There are several famous restaurants from Kumamoto that have expanded to Fukuoka. This particular one is located in Hakata Station Chuo Street, with an open interior design without doors or windows. They also sell take-out gyoza in the refrigerated room next to the register. Until 18:30, they have a "Happy Hour" where drinks are 319 yen and the grilled gyoza is half price. The grilled gyoza (1 plate for 275 yen is half price at 137 yen) is small in size with 7 pieces per plate. The thin and crispy skin, along with the juicy meat and sweet vegetable filling, create a delicious balance. Despite the strong garlic flavor, it is not overpowering due to the small size of each piece, making it easy to eat. However, wearing a mask during this season may intensify the garlic taste in your mouth on the way back. The draft beer (medium size 528 yen → 319 yen) is not included in the Happy Hour, but they also offer Mega and Giga sizes. It has a premium malt aroma. The Cassis Orange (495 yen → 319 yen) was surprisingly rich in flavor despite the low price. Even during lunchtime, the restaurant is busy with many customers. Since there are no call buttons, I was worried about calling the busy staff, but they were attentive and quick, so there was no need to worry. While many places only offer sours or highballs during Happy Hour, it's nice that almost all alcoholic beverages are included here. The gyoza was delicious, and they also offer lunch sets until 14:00. It's a recommended restaurant that is easy to enter alone and offers delicious food.

Yesterday, I visited a restaurant for lunch after seeing a long line while drinking at a dumpling shop. I ordered mapo tofu set meal and dumplings. However, I was disappointed when mapo rice bowl was served instead. The taste of the mapo tofu and dumplings was just average. Maybe it's popular because of the cheap prices. In terms of cost performance, it's okay, but as a Kyoto native, I think I prefer the dumplings at XX for the taste.

This shop is a well-known top-notch restaurant for delicious and cheap gyoza! Until 6:00 PM, gyoza is half price, and drinks are also cheap! The gyoza is easy to eat, with plenty of juicy meat inside and crispy skin! The drool chicken is also very delicious and makes you want to come back for more! The eggplant mapo tofu is also quite tasty! Oh, this shop is so popular! I wish they would open more branches!

Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu for 680 yen, pan-fried dumplings for 250 yen, boiled dumplings for 350 yen, and draft beer for 500 yen. It's cheap! Ordering with a smartphone is stress-free! The taste is average. The Mapo Tofu is delicious. It's a good restaurant to drink for 2000 yen. The downside is the waiting in line.

For my second meal in Fukuoka, I had dumplings, Sichuan-style mapo tofu, and a mega-sized lemon sour. It was a blissful moment even during the daytime ❤️ The taste was truly authentic Chinese! And the dumplings were 125 yen cheaper during weekdays! Ordering with a smartphone was something new and fun.

I went to Gyoza-ya Ni-no-ni in the underground shopping area of Hakata Station. Since it's a gyoza restaurant, the gyoza was really delicious. They were bite-sized, and the gyoza sauce had a unique taste when tasted alone, but it was really tasty when eaten together with the gyoza. Definitely worth a visit! 🥟

I went to Fukuoka for three nights and four days at the end of August, and I will write about the food and drinks I had during that time. On the first day, I arrived at Fukuoka Airport around 11 am. First things first, it's time for lunch... or should I say lunch drinks! I found this restaurant on Tabelog where you can drink from lunchtime, so I decided to go there. When I entered a little after 11 am, there were only a few customers. Most of them were already drinking. I thought to myself, I can drink without hesitation here, so I ordered a beer. During happy hour, the beer was only 333 yen. I was also surprised to find out that the grilled dumplings were only 125 yen. The hot grilled dumplings and beer made for a happy lunchtime! The mapo tofu I ordered afterwards was deliciously spicy! It went really well with the alcohol! In the end, I had two beers and two shochu drinks, and it only cost around 2000 yen. As it got past noon, more customers came in looking for lunch, but there were still many who were there just for drinks, so I was able to enjoy my time there leisurely.

In Kyushu, there is a very famous dumpling restaurant called Nino Nino. It's cheap, delicious, and a favorite among everyone. Plus, they have such a great happy hour deal until 6 pm. There's no choice but to stop by! So, I went to Nino Nino located in Hakata Station underground. The highball is also at a great price. It seems a bit strong, haha. I also ordered my favorite stick chicken. Very important! Then, I ordered some cucumbers (a bit salty that day though). These small, bite-sized dumplings are delicious. And dipping the dumplings in the sesame sauce from the stick chicken, adding some cilantro, it's so delicious. You can enjoy two different delicious flavors with vinegar soy sauce and sesame sauce versions. The boiled peanuts were tender and cheap! The mapo tofu was spicy and tasty. The fried rice had a bit too much oil, haha. Thank you for the happiness in Kyushu. I hope they expand to Tokyo, Kansai, or Okinawa too!

Found a hidden gem while looking for a restroom in the underground area near Hakata Station in May 2023. It was a bustling daytime drinking spot with almost all seats taken. I opted for a table instead of the counter, and ordered via QR code. The atmosphere was lively, and the prices for drinks and gyoza were reasonable. I tried the "lemosa sour" and the "grilled gyoza," both of which were delicious. The gyoza had a crispy exterior and a juicy filling, while the "yodare chicken" was tender with a sweet and salty miso sauce. The portion sizes were generous, and the spicy homemade chili oil added an extra kick. Overall, it was a great spot for daytime drinking with good food and a cozy ambiance.

Dumplings for around 130 yen, fresh, and around 280 yen for boiled dumplings and fried rice. It's super cheap and delicious, you can eat to your heart's content for just over 3,000 yen for two people. It seems like they might be operating at a loss with such low prices, but the taste is worth it. Arrived on a Saturday of Golden Week at 2:54 PM and there were 6 groups waiting before us. Normally the turnover is fast, but we had to wait for a table for 6 people to open up, so we entered 30 minutes later. After that, everyone was entering the restaurant at a rapid pace. The staff must be really busy!

The calendar showed it was a weekday, but I took two days off and started my drinking journey at "Ninonin" to warm up my body. I prefer to drink before eating, so I had gyoza and Chinese jellyfish as snacks with my highball. Happy hour is great, but in the long run, I think regular orders are kinder to both the wallet and the staff. The prices were so cheap! Thank you for the delicious meal!

I've been looking forward to the first day of Golden Week! I feel like having some Chinese food for lunch, maybe because I saw dumplings on TV. The restaurants at Hakata Station were all crowded around noon, but I found one with only a 3-person line, so I decided to wait. After about 20 minutes, I got a table. The restaurant had a spacious layout and you order using your smartphone. This time, I ordered the following items: - Happy Hour: Grilled dumplings (137 yen each) x 2 - Stir-fried greens with high heat (528 yen) - Extra spicy Sichuan mapo tofu (748 yen) - Happy Hour: Draft beer (366 yen) Until 6 p.m., it was happy hour so I could enjoy discounted drinks. First, I tried the grilled dumplings, which were small but packed with flavor and had a crispy texture. Next, I had the stir-fried greens with high heat, a personal favorite of mine. The greens were fresh and crunchy, and the garlic sauce was a perfect match. It also had a hint of ginger, which I love. Lastly, I had the extra spicy Sichuan mapo tofu. It was really spicy, but the spiciness was balanced by the rich flavor of the meat miso. It was spicy enough to make me sweat, but the flavor was so good that I managed to finish it. Overall, I enjoyed the dumplings as the main dish and the draft beer. It was a great start to Golden Week! Bon appétit!

Located in the quiet section of the underground shopping area at Hakata Station. I arrived around 11:30 am on a weekday, mainly for the happy hour until 6 pm. At this time, about 80% of the seats were already taken and everyone was enjoying their drinks. I love this unique atmosphere. We ordered 3 draft beers, 1 lemon sour, 2 shochu on the rocks, 2 orders of gyoza, and 1 each of crunchy jellyfish, and shrimp tempura. The total bill was around 3200 yen. Thank you, happy hour! It was my first time at Nino Nino in my 5 years of living in Fukuoka, and it was delicious.

Today I had a business trip to Hakata. I arrived in Hakata early, but I didn't have any dinner plans. I needed to discuss with my colleague what to do. As I was looking for a place to sit, I came across a nice looking restaurant. It was a place I had been curious about before, "Gyoza-ya Nino Nino". It was crowded last time I visited, but it seems like it's not too busy at 4:00 PM. The spacious single-floor restaurant had tables and round chairs lined up, with a lively atmosphere. It's a nice vibe. As it was before dinner, we started with a toast for a pre-dinner drink. The gyoza came in a serving of 7 pieces. They were slightly smaller with crispy skin. The filling was mainly meat, but it was light. It felt like eating a snack. The lightness of the gyoza made me drink more beer. Well, let's have another round. Since it was a light meal, the bill was also light. Well, it was a pre-dinner drink after all. When I stepped outside, there was already a line forming. Truly a popular restaurant.

This place is always crowded whenever I pass by. I decided to try it for lunch on a Friday. There was no line and I quickly found a table, although about 80% of the tables were already taken. It's definitely popular. The lunch menu offers four options: fried chicken, mapo tofu, lu rou fan (Taiwanese braised pork rice), and tantanmen. I chose the lu rou fan set (858 yen) and some pan-fried dumplings (138 yen). The dumplings arrived in just 3 minutes. They were small but filled with a good amount of vegetable filling, making them light and easy to eat. Shortly after, my main dish arrived. The lu rou fan came in a bowl with boiled egg, cilantro, braised pork, and pickled mustard greens. It also came with a side salad, egg drop soup, and glass noodles. The salad had a sweet dressing and was generously portioned with sunny lettuce and cabbage. The glass noodles were tasty and the soup was flavorful and filling. The lu rou fan had a sweet sauce and delicious pork, although the cold egg was a bit disappointing. The abundance of cilantro was a nice touch for cilantro lovers like me. I quickly devoured the meal and thought that the chain's popularity in Fukuoka must be due to its affordable prices, quick service, and tasty food. It was a satisfying meal. Cheers to those who were already enjoying a drink at lunchtime! (laughs) April 7, 2023, 3:10

(Yoshinoya's "Yoshinomi" that started in 2023.03.28) and spread to become a boom "choi drink" that had been slowly catching fire before. The gyoza boom that was born in Kumamoto, Kamidori in 2000 in Fukuoka seems to have been the trigger for the Fukuoka store. I visited such a store for inspection 9 years ago, and now it seems that the number of stores has increased more than at that time, so this time I will visit a store in an underground mall directly connected to Hakata Station. There is no wall separating the passage and the seats in this store, so you can easily see the inside of the store... With about 60 seats filled, customers waiting for seats are lining up, so I have seen the scene many times. Even though it is close to 14:00, which is past lunchtime, it is crowded, and there are many people drinking during the day, so there are also groups talking loudly and it feels noisy. Although it is limited to weekdays, there is a lunch menu available until 14:00... I chose "Lu Rou Fan" from the menu with four dishes, which includes Sichuan spicy and written in red "Mapo Tofu set meal" and a hand-sized fried chicken called "Da Ji Pai" that has been a recent topic. Lu Rou Fan is often topped with pork belly cut into 10-15mm pieces, but here, about 4-5 large pieces of braised pork are placed in a robust manner... You can also enjoy the luxury of eating it directly into your mouth, and it is cooked until it is so soft that it can be unraveled with chopsticks, so you can also enjoy mixing it with rice. The rice soaked in plenty of broth can only be eaten well with a spoon, and the faintly fragrant spices allowed me to feel a foreign wind. Until 18:00, you can enjoy it at half price, so I enjoyed the grilled gyoza, which is a healthy vegetable gyoza wrapped in thin skin, but I felt that 7 pieces were not enough, so I should have ordered a double... However, the seemingly small Lu Rou Fan had a decent volume, so I was satisfied with my stomach.

After watching a movie at Hakata Station, I decided to have a lunch drink! It was a typical Saturday, with a few groups waiting, but I wanted to keep it cheap and avoid moving around too much, so I wrote my name on the list and waited for about 15 minutes. The seat I was guided to was at the edge, with a pretty narrow table, reminding me of the cramped spaces in Daimyo area haha. And to my surprise, there were two junior high school girls in sailor uniforms sitting next to me! I couldn't help but take a second look (　ﾟдﾟ) Why are there only two kids in such a place?! I peeked at their table to see what they were eating, and it was fried rice and dumplings. Junior high school students using "Ninoni" for lunch, it's either smart or scary, what a time we live in haha. When I was in junior high, it was all about McDonald's and Joyful, never would have imagined having lunch at an izakaya. Maybe their parents like Ninoni, or it's a trend among students on social media, who knows (⌒▽⌒) Now, the adults were having highballs and reminiscing about their youth. Remembering all the good and bad things, reminiscing about everything. While I don't really want to go back to those days, there are plenty of things I wish I had experienced more, so I hope to gradually gain more life experiences from now on (｀・ω・´) Oh, as usual, Ninoni was enjoyable with great value♪ Thank you for the meal.

It's still a bit early for dinner reservation, so I decided to have some gyoza and beer at the Hakata Station underground mall. I went to Gyoza-ya Ni no Ni, a famous shop. It's past 4 PM and the place is almost full. They have a Happy Hour deal where until 6 PM, the grilled gyoza is half price at 125 yen for 7 pieces!!! Of course, the beer is also half price. It's more of a Taiwanese-style Chinese restaurant than just a gyoza shop. The gyoza from Hakata are not as small as I expected. They are healthy gyoza with plenty of vegetables. You can eat them up quickly.

Located in the underground of Hakata Station, this popular dumpling restaurant has several branches in Fukuoka city. The restaurant is spacious and easy to enter even for solo diners. For lunch, they offer dishes such as fried chicken, mapo tofu set meal, and more. They also have a la carte menu, and during happy hour, alcohol is offered at a good price. The Dan Dan noodles lunch set, priced at 825 yen, comes with salad and rice. The flavor of the Dan Dan noodles was good, but I personally found the spiciness from the chili oil to be too strong for my liking. It seems that the dumplings, which are the restaurant's specialty, would be a better choice here. Thank you for the meal.

I got hungry in Fukuoka at night, so I went to eat gyoza. I ordered a tomato chuhai and grilled gyoza, boiled gyoza, and gyoza soup. It was the first time in a while that I had a tomato chuhai. It was refreshing and delicious, but I felt that there was too much ice in the glass, so the amount I could drink was small. The gyoza was delicious with a strong garlic flavor. I prefer the grilled gyoza to have a little more burnt marks and a crispy skin. The boiled gyoza was the most delicious.

After leaving the first bar in Hakata and on the way back to the hotel, I passed by this restaurant. They had half-price gyoza until 6pm and drinks for 299 yen (*´艸`*). There were only 15 minutes left, so I quickly went inside and ordered 2 servings of gyoza and a draft beer. The gyoza arrived before the beer, and they were deliciously crispy. Each serving was only 125 yen, so it was a great deal. I finished the beer quickly and ordered a highball. The highball and gyoza were also delicious. In total, the bill came to 932 yen for 2 servings of gyoza, a draft beer, and a highball, which was reasonable. It would be even better if they had a happy hour with drinks for 99 yen, but overall, it was a satisfying meal.