Menbei, a portmanteau of " Mentaiko" and "Senbei", is made by the 100-year-old Aburiya Fukutaro in the city of Hakata. The city has historically been a merchant town, and Fukutaro got its start as an oil merchant (aburiya means oil merchant). They soon expanded to other food items including Hakata's regional specialty, the mentaiko (spiced cod roe), which is infused into this spicy senbei.