Hakata Mizutaki Originator Restaurant Suigetsu

Among various theories, the most likely origin of mizutaki, a specialty of Fukuoka, is that it was invented by Heizaburo Hayashida, the first owner of a restaurant called “Suigetsu” in 1905. Hearing such a story, I naturally thought to myself, “I must go check out the original mizutaki!” So, during my stay in Hakata in April 2024, I called Suigetsu, the restaurant where mizutaki originated in Hakata, to make a reservation.

However, there was one big problem at this point. When I looked at the menu on the restaurant’s website, I saw that all the course menus for the original Mizutaki had to be ordered by two or more people. My stomach suggests that I could order a course for two and eat it by myself…but when I called and asked the waiter, “I’m alone and I want to eat mizutaki…,” he gladly said yes. So, even a lone customer like me can enjoy mizutaki at Suigetsu, so please don’t worry about that. Now…

A fine restaurant that retains the nostalgic atmosphere of the old days…Hakata Mizutaki Originator Restaurant Suigetsu is a restaurant like this…

Suigetsu, the birthplace of Hakata mizutaki, is located in Hirao, just outside of downtown Hakata and Tenjin. This area is a quiet residential area, and is apparently always ranked as one of the top places to live in Fukuoka Prefecture. The restaurant is also located in a quiet area off the main street. The restaurant is located in a really quiet area off the main street, so it will be useful when you want to have a relaxing meal.

The restaurant’s seating is divided into the first and second floors, with a small tatami room and sunken kotatsu on the first floor, and private rooms and banquet rooms on the second floor. The restaurant is a high-class ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) that requires reservations at least one day in advance and a 10% service charge in addition to the cost of the meal, but the restaurant retains a nostalgic atmosphere of the old days, and it is nice to be able to take a breather without feeling self-conscious. I love this kind of atmosphere.

What makes the original Mizutaki at Suigetsu, the original mizutaki restaurant in Hakata, different from other restaurants specializing in mizutaki?

This time, I ordered the lowest grade of mizutaki, the Hakata Mizutaki B course (price: 6200 yen including tax, excluding 10% service charge). I chose this course thinking, “As long as I can eat mizutaki, I don’t need much else,” but as it turned out, I was lucky to have chosen this course. I’ll tell you why later, but first, let me introduce the entire course in order.

Three kinds of appetizers

First of all, there were three kinds of appetizers: vinegared chicken skin, simmered tsukune (Japanese radish), and sesame tofu. As you can see from the image above, the amount of chicken skin vinegar is quite large… I think this one dish is enough to serve as a beer snack for two or three people. The slightly light ponzu sauce with a little spiciness from the grated momiji mushrooms was enough for me to finish the dish without getting bored.

Mizutaki

The main dish, mizutaki, is clearly different from mizutaki available anywhere else in Japan. Can you notice it in the image above? It is the color of the soup stock. Unlike other restaurants, the color of the mizutaki broth is translucent.

According to the waitress, the original mizutaki soup stock is clear. But at the second restaurant that started serving mizutaki, the soup stock was already served cloudy white. The restaurant owner does not know of any other restaurant serving mizutaki with clear soup stock except Suigetsu. Perhaps this may really be the only one, even if you search all over the country.

But just because the dashi broth is light in color does not mean it is light in flavor. It is extremely rich. And there is no bitterness at all. You can’t imagine how much this soup stock, with just a little salt and chopped green onion, will warm you up… You can drink this superb soup stock without limit, so you may not even need to order a drink any more.

And chicken with bones. Looking at the pot, there are already 4 slices of meat with bones at the bottom of the pot… And obviously, the meat is bigger than that of Hakata Mizutaki Toriden‘s Mizutaki. And the meat is so tender, you really don’t have to chew. I have not had such tender chicken in a long time. There was no way I could say it was bad.

And there are plenty of vegetables. It should be noted that Suigetsu uses cabbage instead of Chinese cabbage. The cabbage is boiled to a half-cooked state, which is the Suigetsu way. The cabbage is not only crispy but also sweet when eaten at this level of heat! The restaurant’s special orange ponzu (citrus juice) is also refreshing, and the meat on the bone goes down in one gulp.

When you finish eating the meat on the bone, a considerable amount of tsumire (meatball) is added, and shiitake mushrooms and other vegetables are added as well…as you do this, you can clearly taste the evolution of the broth flavor.

The tsumire was also finished off in one piece. After this, the final dish of zosui (rice porridge) awaits, but I was impressed by the taste of the dashi broth at this stage.

And now to the final zosui. It looks simple, but what this zosui made with the finest soup stock tastes like… I will leave that to your imagination. By the way, they make enough zosui to easily feed two or three people. I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear the waitress say kindly, “We’ll have more for you.”

That was the end of the B course of the original Hakata Mizutaki at Suigetsu, the restaurant where the Hakata Mizutaki originated. I don’t think I need to say anything about the taste, but when I finished eating it, I was skeptical, “Is this really for one person?” It is what is called a “reverse fraud” menu. I wonder what would have happened if I had ordered the higher grade course… No, no, I was lucky to have chosen the B course. Actually, I was planning to end the day with a visit to the Ganso Akanoren Secchan Ramen, but that turned out to be a happy disappointment. I’ll save it for the next time I visit Fukuoka.

The last thing I would like to add is that the behavior of the waitresses was really wonderful. Not only did she take care of the mizutaki until the very end, but she also talked with us in between, left us alone at the perfect moment, etc… It was much more dignified and comforting than the high-class restaurants in Osaka where you would pay XX,000 yen to eat. Frankly speaking, I think the price of 6,200 yen plus 10% service charge is too cheap. In my opinion, this is a restaurant that I highly recommend, but would not want people to know about it if possible.

The original mizutaki is also available by mail order… To get to Suigetsu, the birthplace of Hakata mizutaki, walk 10 minutes from Nishitetsu Hirao Station on the Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line, the closest station to the restaurant.

So, the original mizutaki at Suigetsu, the birthplace of Hakata mizutaki, which has been handed down from one generation to the next since the Meiji era, cannot be found anywhere else in the world except at this restaurant. However, to our great pleasure, we ship the fully cooked original mizutaki nationwide via the restaurant’s website, so you can enjoy the taste of Suigetsu by mail order.

It is more reasonable than ordering a Mizutaki course at a restaurant, and if you are feeling like you want to try the original Mizutaki… why not order it from the link above? However, as you would expect from the real thing, the expiration date is only 3 days, so please be careful about that.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

It takes only 11 minutes on foot from Yakuin Station or Yakuin Odori Station on the Fukuoka City Subway Nanakuma Line.