Ippudo "Hakata Futatsu Tsukemen
I tried Ippudo's seasonal menu, Hakata Futatsu Tsukemen. Most of the limited-time dishes have a strong personality, but the Hakata Futatsukemen is very ordinary. It is as well-balanced as or even better than the regular menu.
It is priced at 890 yen per plate (tax not included) and is available only every summer. The dipping sauce is flavored with seafood, and the noodles are thick and chunky, made of tapioca flour. 2 pieces of pork, fried egg, chopped green onion, and boiled egg are on top.
The noodles are thicker than the standard tonkotsu ramen. The noodles are thicker than regular tonkotsu ramen, but not as thick as udon. The noodles are freshly boiled and served cold. The noodles are said to contain tapioca powder, but the texture is very firm and crunchy, just like dipping noodles.
The noodles are just the right thickness, the sauce is thick, the taste is balanced, and honestly, it's hard to comment.
The sauce is rich with back fat and has a strong seafood flavor that goes well with the thick noodles. I wondered if there was some hidden flavor, but upon tasting it, I was convinced that it had no peculiarity, and if you had ever eaten tsukemen before, you would agree that it was very orthodox.
The two pieces of chashu (pork chashu) are thick and have a strong pork flavor, but there is no special spice or twist that makes them very sweet or spicy. The boiled egg was half-boiled, thick and well done, nothing more, nothing less.
The pork chashu is thick and delicious.
The boiled egg was half-boiled and exquisite. And normal.
After you finish eating the noodles, you can ask the staff to prepare a "split soup" for you so that you can further enjoy the remaining sauce. It is also very easy to drink.
By the end, I was expecting to find something different, but there was nothing at all. It was just plain delicious.