Was never a fan of mentaiko nor motsunabe but when a friendly colleague of mine told me about the table she managed to get at this (perpetually overbooked, apparently) restaurant, I had to oblige. So on this saturday night I braved the rain to get to Fukutake in Higashi-Ginza, not far from Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji-market.
Motsunabe was originally a dish from Fukuoka; a prefecture in Kyushu island. A standard version would be a stew of offal, small bits of meat and assorted vegetables but at Fukutake, mentaiko is mixed into the gutty concoction to form a special signature dish.
First thing I noticed – a photo of Ishitsuka Hidehiko, probably one of the only Japanese comedians I like to watch hung on the wall. (FYI it’s the chubby guy with a big smile in the middle frame)
Rows of sake were lined up by the entrance.
The meal kicked off with a few drinks and some smaller bites. This fried mentaiko cheese 明太子チーズ揚げ was the first snack that caught my attention on the menu, simply because I love cheese 😀
And it was delicious! Melty cheese inside a crispy skin with fresh mentaiko that added extra savouriness to each bite.
We also ordered a sashimi salad just to be healthy. Being located by Tsukiji market and all, the sashimi was very decent too.
Obvious star of the night arrives – 5 huge chunks of mentaiko sitting on nira (chinese garlic chives) sitting on cabbage sitting on god knows what animal offal underneath. 
A close up of the beautiful mentaiko: (I know I said I wasn’t a fan but when it is beautiful, IT IS BEAUTIFUL) 
Destroying the mentaiko family: 
Mentaiko motsunabe ready to be devoured by 6 hungry humans:
The actual offal was a little too hard to chew and swallow for my liking but there were small bits of meat that I felt I could masticate with a bit of effort. 
The star element of the dish for me, in any case, was the mentaiko-permeated broth. Note its gorgeous corally shade of pink ! ❤ Brimming with umami and SO so good.
At the end, we put cheese (yay cheese!) into the pot to create an epic mentaiko risotto!
Last but not least a collage to sum up my meal at Fukutake. Definitely coming back!
Fukutake
Address: 東京都中央区築地4-2-7 フェニックス東銀座 Ｂ１Ｆ
Chuo-ku Tsukiji 4-2-7 B1F Tokyo
Phone : 050-5869-0618
Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g011100/
