Fukuoka’s Yatai (Food stalls) – Mami-chan’s

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not big on eating outside.  I’ve never been a “picnic” kind of girl, so the idea of having a meal on the side of the street didn’t seem very appealing to me.  But when you visit Fukuoka, the first thing people recommend is visiting the yatai – food stalls.  So how can I pass up this opportunity?

For my very first yatai visit, I did considerable research online to find the best one.  I had read stories about people being ripped off or the food not being very good, which didn’t make me any more excited about the idea, but one yatai seemed to always stand out in people’s reviews…Mami-chan’s.

So, 4 of us made our way to Tenjin to give Mami-chan’s a try.  We got there at about 7:00 pm and you could see many yatai lining the side of the street.  Mami-chan’s was the first one on the street.  We recognized it by its red and white striped sides.  But it was completely full when we arrived.  We decided to check out the English menu hanging outside and wait for some spots to open up.

One of the patrons inside the tent heard us talking outside and asked if we wanted to eat at Mami-chan’s.  When we said yes, she immediately let Mami-chan herself know and they proceeded to usher us to the back of the yatai to wait for some seats to open up.  They also graciously provided us chairs and the nice patron who found us spent time talking to us about our visit while we waited.

After a short time, we were shown to some benches within the yatai and we all squeezed in under the tent.  It was very cozy and warm compared to the chill from outside.  They got us some English menus to look at and were each given a delicious chicken wing to start our meal…FREE.  And it was delicious, perfectly seasoned and crispy on the outside, but juicy inside.  It was a great way to start our dinner!

We ordered two plates of gyoza, two bowls of garlic tonkotsu ramen, garlic fried rice, a yaki onigiri, pork legs and yaki ramen, as well as 4 drinks and it was all delicious!  The portions were huge and we all left stuffed…  We got to watch them make all of the food in front of us and it was a marvel to see them create all of this food in such a tiny space.  My favorite was the gyoza, unlike any gyoza I’ve had before…I just wish we had ordered more than 2 plates.  It was crispy on the outside and soft and moist in the inside with a full garlic flavor…just wow!  And it cost us less than 40USD for all of the food!

Now I understand why people tell you to visit yatai in Fukuoka.  Not only for the wonderful, inexpensive food, but for the terrific people you can meet at the yatai too!  Don’t be afraid of eating on the side of the street, especially if you do it at Mami-chan’s!

Website: http://yataimamichan.daa.jp/

Kero’s tip: Mami-chan’s is very foreigner-friendly and Mami-chan likes to take pictures of her patrons to add to her website.