Fukuoka mentaiko rice bowl at Ganso Hakata Mentaiju
If you’re in Fukuoka, Japan—famous for its mentaiko, or seasoned pollock roe—you really have to try a mentaiko rice bowl at least once.
There are a few well-known spots for mentaiju in the city, but this is probably the one most Korean travelers know best.
I finally made it to Ganso Hakata Mentaiju.
I’d heard that unless the weather is truly awful, the wait during regular meal times can get pretty long.
I went a little after 8 p.m., and the line wasn’t too bad, so I only waited about 15 minutes.
The building was easy to spot because of its tall structure and wood-paneled exterior, but apparently the outside is currently under renovation.
The restaurant is still operating as usual, though, so no need to worry.
Just head over.
It was a hot day, but by evening the air had cooled off, so waiting 15 minutes felt like nothing.
There were also a few small, charming restaurants across the street.
Places like that, without a huge tourist crowd, always make me curious.
Next time I’m back, I want to focus more on local favorites that Japanese diners actually line up for.
Once you get closer to the entrance, you can check out the outdoor menu board too.
Even the little illuminated sign was cute.
I took a quick peek inside before going in.
There weren’t any dining tables on the first floor.
It was mainly the cashier area and a space for selling products.
It looked like plenty of celebrities had stopped by too, because there were lots of autographs posted up, kind of like at famous restaurants in Korea.
The packaged mentaiko looked beautiful and would make a great gift.
Too bad I couldn’t bring it back to Korea, so I just admired it and moved on.
Before being shown to our table upstairs, I did a quick lap and filmed a little video too.
Up on the second floor, the lighting was dim and moody in the best way.
Definitely one of those atmospheric Fukuoka restaurants.
We were seated in a small room with just two tables, so it felt quiet and private.
Even the restroom was spotless and surprisingly upscale.
They gave us thick wet wipes that felt sturdy enough to use more than once, so I cleaned my hands thoroughly and then studied the menu.
Everything was also written in Korean, which made ordering easy.
We ordered the Mentaiju mentaiko rice bowl with extra mentaiko, plus the Mentai Nikomi Tsukemen.
Honestly, those are basically the two main dishes here, so I feel like most people end up getting at least one of them.
While we waited, I read through all the little instruction cards.
They explain very clearly how to enjoy each menu item.
I think I chose the medium spice level.
Japanese spice standards tend to be milder than Korean ones, so even the hottest option probably would have been manageable.
We started with a nama biru, or draft beer.
The menu didn’t say which brewery it was from, though.
A little later, our mentaiko rice bowl arrived.
It normally comes with one piece, but we added extra mentaiko.
One was raw mentaiko, and the other was grilled.
It also came with a spicy soy-based sauce on the side.
The front piece is the raw one, and the back row is grilled.
The ceramic lid had a nice, weighty feel to it.
If you look closely, the mentaiko is wrapped in handmade kombu.
It doesn’t taste fishy, so no worries there.
Just scoop up the roe with the rice and seaweed underneath and eat it together.
Left: grilled. Right: raw.
And honestly, the raw one tasted better than the grilled version.
The roe itself was already salty enough, so I didn’t feel like I needed to mix in the soy sauce at all.
Was it mind-blowingly good? Not quite that level.
But it was definitely savory, satisfying, and tasty.
Next up was the Mentai Nikomi Tsukemen.
The noodles and nikomi broth are served separately.
You’re not supposed to dump all the noodles into the broth.
Instead, you place some noodles on your spoon and add a little broth at a time.
There’s mentaiko in the broth too.
The noodles were glossy and springy with a great chewy texture.
Time to dig in.
The tsukemen also comes with a spicy sauce, so you can add it to taste.
When I put the noodles on the spoon, added a little broth, and slurped it up, wow—the umami was so good.
The broth was rich and deeply flavorful, and it really suited my taste.
The tsukemen also comes with flying fish stock, and there’s a little tag attached to the kettle handle explaining it.
By the time I noticed, I was already late for steps 1 and 2.
Step 3 says to pour the flying fish stock into the broth and try it again with a new flavor profile.
So I poured it in generously and gave it a try.
The broth definitely took on more of a fish-stock flavor.
I’m usually fine with fishy notes, and I didn’t think it was overpowering.
But my boyfriend thought it was a little too fishy and preferred the original sauce better.
So if you go, I’d recommend adding just a little first, tasting it, and then deciding whether to pour in more.
For dessert, they served each of us a cup of plum tea, which was a nice refreshing finish.
The staff were all very kind too.
The total came to 6,182 yen, or about $40.
For a filling meal, that didn’t feel bad at all.
By the time we left, it was around 9:30 p.m., and there was still a line outside.
This place really is one of Fukuoka’s hot-ticket restaurants.
Right next to Ganso Hakata Mentaiju is the Naka River.
There was even something like a river cruise running there.
It looked atmospheric, sure,
but I wasn’t especially tempted, so I passed.
The breeze was light, the night air felt amazing, and I was fully swept up in the mood of this Fukuoka trip.
Of course, I had to snap a photo on the bridge too.
Then we walked across toward the Nakasu yatai street food stalls.
I’ll save my Nakasu post for another time.
And that’s a wrap.