Kyushu Bike Adventure 10 – Fukuoka to Kitakyushu
Completing the Fukuoka Nagasaki loop feels good. As far as travel goes, it’s been a dream. Japanese towns and izakayas for the win. Last night, back in the Big Smoke, I hit up an okonomiyaki tean place. Watching the chefs hard at work flipping hashamiyakis and other delicacies. Their mapo tofu was unexpectedly outstanding, but no time to dwell. It’s a kambini for breakfast. Protein, salad, onigiri, and I take a moment to explore this little shrine next door. I get rolling and watch the city’s bustle fade behind me. Flat roads, perfect weather, easy riding. The kilometers are flying by. By midday, I pull into Mia Judake Shrine, up a flight of stairs, past some impressive horse sculptures, through the mountain gate, and into the Kadai. It’s gorgeous with Emma swaying in the breeze. It’s a nice place to give my legs a rest. Back on the bike, and it’s a short ride to Fukuma Station. Bike nicely packed and I make my way to the platform. Looks like it’ll be a commuter today. Standing room only and in no time we pull into Kakura station. Kitakiushu. [Music] Stepping off the train, I see a Montreal cutting through the sky. From central terminus to who knows where. Feels somehow futuristic and overengineered for this small city. I want one. A quick snack at a station restaurant and then I’m back on Foldi for a spin through the city. Kakura Castle is the big draw. Tall, proud, and well, Japan’s got no shortage of epic castles. As impressive as it is, in Japan, it’s just another castle. And we’ll see another tomorrow. The light fades and the sky becomes a striking orange. And I feel like it’s getting close to isakaya time. It is. Tucker, you’re up. So I’m in Kitakiushu at another isizakaya and this place looks really interesting and this let me read off the menu. Grilled suki. This is a specialty dish of urro warramama where carefully selected pork spare ribs are slowly steamed then marinated in a secret sauce then grilled over charcoal. Please give it a try. Okay. Oh my god. Look at this. Look at that. It just pours off. I am very very excited about this. Let’s try. [Music] So, it’s cooked over charcoal, but also I think they use the flame in this part of the world. Look, that bone is just going to fall out, I reckon. Oh, there it goes. What did I say? So, yeah, just a giant pork spare rib just pulls off the bone and all of that fat as well. So, it’s got sesame seeds and it’s got spring onions and then there’s like a light teriyaki sauce. So, I guess like a light teriyaki marinade and it’s all about that charcoal and just the quality of the pork. Oh, there was a lot of fat in that mouthful and it was so good. I got some matsunab by the way. It looks a bit different to the one I tried at the airport. We’ll get to that soon. I’m just letting that fat cook for a little bit. So, I also ordered this. Translation is meatball with egg yolk. I’m pretty sure it’s chicken. And you can see that egg yolk. Look at that nice yellow egg yolk. And actually why I ordered it was basically I wanted to dip some meat into the egg yolk and tad sauce cuz at Yakaniku restaurants I absolutely love that. So have a look. Oh yum. Super good. A few chives in there. Charcoal on the outside as per standard. And of course all about that raw egg yolk and the tarde sauce. M super super good. So it seems like it’s time for some mossab and interestingly when I had it last time had like a milky broth and this time it’s like a clear brown broth. It’s like a sweet soy with dashy broth. So yeah, last one was a miso garlic but it was you know it’s like a close to a tonkatu broth. A little bit lighter I guess. So this one, let me try the broth. So it’s like a sweet soy. So I’m guessing mirin and soy and then a dashy broth as well. Inside we’ve got a bunch of chives, lots of cabbage. This bottom is looking a bit different because it’s got a lot more meat on it. The meat to fat ratio is slightly more in the meat’s favor. So, let’s try that. Give me about half an hour to chew this. That’s quite chewy. I feel like it needs a few more hours to simmer to be honest. And also when I had the hormon last night was cooked on the tapan and so it cooked out a little bit of that fat as well. So I reckon I’m going to put these back in the pot and I’m going to let them cook for a little bit longer and maybe order a few more dishes. All right, more charcoal cooked chicken this time. This is jidori no myaki. So this is a specialty chicken from the Miyazaki Prefecture and it’s from the mountains. It’s like a proper freerange chicken and they cook it over charcoal and they kind of cook it in the flame as well. Look how dark that is. Comes with the yuzu pepper on the side. I’m just going to try this straight. [Music] So, this jidori chicken has a bit of a chew to it. It’s not like one of our fat lazy chickens in a cage. You know, it’s like free range. It’s a hardy chicken. And you got this yuzu pepper on the side, which I’m growing very, very fond of. Super salty. So, I wonder if it’s naturally dark or if it’s just from the cooking process cuz it is that open flame that they’re using. And I guess it’s probably mainly that it’s really striking distinct and salty flavor. When you think of chicken, you think of this kind of soft, white, flavorless kind of meat, but this it has something going for it. It’s got a bit of game about it. Yeah, I really rate it. So good. So, judori chicken. It’s got game. And finally, guoza. So beautifully pan fried and steamed. It’s what makes the guoza special. Little sauce on the side. M. So yeah, they’re just so juicy inside. And they’ve got chives as well. And then this vinegar soy. Nice sour vinegar. Super delicious. And I have ordered a lot of food, but I’m going to eat these all cuz I have a big ride tomorrow. It’s all fun and games now, Tucker, but just you wait. Tomorrow you suffer. Yep, it’s a big ride. Kitakushu to Nakatsu and then onto Beu. Expect some chicken nambam for lunch. Another isakaya with Beu Specialties for dinner and the fanciest accommodation of this whole trip. Want to see? Well, punch the button. Let’s keep this adventure rolling. [Music]
Flying from Jakarta Indonesia to Fukuoka Japan for a bicycle tour on a Brompton folding bike. Expect to see Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto and plenty of towns in between. I ride, I eat, I ride, I eat, I rinse, I repeat. 18 episodes. Ramen, gyoza, onigiri, miso black cod, Imari beef, Takuro rice, kushiyaki, sashimi, combini, okonomiyaki, sushi, yakitori, yakiniku, tonkatsu, tonkotsu, tempura, soba, udon, matsunabe, sake, keiseki, not gonna lie, I do a lotta eating.
Summer:
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