Hajime2nd store

I am very familiar with Japan having studied at a Japanese university years ago. But, despite my love of the country, I am not a big seafood eater. So, when we were in the Nishijin area of Fukuoka City (on Kyushu Island), my wife suggested ramen. Ramen is an imported dish from Japan...centuries ag...o. There are many varieties. Fukuoka is famous for its pork based ramen. We were undecided where to eat. There is a bigger, famous ramen restaurant across the street that advertises that it has a branch in New York but my wife has been to both and didn't like the food, so we tried out HAJIME-Nagahama Ramen. It is one of those tiny, crowded restaurants not often visited by foreigners. It has a few tables and a long counter. They serve about ten different ramen specialties. My wife and I both chose cha-shu ramen...usually served with smoked slices of pork...with a definite "Chinese flavor". However, the slices here were not smoked....no big loss. Now, if you're offended by seeing a big pot of pork bones, don't come. Otherwise, you are going to be in for a rare treat. I must tell you, in my 60 years of dining in Japan and in Japanese restaurants world wide, I had the best ramen at HAJIME. No "bones" about it! In many Japanese restaurants when you are served a stew, or curry or ramen, you often need to bring along a DNA testing kit to find the small bits of meat that may or may not be in the dish itself. Not here. There was plenty of pork floating the bowl. But of course, the soup itself was the most delicious part. The noodles are fresh...and by the way, they ask you how you like them...soft, super soft, medium, hard and super hard. If you don't speak Japanese, just shrug and they will probably serve you soft or medium! The place seems always busy but there always seems to be a couple seats available. If there are 2 of you, I recommend sitting at the counter where you will have a front row seat at what's being cooked. It is a great place to have lunch and it is reasonable too. A big bowl of cha-shu ramen, the most expensive ramen on the menu, cost 750 yen. So, enjoy!

Visited May 2017