博多大砲 hakata taiho: acute observation
The Subway sandwich conjecture is as follows: a six inch sub is never enough, but a foot-long is overkill. The same applies to KFC Hot Wings, most commonly available in either six or twenty piece servings. Six measly wings do not a meal make, but what sort of American eats twenty at a go? I think I just answered my own question. In the rest of the world however, the principle holds. A portion and a half seems right, even for reasonably hungry dudes.
Hakata ramen shops typically serve up a smaller bowl of noodles; proper tonkotsu is so rich, so loaded with abura and cholesterol, that too much of a good thing can quickly become excessive. Thus, Fukuoka’s ramen masters developed “kaedama.” Paying a few extra yen for an additional portion of noodles makes considerable sense, as diners can customize their consumption. I often wonder why the practice isn’t more popular throughout Japan.
Hakata Taiho is two (!) tiny ramen shops situated a block apart from one another and located halfway between Aka Noren and Canal City Hakata on the Watanabe-dori, the district’s most prominent thoroughfare. Now perhaps because I hadn’t, in fact, ordered kaedama while eating at Aka Noren, I elected to stop off for some ramen on my walk back to the hotel after, well, eating ramen. Like nine-inches of a Subway B.M.T., sometimes you just want that bowl and a half.
First off, the place is tiny, an acute triangle tucked into an empty gap between a mammoth pachinko parlor and a row of standard shops. A yatai can typically seat more diners than Hakata Taiho. Surveying the boulevard from his post in the triangular kitchen — literally, a stand — resident chef Yoshimitsu Inouye (not the owner, apparently), dishes out pure, mellow tonkotsu ramen with a self-described Kurume-inflected aji, or taste. Despite the name, I’ll take his word for it. Especially since the place feels less like a ramen shop than well, an information kiosk.
And frankly, that’s what Inouye-san dished out - little pearls of wisdom about Hakata, Nagahama, and the popularity of “chinese noodle” in Japan, sounding as though he were auto-translating his limited english from a Wikipedia entry. Was the shop, in fact, related to Kurume Taiho? (It wasn’t.) To add to the confusion, I later learned that Kurume Taiho has its very own branch branch further on down the street, which probably explains their move out of the Canal City Ramen Stadium 2.
But I digress. Intimidating in appearance, Inouye-san was thoroughly affable. The ramen, however, follows a different aesthetic from nearby collagen-blowout extravaganzas. This particular “Taiho” may or may not be for everyone, as it serves what can most accurately be described as Hakata ramen-lite - an even, nominally flavorful but slightly watery tonkotsu soup with decent noodles a touch on the limp side. Though the green onions were thin-cut to perfection and particularly fresh, the chashu, workmanlike in tenderness. The whole bowl was reminiscent of a souped up version of the packaged, “dried noodle stick” tonkotsu ramen often found in Japanese supermarkets. In a way, Hakata Taiho is like a distant cousin to some of the more no-frills, purist tonkotsu ramen shops found in the Northern Kyushu countryside; on the Watanabe-dori, it definitely marches to its own tune.
| the pure tonkotsu ramen at hakata taiho follows a lighteter aesthetic all its own; lighter and smoother, but watery and a bit tame in comparison to nearby standouts. if you're looking for a tonkotsu soup that isn't too heavy, this could be the way to go. | 6 |
| a touch on the limp side, hakata taiho's thin, white noodles are decently proportioned, if not spectacular. try ordering "extra kata"men! | 6 |
| fresh, finely chopped negi were the bowl's saving grace. the chashu likewise was decently soft, if easily overlooked in a nest of noodles that could have been so much more. | 7 |
| i stopped off at famima for a pet bottle shortly afterwards, but seeing as how this was my second bowl of ramen in ninety minutes, i skipped out on any side dishes. actually, according to their menu, they only have boiled eggs and beer in addition to ramen anyway! | NA |
| hakata taiho itself is all cold fluorescent lighting in a cramped, phone-booth of a shop. but thin sliding doors separate the place from the very heart of tenjin's watanabe-dori. on a warm evening, it could be like dining on the porch, if your porch opened out onto an endlessly fascinating metropolitan boulevard. | 7 |
| i was drawn to the shop due largely to it's location and architecture... a ramshackle, triangular nook in one of the busiest, most bustling parts of fukuoka. though the ramen could have been better, hakata taiho has its charms for sure. | 4 |
博多大砲ラーメン 本店の基本情報 hours:6:30p - 5a (hours all ramen shops should keep!)
| 19 |
