Aiming to try motsunabe in Fukuoka, we had asked the hotel staff to call Rakutenti 楽天地, the original creator of the famous offal hotpot, to reserve a table for the night. Unfortunately, the place was fully booked. The staff advised us though to go early and queue up, as the restaurant usually had a few tables for walk-in customers.
Trying our luck, we walked to the outlet nearby Hakata
Station 博多駅, only
a short distance from our hotel. Arriving at 6pm, there were already many customers
seated. While there were still a few tables outside, as it was raining, we
decided to dine indoor. We were fortunate to get a table without waiting.
The restaurant was started in 1977, with the first owner 水谷寿
taking the idea of a sukiyaki-style hotpot using giblets, that was offered to
customers at a low price, when people struggled to find food after the war. But
he wanted to provide a healthier version that would be good to the people and
their wallet.
A very small store was created as a result, with him and his
wife managing, selling only motsunabe. With the success, they moved to a
multi-tenant building and continued to open stores all over Fukuoka. Many
similar restaurants opened in the early 1990s and the reputation of the dish
spread to Tokyo and other places, with currently more than 3,700 restaurants in Japan according to Tabelog.
We ordered the popular もつ鍋 満足コース (3,135 yen per person), which included 1.5 servings of motsunabe, small dish, tofu and champon noodles. There were three choices for small dish, and we have picked mentaiko and motsu with vinegar.
The motsunabe used six types of fresh offal, with the excess fat trimmed off. The restaurant only used the freshest offal which came directly from slaughterhouse, delivered each day, with the handling done in-house. There was no weird odour because of the careful hand washing before use, with each offal cut into small pieces to make it easy to eat.
Apart from the offal, the restaurant added plenty of chives
and cabbage to balance the diet, with the vegetables helping to reduce the
fattiness and increase the flavours. The soup base was a secret recipe from
the owner’s wife that had maintained its deliciousness for over 40 years, with
some red chili and garlic to enhance the taste further.
We also ordered 牛ハラミステーキ (1,518 yen). While the beef skirt steak was not known for its tenderness, it had good beef flavours, and we had grilled them medium rare to have the best taste.
After finishing most of the offal and vegetables we added the champon noodles into the hotpot. Absorbing the flavours of the soup and with a wonderful al dente texture, the noodle was just amazing. It also provided the carb to fill our stomach for a satisfying and complete meal.
In fact, the restaurant served udon initially in the original
Tenjin store. But on one occasion, the first owner needed to borrow champon
from the Chinese restaurant in the same building after running out of udon. He found
that the noodle was a perfect match with motsunabe and since then had been
using champon instead.
Together with two drinks the total bill on the night was 8,860 yen.
With decent service, good quality food, and the opportunity to experience the original
motsunabe, I recommend people visiting Fukuoka to try this restaurant. But do remember
to either book in advance or come early to avoid the wait.
Address: 福岡市博多区博多駅中央街6-12
ヨドバシ博多ビル1F
Telephone: 0924-41-7744
Website: https://www.rakutenti.com/
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