Oh here we go!
Wow!
Look at this.
This is where it all happens.
The ramen station.
We are gonna customize.
And for the Dashi, the seasoning,
we are gonna of course get strong.
Wow.
Original spicy red sauce, I think we're gonna get medium,
just to keep it classic.
Noodle texture, firm.
And then once you've done that you hand in your tickets
and get ready for your ramen.
(Trevor speaks foreign language)
So look at this, we've ordered,
now when it comes we're gonna focus on the taste.
This is the noodle booth.
And for extra ordering you just press the button right here.
And it says don't forget your Kae-Dama order,
extra noodle refill.
(Trevor speaks foreign language)
(man speaks foreign language)
- Wow!
Look at that, beautiful ramen.
So here it is, guys, the noodle booth,
completely in the zone.
The point here is to focus on the ramen.
And here it is.
We are having Hakata-style, medium spice, Cha-shu,
and look at all the extras.
We got Cha-shu pork, wood ear mushrooms, seaweed.
Let's just add it all in, Cha-shu, wood ear,
seaweed, there it is.
And you can see that he's closed the blind here
so you can just get in the zone.
And we're just gonna add a little bit of that garlic.
Ooh, that's gotta be at least one clove.
Wow!
Look at all that Cha-shu.
And that is Tonkastu ramen at the source.
Hakata ramen at the first-ever chain of Ichiran.
We're just gonna mix that chili in.
We've also got the half-boiled egg
and look at the inside, wow.
We're just gonna put that right in.
That is pure jelly!
Pure gooey, half-boiled egg.
Here it is, let's try that first bite.
Ichiran.
(slurping)
Mm!
Oh yeah, that is really unique, guys.
That Tonkatsu stock is actually a little sweet!
You've got that rich pork bone and that pork bone marrow
flavor but it's actually slightly sweet and spicy.
Mm!
Wow!
Let's get a little bit of that egg
'cause this is unreal, Japan is the land of ramen.
(slurping)
Mm!
Oh yeah, wow.
That is very, very nice.
That sweet pork bone broth with the light spice.
I'm happy I ordered it medium
because you can really taste the original flavor
of the stock with those kata firm noodles,
the fatty Cha-shu, this is definitely worth coming
to Fukuoka for, to try the first-ever Ichiran chain.
Wow, and a full day, it's been five bowls
of incredible noodles.
(slurping)
Mm, wow, and I am stuffed.
What an awesome day in Fukuoka.
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Thanks so much for watching, guys.
It's been an awesome time in Fukuoka.