Menya ISHII — Local services in Fukuoka

|| Food with a great look, but little character ||

Having lived and cooked in Italy for 7 years, I had high hopes seeing this restaurant on Google with a very high score. However the carbonara, as stunning as it looks, just tastes very bland and mediocre. A key problem I see is that the taste of the meal is forgone for the sake of not mixing the ingredients to be more presentable. Mixing the udon/pasta with egg yolk, cheese, and much more pepper than used here in a semi-hot pan is key to achieving the perfect rich and thick consistency usually seen in a authentic carbonara. This helps coat the pasta and reduces the liquid content of the sauce which makes it even richer.

To improve the overall taste I would suggest adding more cheese, double the amount of pepper, and mixing these ingredients together initially. For additional richness, although this is not included in the traditional recipe, I would recommend finely chopped garlic simmered in olive oil.

Plus points for the open kitchen and...

I’m not usually a fan of udon, but I think this is one of the best udon I had. The addition of Fukuoka’s famous mentaiko brought a deep umami richness to the noodles, elevating the dish far beyond the usual expectations.

Each side order was impressive in its own way—the chicken was perfectly tender, the beef, paired with a refreshing ponzu-style sauce, added a bright, citrusy contrast, and the tempura prawn was incredibly fresh, completing the lineup beautifully.

The popularity of the place speaks for itself—I waited about 40 minutes in line, but there’s an online fast pass option for 390 yen if you prefer to skip the wait. Definitely worth the visit for a refined take on udon, even for...

Visited on a Sunday at 11.40am and queued for 50mins before I was seated.

I tried the Mentaiko Kamatama Cream Udon with Dashi Toriten & Soft Boiled Egg Tempura.

Udon is very delicious! The udon felt heavy and my hands were a bit tired towards the end of my meal. Cream base is just nice and not too heavy even when I finished my meal.

Toriten is delicious and juicy! However the piece I received was so small as compared to the pictures that was posted on google and I felt a little scammed. Soft Boiled Egg tempura is normal.

Overall a good meal but I hope that the size of chicken tempura served can be more standardized so that some customer do not felt shortchanged by the smaller pieces at...