安全食堂

Anzen Shokudo was on my super-wanna-go list for a while, but the location isn’t so convenient. It’s about an hour by train from central Fukuoka, and they close at the latest at 4:00pm (keep in mind that many ramen shops in Japan run out of soup and close before the posted time).

This time around, we had a car, and a bunch of hungry ramen dudes ready to check the area out. It took me about five seconds to convince them all to come to Anzen Shokudo. The choice, after all, is very anzen. Cue the boos at my jokes.

Anzen means safety, but the menu here is intense. Local ramen that holds no punches.

The standard ramen is a local-style tonkotsu. Look at the size of that bowl of benishoga, the pickled ginger used as a topping.

One thing I love about these bowls is how easy they are to eat. They purposely serve this style with less noodles than, say, a bowl of shoyu ramen, which either means you can order another serving of noodles, or order another bowl of something else.

Champon. Anzen Shokudo lies on the way to Nagasaki, and heavy champon is the Nagasaki way. Thicker noodles, cooked in the broth, topped with meat, veggies, and fishcake.