Under the elevated tracks at JR Kuwan Station in January 2023, there is a dining street called SOEN EAST PLAZA. A Kyushu-style izakaya specializing in dumplings and fresh mackerel. It was quiet on a weekday, and they have a unique shoeless counter seating. They offer all-you-can-drink, but since I had to take the JR train back, I opted for ordering individual items. I almost fell off the platform drunk lol. The Classic Medium Beer was 594 yen, but it had too much foam, so I felt a bit cheated. The appetizer was around 350 yen, and I recommend the well-cooked "Radish and Chicken Stew." The highlight was the "Fresh Mackerel and Spicy Cod Roe Sashimi" for 240 yen each. Even though they were separate dishes, they complemented each other well. The limited-time raw oysters were sold out, so I tried the "Oyster Fry" for 539 yen, which was large with a crispy coating and rare inside. I also added the "Horse Mackerel Fry" for 594 yen, which was fried quickly to retain its freshness. The owner, who is from Hakata, boasted about his homemade "One-Bite Dumplings" for 594 yen, but unfortunately, they were torn, revealing the filling, and the skin was soggy. Overall, it was a challenging experience.

Sanko-en drinking party٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و I say it's a Sanko-en drinking party, but I only visited one place instead of bar hopping, haha. I think this is probably my first time drinking at Sanko-en! Due to various connections, I got to know this shop and decided to visit it♪ The building where this shop is located is under the JR railway tracks with several eateries inside! I didn't know such a place existed, now I want to come back to Sanko-en to do some bar hopping, including this shop!! Even inside the shop, you can hear the rumbling sound of the JR passing by, which gives a pleasant feeling. I somehow like drinking under the railway tracks♪ Now, about the shop. Here you can enjoy authentic Hakata cuisine created by the shop owner from Kyushu. They just celebrated their 2nd anniversary on 6/1! Congratulations♪ Since it was my first visit, I was unsure of what to order as the menu was extensive, but the staff approached me and recommended some popular dishes: raw sesame mackerel, grilled dumplings, horse mackerel namero, Hakata vinegar motsu, fried taro, and grilled ramen. For drinks, I switched from beer to highball. The food was delicious. The raw sesame mackerel is a must-have for my next visit too! The vinegar motsu was refreshing and one of my favorite dishes! Among them, the most delicious and impressive was the fried taro!! It was unbelievably delicious. I could feel the sticky texture of the taro while enjoying the hot and flavorful seasoning. I was truly impressed! It was my first time trying it! I definitely want to order the fried taro on my next visit. I would even order two plates if I could. Until 6/5, they have a 2nd-anniversary event with half-priced raw mackerel! There seem to be other good things too! Maybe only for those who have registered on their Instagram or LINE account. It was delicious! Thank you for the meal♡

Once every two months, it's time for my regular visit to the hospital! This year, it feels like I'm coming here every month, I must really love hospitals (-_-;). Since the consultation is in the afternoon, I'll start with lunch. Today, the food court at Aeon was packed, so I headed to "Izakaya Kakuyu" under the JR overpass. I realized I hadn't been here before. I decided to go for the "Izakaya Lunch" option. This place specializes in gyoza and fresh mackerel. I ordered the half and half set of mackerel and gyoza for 890 yen. They mentioned that rice refills are free, which is great! After a 10-minute wait, my meal was ready. The staff recommended trying the mackerel with tea poured over it as ochazuke. It was delicious! The gyoza was juicy and paired well with the yuzu pepper. The mackerel was not too vinegary and had a nice sesame flavor. I finished everything in no time and it was so tasty! I really enjoyed it and might come back for a drink at night next time. That's the plan! The end.

I used this restaurant for a dinner after work. This izakaya specializes in Hakata cuisine. Looking at the menu, there were various Hakata dishes such as mentaiko and steamed dumplings. The grilled mackerel with sesame seeds that I ordered caught my eye, and it was beautifully arranged with a sweet and fragrant taste that matched the mackerel and sesame sauce very well. When I asked, it seemed like there were also staff members from Hakata. I also had a mentaiko omelette, which I forgot to take a picture of. The staff members were friendly and cheerful, creating a pleasant atmosphere where we could enjoy our meal. I look forward to visiting again. Thank you for the meal.

The shop is located under the elevated section of the mulberry garden, so there is a dedicated parking lot. It might be easier to visit during the day as there is an Aeon nearby. I visited for lunch and they had about four set meals available, with the cheapest being around 800 yen. Most are priced at over 1000 yen, which may be a bit expensive for salarymen to visit weekly. It's unclear if they offer rice refills. Perhaps they started serving lunch abruptly due to the pandemic, but the pricing seems a bit wasteful for the shop. I had the raw mackerel set meal, which seems to have a Kyushu influence with its unique sweet soy sauce flavor. The combination of the sweet soy sauce with sesame and green onions goes well with the richness and aroma of the mackerel, making it delicious. For mackerel lovers, I recommend trying it at least once. Those who are not fond of Kyushu flavors may find it not to their taste. The miso soup has a rich flavor, and it also comes with mentaiko and potato salad. They mentioned that you can also have ochazuke, but it's unclear if you can get rice refills, so I didn't try it this time. Overall, I think the shop can maintain a certain level of reputation based on taste alone.

There are various restaurants under the elevated structure in the mulberry garden for lunch ideas on regular days, so it's a place where you can find something. There are ramen, tonkatsu, etc., but today the restaurant that serves delicious sesame mackerel, which is often closed, is open! Without hesitation, we went in! There are 4 tables and a raised seating area with a counter for 9 seats, and 2 table seats. At 12:10, there were 7 groups and 10 customers already seated, and more customers continued to arrive. Since there were 4 of us, we were seated at a table in the raised seating area. There was a daily lunch set menu available, but we wanted to try the delicious sesame mackerel. Fortunately, there was a menu where we could enjoy both the sesame mackerel and the regular menu gyoza. Without hesitation, we ordered the half & half of sesame mackerel and gyoza for 880 yen! The restaurant was crowded, so it took less than 15 minutes for the food to arrive. A black tray with delicious items was lined up - sesame mackerel, gyoza, mentaiko, potato salad, rice, and miso soup. We dug in right away. The sesame mackerel with a sweet soy sauce-based sauce and plenty of sesame seeds on top was delicious! When you put wasabi on the mackerel, the richness and aroma of the mackerel go well with the soy sauce-based sauce. The rice was good, but I felt like having some sake. The gyoza was filled with plenty of meat filling! It was juicy, and you have to be careful because the meat juice might squirt out. The sweet filling goes well with the meat, and it's delicious even on its own. The simple and delicious potato salad in the small dish was a delight. And the mentaiko was a pleasant surprise! And there was quite a lot of it! It goes so well with the rice that you'll want more. Both the sesame mackerel and gyoza were delicious. It's a favorite menu for lunch! I'm the type who wants to eat a lot of rice when I'm hungry. Thank you for the meal.

In August 2020, a new izakaya specializing in gyoza and mackerel opened under the Sangen Station guard. Both gyoza and mackerel are my favorites ♡ It seems like they already have regular customers. The "Nama Goma Saba" is a dish with plenty of sesame on fresh mackerel! The owner is from Fukuoka, so the eating style is similar to Fukuoka. The gyoza filling is made with local pork and vegetables, and the skin is made with local wheat. The "Mugen Yaki Gyoza" has a chewy skin and is delicious. The "Mugen Mizu Gyoza" also has a chewy skin and a light filling. The "Rare Aji Fry" has a unique texture with a crispy coating and juicy inside. The sake selection is extensive, and I tried a tasting set with three different types. The "Saba Deshu" is a blend of various sake specifically for mackerel, with a refreshing taste. The "Kameizumi" has a floral aroma and a mild taste. The "Kurosawa Kimoto Hashiyashu Shikomi Honjozo Katsunuma Red Wine Taru Shikomi" is a sake aged in a red wine barrel, with a strong wine aroma. I later switched to fruit liquor and ended up drinking too much. The staff was friendly, and it seems like a place where you can enjoy even if you come alone. Thank you for the delicious meal!

On a rainy day for lunch, I discovered a new restaurant in the dining district under the elevated tracks near Kuwanazono Station. The lunch menu offers Gyoza and Sesame Mackerel, which is a rare dish in Hokkaido, apparently a Kyushu cuisine specialty. As a mackerel lover, I was drawn into the restaurant. The interior of the new restaurant has four table seats, a raised seating area with a counter for nine, and two more table seats. I arrived at 12:30 pm with two other customers already there. We were seated at a table by the energetic owner, although the table was a bit cramped and uncomfortable to sit at. I ordered the Sesame Mackerel set meal (792 yen), which arrived in 6-7 minutes. The set meal included Sesame Mackerel, Spicy Cod Roe, Potato Salad, Rice, and Miso Soup. The owner recommended eating the Sesame Mackerel as is first, and then pouring the broth over it for a delicious ochazuke experience. The set meal seemed enjoyable. The Sesame Mackerel came with six pieces, topped with sesame sauce and green onions, with wasabi on the side. The sweet and savory soy-based sauce with sesame flavor complemented the umami and sweetness of the mackerel. It was a taste that made you want to eat more rice. The presence of spicy cod roe was a touch of Kyushu. It was tempting to keep eating the rice, but I restrained myself for the ochazuke. Finally, I placed the Sesame Mackerel on top of the rice, poured the hot broth over it, and enjoyed the ochazuke. It was delicious. The mackerel soaked in the broth was lightly heated, changing its texture. The combination of mackerel's fat and sesame sauce mixed with the flavorful broth was delightful. I finished it all and found the reasonably priced and delicious Sesame Mackerel, with two ways to enjoy it, to be a delightful experience. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

Today's opening hours are from 16:00♪ The phone number is 011-211-4664! I made a reservation for 17:30, but it seems like it's already crowded, so only the counter seats are available. Good evening♪ The restaurant has table seats, sunken kotatsu seats, and counter seats, and luckily we got a table seat. I ordered a mega-sized matcha shochu highball, but they didn't have shochu ready yet, so I switched to matcha highball. We started with the unlimited small gyoza (4 pieces). The gyoza is on the larger side, with a focus on quality meat and vegetables. The seasoning is lightly salty and delicious. The staff recommended eating it with vinegar only, but I preferred it with soy sauce. They also offer fresh mackerel dishes, but the portion size was smaller than expected. The cheese gyoza had a salty sauce instead of melty cheese, which was disappointing. The grilled beef tongue and skirt steak were surprisingly generous in portion size. The pricing for drinks and dishes seemed a bit high, and the lack of a drink all-you-can option was noticeable. The restaurant was filled with guests for a special event, making it difficult for new customers to get a seat. This could be a drawback for the restaurant.

Visited a Fukuoka cuisine specialty restaurant in Sapporo for the first time, which was rare. The place was fully booked, indicating its popularity, so my expectations were high. We were seated at a raised platform for four people even though we were only a party of two, which was a nice touch. However, while the food was tasty, the portions were not very generous. The specialty sesame mackerel was good though. I was surprised by the taste of the fried food, as it was small and not crispy. We ordered the all-you-can-eat dumplings at the beginning, but they never arrived even after waiting for over an hour and a half. When we inquired, they had forgotten our order and brought us small, soggy dumplings instead. It was impossible to eat them endlessly like this. The biggest disappointment was that despite talking about my familiarity with the previous layout of the store, my visits to other restaurants owned by acquaintances, and my experience with Fukuoka cuisine, the owner never bothered to come out and greet us or engage in any conversation. This lack of customer service was very disappointing, and I doubt I will become a repeat customer. It's just an average restaurant. I'm sorry, but I've lost the motivation to post photos of the food.

The staff are from Hakata. This izakaya offers authentic Hakata cuisine. The motsunabe has plenty of motsu and tastes delicious. The sesame mackerel is incredibly delicious. The combination of gyoza and yuzu pepper is excellent.

Since the opening, I had been curious about this restaurant. As a big fan of dumplings, I had to go. The dumplings were delicious, but all the other dishes were also incredibly tasty! The mackerel dishes, Hakata cuisine, everything! They also have a counter, so I definitely need to become a regular here.