Eat your heart out in this city on Kyushu island which offers everything from ramen to cow offal steamboat.
Teo Chuu Yong
Age: 37
Occupation: Translation co-ordinator
Length of stay: 11 years
Many Singaporeans abroad long for char kway teow and chicken rice, both of which translation co-ordinator Teo Chuu Yong has been unable to find in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. But the 37-year-old is not exactly complaining.
Having lived there for 11 years, he finds the city has no lack of great food, from ramen and yakitori to buffets and cow offal steamboat.
He has been able to find Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese fare, but has not had as much luck when it comes to food from Singapore.
Culinary delights aside, Fukuoka also offers a balanced mix of city activities and natural attractions, with the late autumn season towards the end of the year being the best time for a visit.
I would certainly love to know where I can find Singaporean food in Fukuoka too.
So far, the closest ones I have been to are probably the ethnic restaurants that serve Thai or Vietnamese food, besides the mainland Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants that are quite common.
In general, the Japanese do not have a habit of having breakfast outside.
The only places I am aware of that serve breakfast are either coffee shops, fast food restaurants, 24-hour Yoshinoya outlets or udon and soba chains.
Hakata Fuudo (Level 1, Dai-roku Okabe-biru, 2-4-17 Hakata-eki-higashi, Hakata-ku, tel: +81-92-472-0210) for yakitori and Show-Raku Haruyoshi branch (3-21-30 Haruyoshi, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, tel: +81-92-731-0027) for motsu-nabe (cow offal steamboat).
For ramen, there are Hakata Ippudo, Daimyo shop (1-13-14 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0041, tel: +81-92-771-0880); Ichiran, Canal City branch (Level B1, Canal City, 1-2 Sumiyoshi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0018); Hakata Kokumaro, Najima-bashi branch (2-2119-4 Najima, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, tel: +81-92-673-1875); and Ramen Stadium (Canal City, 1-2 Sumiyoshi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0018), which houses a number of famous ramen stalls, mainly from Kyushu, as well as other parts of Japan.
The buffet lunch and dinner at SLOW +K, Nakasu Gate’s branch (Gate’s Level 6, 3-7-24 Nakasu, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, tel: +81-92-283-0400) is also good.
Club O-D (Void Fukuoka, 2-4-28 Imaizumi, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, tel: +81-92-733-1167) and Cafe & Bar D’s 11511 (Daimyo 11511 Level 5, 1-15-11 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, tel: +81-92-736-8727).
Club O-D is probably the largest club in town, with many famous Japanese and foreign DJs holding events there, while D’s 11511 is a cafe and dining bar that has an open-air terrace and very good ambience at night.
Fukuoka has a very well-balanced blend of urban infrastructures and nature spots.
While modern infrastructures are increasing rapidly around the city centre, it takes less than 30 minutes by train to get out of the city to the nearest nature spots such as mountains, waterfalls and hot springs.
Located on the island of Kyushu, Fukuoka is also the place to find a wide range of fresh fish and agricultural products. This is probably one of the reasons it is able to offer so much good food.
If it is within Fukuoka City, I will take them to the yatai food stalls and the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine (Dazaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture).
Outside the city, it is Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Dine out at a nice restaurant, laze at home, stroll around the nearby parks or shop in town.
This article was first published in The Sunday Times on July 20, 2008.