hakata-ann
The "Kakiya" (oyster hut) is a popular winter leisure activity for residents of Fukuoka City. Located at Funakoshi Fishing Port, "Kaki House Maruhachi" offers a variety of fresh seafood such as oysters, shrimp, turban shells, abalone, and scallops cooked over charcoal. The oysters, scallops, shrimp, abalone, and other seafood were all delicious and fresh. The oysters and turban shells are priced at 1,100 yen per serving. The unique flavor from cooking over charcoal adds to the overall experience. In addition to seafood barbecue, they also offer various side dishes and seafood bowls. A new menu item this season is the "Itoshima Oyster Curry," which is a spicy curry with plenty of oysters and highly recommended. Charcoal fee is 440 yen per table. You can bring your own drinks (alcohol and soft drinks) and onigiri only. Funakoshi Fishing Port is located about an hour's drive from downtown Fukuoka in the popular tourist area of Itoshima Peninsula. There are currently 8 oyster huts at Funakoshi Fishing Port. They are usually open during the day. Among them, we visited "Kaki House Maruhachi," which specializes in charcoal-grilled dishes with a wide variety of menu options. Despite visiting on a weekday afternoon, the place was quite lively. The oyster hut is like a large vinyl house. Compared to oyster huts in downtown Fukuoka, the atmosphere of the Itoshima oyster huts is more dynamic and rustic. All seating is bench-style tables. Due to the pandemic, the tables were spaced out and partition boards were installed. Inside the restaurant, there are tanks with plenty of fresh oysters and turban shells. The basic price for oysters and turban shells is 1,100 yen per serving (as of November 2021). You can bring your own drinks (alcohol and soft drinks) and onigiri. Maruhachi specializes in charcoal grilling, unlike other places that use gas. The charcoal fee is 440 yen per table, which includes gloves, oyster knives, tongs, paper plates, and chopsticks. Jackets are available for free rental. Wearing the same color jacket with your group creates a fun team atmosphere. After placing our order at the table, we started with a toast. We brought our own drinks, and a friend brought champagne. They also brought wine cups and wet wipes, which were very helpful. We started with 4 servings of oysters, enjoying the pure taste of the sea. The oysters are delicious as they are, with the natural saltiness from the sea. Alternatively, a squeeze of citrus enhances the flavor. In addition to oysters, we tried scallops, fan shrimp, live prawns, and live abalone. The live prawns and abalone were very lively, indicating their freshness. We also requested the abalone to be grilled in foil with butter. We tried cup sake for the first time from the drink menu, which was smooth and led to overindulgence later on. A new addition to the menu is the selection of seafood bowls, including tuna donburi and special tuna donburi. I tried the special parent and child bowl, a creative dish where salmon belly is grilled and placed on ikura donburi. After the seafood barbecue, we enjoyed large shrimp tempura and juicy oyster fry from the side dish menu. Finally, we ended with the oyster fry.