Hakata Seafood Uoden

After my first experience with Ara-nabe at Sumo Chaya Otsuka last fall, I wondered if there were other restaurants where I could eat Ara-nabe, and one of the restaurants I found through Internet research is Hakata Seafood Uoden, which I would like to introduce here. As the name suggests, this restaurant is an affiliate of Hakata Mizutaki Toriden, a restaurant specializing in Mizutaki, a specialty of Hakata. The restaurant’s main focus is to serve seasonal fish and Hakata’s local cuisine with a focus on “Uotaki,” a hot pot of Kyushu fish in a broth, and is one of the most popular restaurants in Hakata, where you can enjoy seafood dishes using fresh seafood caught in the Genkai Sea.

I saw on the restaurant’s website that they had a course menu called the “Ala-nabe Course” and called to make a reservation one month before my visit. It was out of season for ara, but I was amazed that they accepted my reservation. In addition, many one-pot courses are often rejected if you are a single customer, but I was grateful that the restaurant was willing to accept a boorish customer like me…

In addition, many nabe courses are often rejected if you are a single customer, but they gladly accepted a single customer like me…

Located on the first floor of the luxury hotel Mitsui Garden Hotel Fukuoka Gion, Hakata Seafood Uoden is quiet and has a great atmosphere….

Hakata Seafood Uoden is located on the first floor of the luxury hotel, Mitsui Garden Hotel Fukuoka Gion, on the right side of Hakata Ekimae Dori Street from JR Hakata Station in the direction of Kushida Shrine. Since the restaurant is inside a luxury hotel, it looks quite upscale. When you enter the restaurant, you can feel a bit of an izakaya-like atmosphere, but there was no place where people who had been drinking were making a lot of noise. If I had to describe it in one word, I would say that it is a “high-class izakaya-style seafood restaurant”.

According to the restaurant’s Tabelog, there are a total of 78 seats in the restaurant. Most of them are semi-private rooms separated by walls, so it is nice to be able to dine in peace without feeling the stares of other customers. Is this one of the reasons why the restaurant is kept quiet? It is not suitable for large groups, but I think it is very easy to use for groups of up to 7 or 8 people or for families with small children.

Reservations must be made at least 3 days in advance! How was the Ara-Nabe course at Hakata Seafood Uoden when I actually tried it?

Let me introduce you to the Ara-Nabe course (priced at 11,000 yen/person including tax) that I ordered at Hakata Seafood Uoden…

Appetizer

First, the appetizer of Hakata asparagus and Japanese parsley. Enjoy the crunchiness of the asparagus and the unique richness of the crustacean. The overall flavor of the dish is mild, but the shiso sprinkled in the mayonnaise gives the dish a refreshing flavor.

Ara Sashimi

Next to be brought to the table was sashimi of ara. It is served with mackerel, seared swordfish, turban shell, and tuna sashimi, and is served with sweet soy sauce or ponzu (Japanese citrus juice).

Ara sashimi has a slightly firmer texture than flatfish. When biting into it, the plump meat has a slightly firm texture. The fat oozes out from the cross section of the fish, so although the fish is white, it does not seem pale. The seasoning is more like ponzu (Japanese sauce made of citrus juice and citrus juice).

Chawanmushi

Counting from the appetizers, the third dish was chawanmushi. It came out in a rather large bowl, and when the lid was opened, the yuzu peel drifted out. The ingredients were shimeji mushrooms, mitsuba leaves, and a large piece of ara inside. The texture of the hot ara meat is irresistible.

Deep-fried Ara

The fourth dish, counting from the appetizer, is deep-fried ara. The skin is hard and crispy, and the meat is soft and juicy. The fat contained in the meat part is probably great, but it’s a pity that we can’t tell what happened to it with the fried oil.

Ara-nabe

Then came the main dish, ara-nabe. First, the head portion was served first, followed by the bones, and finally the meat with the restaurant’s special ponzu (Japanese citrus juice).

Compared to the ara at Sumo Chaya Otsuka, the head was much smaller and the fat content was not as high as I expected. However, I think this is partly because it is not in season, and I am glad that this restaurant offers ara nabe because it is an easy way to eat this dish… from the bottom of my heart.

Zosui (rice porridge)

The remaining soup stock in the pot is used to make zosui (rice porridge). Zosui in the broth soaked with the flavor of the ara and vegetables is, to put it mildly, the best. However, I would have liked to have had another bowl… It is a little sad that they only make one bowl of zosui from the beginning. Also, I like how they casually used spicy cod roe in this zosui. Now I can say, “I’ve had mentaiko dishes too!” And I can say that…

The course ended with dessert. First of all, I am thankful that they let us eat ara-nabe at this time of the year. Some other restaurants don’t serve ara this time of year. The fatty part of the fish is not as rich as it should be, but it gives us hope for what will happen when the season for ara comes around. I think you can have high expectations for what will happen when the season for ara comes around. If you are in a large group, it will be easier to serve larger ara, and I think it would be a waste to skip this restaurant when you want to eat ara nabe.

Hakata Seafood Uoden’s other course menus (prices are per person, tax included)

• Uotaki course: 8,800 yen
• Natural sea bream shabu shabu course: 6,600 yen
• Hakata Sushi Course: 8,800 yen
• Hakata Wagyu Beef and Temakizushi Course: 11,000 yen
• Suppon hot pot course: 11,000 yen

Non-guests can also enjoy morning and lunch… Access to Hakata Seafood Uoden is a 3-minute walk from the nearest station, Kushida-jinja-mae on the Fukuoka City Subway Nanakuma Line.

Hakata Seafood Uoden is a breakfast place for guests of the Mitsui Garden Hotel, but the breakfast buffet is also open to outsiders, and even ordinary customers can enjoy a rich morning meal. Spending time relaxing over breakfast at a luxury hotel is one of the ways to enjoy your trip.

The restaurant also offers several lunch menus featuring seafood bowls during lunch time, and there seems to be a long line of people waiting in line for the kaisendon. If you are looking for a seafood lunch in Hakata, this restaurant is probably one of your choices.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

From JR Hakata Station, it is an 8-minute walk.