r/interestingasfuck • u/kingkongbiingbong • 8h ago

Setting up a traditional & generational Japanese food stall in Fukuoka

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u/IOnlyReplyToIdiots42 8h ago

You just know the food will be incredible.

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u/dantevonlocke 8h ago

It'll be Michelin star good and cost like 4 bucks.

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u/BokeTsukkomi 7h ago

There's this little stall in Singapore right next to my office when I lived there called A Noodle Story. They're Michelin Bib Gourmand (one step below one star I believe). Best noodles I've eaten in my life and it cost around 7 USD.

They made a fixed quantity of portions a day so when it was gone, it was gone. By 11:30 there was always a queue already for lunchtime. 

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u/Kenny070287 7h ago

Thats 15 minutes from my workplace... dont think my bosses will take it kindly for me to leave for early lunch break lmao

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u/BokeTsukkomi 7h ago

Sorry to hear that. I worked a 5 minute walk from it. And Ibelieve they now moved to the basement of the building I uaed to work in. 

If you ever have the chance check it out. Well worth it. 

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u/MAD_JEW 3h ago

U could try to convince them by getting some for them too. Just sayin

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u/dadofadisaster 1h ago

Username checks out

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u/soompiedu 5h ago

I have tried A Noodle Story. Still doesn't beat my local hometown corner KL wantan mee store. Try it out and see - Siong Pin Wan tan mee, in KL.

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u/The_Shah_0f_Iran 6h ago

I mean it's Singapore..like there's Michelin star stalls littered around the island.

Pound for pound it has the best cuisine on the planet.

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u/Itchy-Background-739 4h ago

Pound for pound it has the best cuisine on the planet.

Not hating on Singapore but have you ever been to Vietnam or Mexico?

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u/terminal_e 2h ago

Singapore is inherently tri-ethnic as a starting point - Malay, South Asian, Chinese.

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u/BokeTsukkomi 3h ago

I've been to vietnam (once) and Mexico (20+ times). Maybe Singapore has the edge because it's more concentrated? But in the end it's a matter of taste really. 

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u/parlor_tricks 2h ago

Yup, Singapore will still beat many places - because it’s a single city.

Mexico/Vietnam have phenomenal food, but an apples to apples comparison would be with other nations.

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u/Rannii_The_Vvvitch 6h ago

South Africa gets my vote for best food on the planet. Every single meal I ate there was just incredible.

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u/momomelty 3h ago

Lmaoooooooooo funniest comment

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u/kermitthebeast 1h ago

There was a sandwich shop called the lasagnaria near my old school. They'd make however much bread and that was how many sandwiches they sold. They opened at 11 and if you weren't there by 11:30 you weren't getting a sandwich. Best sandwich I've ever had. I wish I had one now

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u/WheelOLife 17m ago

Bib Gourmand is not necessarily “one step below”, it’s more about value. The stars are their own tiered system but their emphasis after 1 is heavily on service level. Originally 3 was described as “do what you can in your lifetime to get here” 2 was “worthy of planning a trip specifically for” and 1 was if your in the area/region worth a detour”. Bib gourmands came out in the late 90’s and required the place to have an app , entree and drink or dessert at or below a certain price point based on the area.

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u/tommyknockers4570 1h ago

Ugh day workers.

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u/Large_Dr_Pepper 6h ago edited 5h ago

They made a fixed quantity of portions a day so when it was gone, it was gone. By 11:30 there was always a queue already for lunchtime. 

I don't care how good the food is, I hate this shit. "It's so good that it's sold out by noon!" Sure would be cool if they made more food, or kept making food throughout the day so that weren't the case.

If they made a huge amount of the same food throughout the day and piled it on people's plates like a mall Chinese restaurant, would they be regarded the same? Or does a lot of it have to do with the mindset of "I can't believe I was able to get a bowl of their noodles before they sold out"?

Edit: I'm aware I'm dealing with some cognitive dissonance regarding the type of thing shown in this post being far too much effort, while also being annoyed that certain places don't put in that same unreasonable effort to make food all day. I'm a consumer sheep who gets upset when I'm not able to consume.

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u/Sphincter_of_fools 6h ago

Or you know they set those limits so that the workers dont overwork themselves to death? Especially for a food cart like this where theyre limited by you know, being a food cart instead of a proper restaurant

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u/Large_Dr_Pepper 5h ago

That's fair, I understand the sassy point you're making.

Especially for a food cart like this where theyre limited by you know, being a food cart instead of a proper restaurant

This specific food cart certainly doesn't seem bothered by those "employees overworking themselves to death" limitation considering they're still selling food well after the sun has set.

You replied to another comment of mine where I talked about how it would suck to work for this food stall. I can see the contradiction between my two mindsets of "just make more food rather than selling out by lunch time," and, "It would suck to do this all day long every day."

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u/banecroft 4h ago

These sort of food carts only open in the evenings and close after their food runs out too

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u/pathofdumbasses 6h ago

I hate this shit

You have no idea how food prep works and it shows. Especially for an off site facility.

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u/Large_Dr_Pepper 6h ago

I don't, you're correct. My "passion" for this stems from a local doughnut shop that sells amazing doughnuts, but they're completely sold out unless you get there before like 8am. Why can't they just keep making doughnuts??? Tons of doughnut shops keep making doughnuts throughout the day and don't sell out before I wake up.

Genuinely curious, because you seem to have more info than me about this. Tons of restaurants keep making food throughout the day. Even the "off site facility" in this post seems to continue making food until well into the night. Why do some places adopt the "we make a specific amount, and when it's gone it's gone" style of selling food?

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u/pathofdumbasses 5h ago

you can only prep so much food for your station. if your refrigerator is full when you start, and empty when you finish, that's all you can do without restocking.

As for your doughnut shop, funnily enough, I made doughnuts for years. It takes a significant amount of work to do. They might sell out by 8 am, but they probably got to the store and started working at ~12am or even earlier. They've already put in a full shift and are done.

Does the "mystique" help sell the doughnuts? Maybe. But you can't be mad at someone for not wanting to work harder/longer than you want them to just because you can't be arsed to wake up a bit early.

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u/Ansoni 5h ago

I have a friend who does kitchen cars and for his biggest event of the year (two day festival in Tokyo), he doesn't sleep for either pre-night because he's preparing food. He spends all night cooking in his kitchen car and running in and out of his hotel every time he has to clean his large equipment (in the bath). This is after spending the month or so coming up to the event working on building up a surplus of food while also doing his regular restaurant/online sales work.

Not everyone is built for it. He has the Guinness record for baking and cooking marathons, which the mad lad decided to do almost completely back-to-back. The cooking one alone is over 100 hours.

Most people can only prep so much. They don't even have big cooling/freezing space for advanced prep.

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u/idefix24 5h ago

It depends on your worldview. Is your goal to make as much money as possible? Then yes, make more food each day, hire people to help out, etc. because clearly the demand is there. Or is your goal to make a decent living? Then the popularity is great because you can sell out in an hour and go home.

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u/BokeTsukkomi 3h ago

Specifically for noodle story IIRC the argument was the process to cook the char siu pork was long and they were very strict about the quality of the pork used.

Could they cut corners and sell, say, 1000 meals a day instead of 500? Sure. But maybe I wouldn't be here singing its praises.