Kumamoto Ramen has a mouth-watering smell of roasted garlic. Its mild pork-broth soup is made from the blend of pork bone and chicken stock, and its medium-sized straight noodles go down the throat smoothly. The topping of roasted garlic chips and garlic oil creates an excellent taste when mixed with the mild pork-broth soup. It is a must-eat dish in Kumamoto!
This bowl-of-rice dish is topped with a plenty of the Red Wagyu beef raised in the vast, rich pastures of mother nature Aso, Kumamoto. This savory and juicy donburi is now available at a great price. Grilled medium rare, the top-quality steak nicely sliced on top of rice is topped with an geothermal-boiled egg.
Take a bite out of the beef and rice, and it should satisfy all you meat-lovers with a moment of pleasure. The Red Wagyu is a leaner meat with just enough fat content to balance out the flavor, the texture, the softness, and the healthiness. While possessing the signature Wagyu aroma and flavor, this brand of Japanese beef is characterized by its balanced flavor of the red meat and fat content ratio.
Red Wagyu specialty restaurant signs are found not only in the Aso area, but also throughout Kumamoto City.
Enjoy the savory, melting texture of Red Wagyu.
"Taipiien" is a dish which originated in Fuzhou, Fujian, China, and made its way to Kumamoto. It is a Chinese dish that can only be found in Kumamoto. It is similar to the Fujian wonton soup, and is offered at Chinese restaurants throughout Kumamoto. The dish is also available as a cup noodle that you can bring back as a souvenir.
Karashi Renkon consists of boiled lotus root stuffed with spicy mustard and miso, fried in yellow batter. "Hitomoji no Guruguru" is a boiled green onion that is tied into a knot after it is boiled, and is served with spicy mustard and miso sauce. These are two staples of Kumamoto's local cuisine.
Flat dumplings made with flour, in a broth made of soy sauce and miso and completed with daikon (white radish), carrots, and other seasonal vegetables. Dagojiru is a special winter dish prepared with plenty of the agricultural produces of Kumamoto, and is famous throughout Japan. It is indispensable to fight off the cold winter of Kumamoto.
Sweet dumplings made by slicing raw sweet potatoes into thick circular wedges, covering them with sweet red bean paste, and then wrapping them with steamed flour. The confectionary quickly gained popularity throughout Japan after appearing in an anime. Recently, the sales of the colourful “Ikinari Dango” have increased (“Ikinari” comes from the Kumamoto slang for “sudden”).
Many people may think of horse meat dishes as Kumamoto's local cuisine. Kumamoto Prefecture is the largest producer of horse meat in Japan! It is said that "horse meat culture" started when Kiyomasa Kato, the lord of Kumamoto Castle, started eating it. Horse meat, also known as "sakura-niku" (cherry blossom meat), is high in vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional value, yet it is a very healthy food with low calories and low cholestrol. The standard "horse sashimi" has many parts that can be eaten, such as fillet, tongue, ribs, and liver. Horse oil has a low melting point, so even the marbled parts seem to melt in your mouth. Horse meat dishes are also available in a wide variety of other dishes such as hot pots, sushi, and grilled dishes. Not only specialty restaurants, but also most izakaya (Japanese pubs) have it on their menu, so please indulge your taste buds with Kumamoto's fresh horse meat.
The delicious sake produced in Kumamoto is different from that being produced in the northern part of Japan. The popular great taste comes from the rich nature of the high-quality Higo rice grown in Kumamoto's clean water.
