Restaurant Tatsumiya

[Giant fried shrimp and champon are also very popular]

It was founded in 1826 (Bunsei 9) during the Edo period, so it has quite a history. It is located on the border between Yanagawa Castle and the merchant district, and there are records that it used to be a rice merchant. As a local Western restaurant, it is always crowded with many people.

The “Fried Shrimp Set” comes with two large shrimps that overflow the plate. This set, which also comes with salad, spaghetti, and soup, is the restaurant’s signature menu item. The large shrimp used to be domestically produced, but shrimp of this size are now rarely caught domestically, so shrimp from Australia are now imported. The restaurant has become established as a local Western restaurant, but a certain number of customers eat champon. When I asked, I was told, “Around 1934, my grandfather, who was the head of the Yanagawa Food and Beverage Association, came up with the idea of serving champon, which was popular in Nagasaki at the time, and went to Nagasaki to learn how to make it.”

Apparently this was the first champon to be served in the Chikugo region. Since then it has become a specialty of the restaurant, and they still serve champon on their Western food menu. The secret to its long-lasting popularity is the light soup made from pork bone broth and chicken stock. There are regulars who come regularly to eat this champon, so the owner said, “We’ll keep making it for a long time to come.”