In the second post in this series: @seanytan/seanytravels-japan-fukuoka-2-this-is-where-the-ramen-hq-is, I visited the Canal City Hakata for the first time, but it was quite late in the evening so I just took a glance around. I revisited it again! This time earlier, and with the intention of checking out the Ramen Stadium, and the arcades and shopping outlets over there.
Ramen Stadium is something like a gathering of different stalls that serve different types and styles of Ramen. In Singapore that would be equivalent to Ramen Champion at Bugis. From what I could recall, the different styles include various soup stocks and broth in the ramen, chefs specializing in spicier flavours, chinese styled noodles, and different toppings.
I think the photos will explain this better!
the first shop that I went to try
There were about 8-10 options, and I couldn't really decide which style I wanted. It was quite crowded that day as well, so I settled for the ones that did not have a very long queue.
so these are the different styles and shops I was talking about!
sitting by the counter
my first bowl
second bowl from a different shop
In hindsight, I might have a different review if I tried some other stalls or flavours, but overall, it was underwhelming. Of all the ramen I have eaten in different countries, I would just say that this is rather average, and maybe it would be better to visit places outside the Canal City mall to have a better ramen fix. I think the long queues were due to tourists wanting to try out the ramen, so it may have either gave a wrong impression of 'tastyness' or maybe the chefs were just not able to produce an outstanding taste by trying to 'bulk-serve' so many customers.
So in conclusion, not the worst, not the best, so-so.
my expression sums up my experience to the Ramen Stadium
But after I finished eating, I went out and was greeted by something really beautiful!
It looks much more better than the other day's!
colours changing
I think that as a tourist visiting Fukuoka, it would be alright to just visit Canal City once, and maybe dine somewhere else. It's not the cheapest over at the mall, and you could find better food at a lower price elsewhere (I also had a below-average experience at a Sushi restaurant in the mall, let me cover this in another post, maybe...) If you were tight on schedule, I would say that you wouldn't lose much not visiting this mall anyway!
For my introduction post please check here!
Where else have I travelled to?
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