【Business Dinner During a Business Trip in May 2022】 I arrived in Fukuoka in the afternoon for a business meeting with clients. We successfully reached an agreement on this year's important matters, and it felt like a kick-off meeting. I left the choice of restaurant to the local customers, so we ended up at a place called "Tebasaki." I initially thought it was a chain from Nagoya, but apparently Tebasaki is also a specialty in Fukuoka. The restaurant was quite empty, so we sat three people per table to maintain social distancing. We left the food selection to the clients and ordered Tebasaki, Mentaiko (spicy cod roe) rolled omelette, Chicken Nanban, Gyoza, and other Fukuoka specialties. The Tebasaki in Fukuoka is served straight on the skewer, which felt a bit raw to me as a person from Nagoya used to seeing folded Tebasaki. I wonder if people from Kyushu are not bothered by it (*'▽'). The bill came out to 5000 yen per person. Location: On the east side of the main street south of Hakata Minami Station (a local station accessible by Shinkansen).

I saw this store at Tenjin Hakata Station, but lately I see it a lot in residential areas. And now, Tometeba is finally opening a store in my town. It has been open for a month now, so I thought it would be settled down by now and decided to visit for the first time. The store in the residential area seems to often be a pattern of opening in vacant stores, and this one is also opening in a former Ishimura Banshodo store. The store has both tatami and table seats, and this time we were seated in the tatami area. The tatami area is a sunken kotatsu style, so you can eat in a relaxed manner. First, I tried to order 10 Tometeba wings, but my wife stopped me. She complained that it was too much, but our son said he could eat that much, so it was settled. Then we ordered Caesar salad, cheese-fried spring rolls, grilled ramen, and beer. Our son, the designated driver, toasted with juice. The appetizer was slightly sweet hijiki. Then the Caesar salad arrived, a very typical salad. And then the main dish, 10 Tometeba wings, arrived. 3 wings per person, so who will get the remaining one? In the end, it went to my wife. She said, "Who said you could have more?" The wings had a good salty flavor, which went well with the beer. The cheese-fried spring rolls and grilled ramen were decent in taste. It's easy to see why one would come here just for the wings. One thing to note is that the all-you-can-drink option only includes beer, so be aware of that. And one more thing, the audacity to charge for the appetizer given to the juice-drinking designated driver, this kind of audacity is necessary for making money, I suppose. I think I'll opt for takeout next time. Initially, you had to make a reservation to get into the restaurant, but now it seems to be okay to walk in. Thank you for the meal.

Customer service: The young man was trying hard, but the veteran woman was disappointing. She kept changing her instructions. Is the food mostly just warmed up in the microwave? The serving was also disappointing.

On the way back home from a drive, I spotted a poster and flag that caught my eye while waiting at a traffic light. "Takeout only at our store! Special price until the end of August!" I decided to buy some chicken wings as a snack with my beer tonight! I parked my car and went inside the store right away. They had two flavors, salt and sauce, so I ordered half of each: - Specialty "Tome Teba" 10 pieces (1,300 yen → 1,000 yen) - "Kara Teba" (700 yen → 500 yen) It seemed like many people were using takeout, so the staff was busy! It took about 15 minutes for the chicken wings to be ready. They were packed and ready for me to take home. When I got home, I opened a beer and started enjoying them! First, I tried the salt flavor. The chicken wings were crispy and had just the right amount of salt, making the beer go down smoothly. The chicken meat was tender and had a nice texture. Next, I tried the sauce flavor. The sauce was slightly sweet, which combined well with the light chicken meat, creating a different deliciousness. Lastly, I tried the spicy flavor! This one had quite a strong spice kick and was on the spicy side. As I continued eating, the spiciness built up and gave me a good tingle. Personally, I think I prefer the standard salt flavor the most. Overall, I had a great evening drink at home! Thank you for the meal!