Everyone loves town Chinese food! Bassey Geki recommended Best of Best 3 Chinese restaurants in TokyoEveryone loves town Chinese food! Bassey Geki recommended Best of Best 3 Chinese restaurants in Tokyo

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If you don't eat this, your life will be ruined.

2023.9.22

3 carefully selected Chinese restaurants in Tokyo! Approaching the charm of Bassi's highly recommended town Chinese food














For everyday meals, you can't go wrong with local Chinese food. Gyoza, stir-fried meat and vegetables, stir-fried levanilla, double-pot meat, sweet and sour pork, fried chicken, mapo eggplant, mapo tofu, shumai, fried rice, Chinese rice bowl, Tianjin bowl, ramen, yakisoba... These are all things I like.
The first characteristic of Machi Chuka is that it is Chinese-style Japanese cuisine arranged by Japanese people. Therefore, it is a little different from mainland Chinese food. The second reason is the bold use of chemical seasonings (in authentic Chinese cuisine, chemical seasonings are not used).

 

 

 

Town Chinese cuisine touches our hearts not only by the individual dishes, but also by the presence of lunch menus and set meals. Levanilla set meal, mapo tofu set meal, fried rice and half ramen. If you're at a smart restaurant, they'll serve you a small plate with fried chicken or stick chicken, and the options are ever-changing. Therefore, Machi Chuka is like a spiritual hometown that you want to stop by. That's why I want to eat it regularly.








Now, the problem is that there is no genre where the taste varies depending on the restaurant as much as Machiya Chinese food. There is a huge gap between good restaurants and bad restaurants. Moreover, we must not let our guard down. For example, I thought, Wow, the mapo eggplant here is really good, and I go again the next week, and then I wonder, ``Why?'' I thought the cook was different from last week. Depending on who shakes the pot, the result can really vary from 95 points to XNUMX points.

 

 

Such misfortunes do happen sometimes, but this time I will focus on stores that I have been to many times and that I am sure you will not go wrong with, as well as places that I have not seen much in the media.

 

 

 

No matter what you eat, you will feel safe!
Jimbocho “Gyoza Shop Sankoen”






Chive soba Chive soba

The highlight is “leek soba”!





It's a sunny shop that's open from noon until 25:20 a.m. (in the past, it used to be open until about XNUMX a.m.). This was about XNUMX to XNUMX years ago, and I can't tell you how many times I took a taxi to go there during a break from working an all-nighter.
There is a line for lunch during the day, but it is inevitable that you will have to wait in line at night without a reservation. When 15:XNUMX rolls around, I have to be prepared. Anyway, the place is always full with men and women coming home from work.

 

 

I introduced this place at the top because my partner for this meal, a young lady, said, ``This restaurant is truly wonderful, with great taste and atmosphere.''





Stir-fried meat vegetables Stir-fried meat vegetables

Stir-fried meat and vegetables is a must-try dish.






The number of items is really large. First of all, you can't go wrong with the signature "gyoza". It's a common saying, but the skin is chewy and the inside is juicy. There are no customers who come in groups of two or more and don't order. ``Stir-fried meat and vegetables'' is also something I don't want to miss. The lady says, ``It's a comforting, consistent, homely flavor. I love it♡.'' I especially recommend the ``Eggplant stir-fry with spicy miso''. Crisply fried eggplant, green peppers, carrots, and pork belly are mixed with just the right amount of spicy miso for a delicious dish.

The ``meat dumplings'' have a handmade feel to them due to their irregular size, and although they are well cooked, they are soft inside. The sweet and sour sauce is just right. A perfect accompaniment to beer. "Mabo tofu" is a Japanese-style dish that is neither too spicy nor too sweet. Homemade Japanese mapo tofu that is easy to eat. ``It's delicious.'' (Lady) I want to eat it with moist fried rice.






The most impressive, or rather the highlight, was the ``chive soba.'' Finely chopped chives cover the surface. First of all, the visuals are good. The dark soy sauce soup is delicious. The noodles that sink inside are a little curly and thin, but when you slurp them up with chives, the taste is exquisite. If you break the raw egg yolk in the middle of cooking, the taste will be mellower, which is also good. A small plate of chili peppers came with it, but I thought it wasn't necessary. Anyway, I was very impressed with this item.

 

 

 

 

"Gyoza shop Sankoen"
1-13 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
03-3291-8186
Business hours: (Monday to Friday) 11:00 to 2:30 the next day, (Sunday and holidays) 11:00 to 22:30
Closed: Saturday

Mapo tofu 950 yen
Meat dumpling 1650 yen
Gyoza (580 pieces) XNUMX yen
Stir-fried meat and vegetables 900 yen
Stir-fried eggplant with spicy miso 950 yen
Chive soba 880 yen
Fried rice 800 yen






that! Kaotan Ramen's town Chinese restaurant!
Akasaka "Chinese Cuisine Kaotan"




Kaotan fried rice Kaotan fried rice

Kaotan fried rice with black pepper.





It's a nearby store that serves TBS and Hakuhodo. Some of them are aspiring celebrities or models. Maybe that's why it's crowded all the time. There seems to be a line most of the time. However, it's an amazing store that's open from noon until 4 a.m. the next morning (!), so there's bound to be a chance somewhere.

 

 

The first time I had it was about 35 or 6 years ago at Kaotan Ramen in Nishiazabu, Omoto's restaurant. He ended his late night with soy sauce ramen. The charred green onions had an addictive taste and I went there often. Unlike today's era when ramen was popular, the ramen back then was exceptionally delicious (when it wasn't here, it was called "Ebisu Ramen"! Ah, how nostalgic). I remember that Kaotan's Akasaka store was opened a long time ago. This is a local Chinese restaurant that doesn't focus on ramen, but has a wide selection of items.






Reservations are required. When I went there at 90:XNUMX in the evening, all the tables were sold out (because it was so crowded, there was a XNUMX-minute limit). The remaining eight counter seats were also full. The waitress said, ``It's okay as long as you finish eating in an hour,'' and led me to a reserved table. How kind of you. had a deep emotion.

 

 

It's a really lively store. In a glass bowl, the chef moves like a lion, moving acho, acho, as if he were doing kung fu. Food comes out quickly after ordering. Acho!

 

 

First up is ``gyoza.'' It's well grilled and just fine. Next, the "fried rice" came out at lightning speed. It's a fluffy type of fried rice with no oil, but its distinctive feature is black pepper. It's quite effective, but it's delicious. The only ingredients are fried chicken and egg. I feel like scratching more and more. The timing was perfect and it was ``stir-fried meat and vegetables''. This is also characterized by the strong black pepper, but it is a rare type with a very distinct flavor and half of the stir-fried food is buried in the soup. Yes, the vegetables are crispy and delicious. It goes great with fried rice.






Kaotan sweet and sour pork Kaotan sweet and sour pork

Sweet and sour pork with a nostalgic feel.





The one I thought was the most delicious was the sweet and sour pork. The crispy fried pork is really good. The sweet and sour seasoning is just right! The ``Gomoku Ankake Yakisoba'' that came out last was not as good as the ``Komaka'' that I introduced last time. There may be too much juice. This item was the only one that was a little disappointing (this is just a comparison, and the taste was not bad at all). However, from my experience so far, no matter what I eat, it's delicious. Ramen, mapo tofu, and shrimp chili. This time, I was convinced that this is the most talented Chinese restaurant in town.

 

 

 

 

"Chinese Cuisine Kaotan"
6 J. Akasaka, 3-15-101 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-5570-2330
Opening hours: 11: 30 ~ Next 4: 00
Closed: Sunday

Gyoza (680 pieces) XNUMX yen
Fried rice 990 yen
Stir-fried meat and vegetables 990 yen
Sweet and sour pork 1,100 yen
Gomoku ankake yakisoba 1,150 yen






A surprising little-known Chinese restaurant
Ikebukuro “Ginza Tenryu Ikebukuro Tobu Store”





Tenryu Yakisoba Tenryu Yakisoba

I definitely want to order the ``Soft Yakisoba (Soy Sauce)''.






Lastly, there is Tenryu, which is famous for its extra-large dumplings. The main store is in Ginza, and it has been 70 years since its founding. There are a total of three stores in Tokyo and a branch in Nagoya. The reason why I went out of my way to choose the branch inside Tobu Department Store is because I can't help but think that the food here is better than the main store. In that sense, I have never seen any media exposure for our store. I've eaten here dozens of times, but every time I eat at the main restaurant, I always get the same feeling. Why? That's what makes me so angry. Here at Tobu Department Store, all the chefs are Chinese. Therefore, even though it is a Japanese town Chinese restaurant, the taste is closer to the mainland.

 

 

The reason I go here is because I want to eat ``soft fried noodles (with soy sauce)'' and ``Chukadon (with soy sauce)''. Both are by far the best. I want to give my stamp of approval that it's so delicious that no average restaurant can compete with it!





First, it's ``soft yakisoba (soy sauce),'' but the ingredients are shredded pork, bean sprouts, onions, green peppers, wood ear mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. The pork is carefully coated with potato starch. This stir-fry is really good. The soup is plentiful, and the noodles are slightly yellow egg noodles (in the mainland, they are called Ifu noodles, but they are often used in Cantonese cuisine around Guangzhou and Hong Kong. They remind me of Hong Kong, where I am familiar with eating them. Hong Kong fried noodles are crispy and not juicy).

 

 

At first, I want you to eat it as is for a while. I love that this taste is typical of the mainland. It is highly unlikely that you will encounter Chinese food in other towns in Japan. If you change the taste with Japanese mustard when the time is right, the depth of flavor will expand. You can also try adding more vinegar. The portion is quite large for one person, but I always end up devouring it in one go.






Tenryu's Chinese bowl Tenryu's Chinese bowl

Tenryu's Chinese bowl





Next is the ``Chinese bowl (soy sauce)'', which has a lot of toppings. It is quite unusual that there are ten types of shrimp, squid, carrots, bamboo shoots, broccoli, green onions, wood ear mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, lotus roots, and shimeji mushrooms. The seafood is soaked in oil using potato starch, and the vegetables are also soaked in oil before being combined and carefully stir-fried. Moreover, they are not stingy in that they do not increase the amount of Chinese cabbage and reduce other ingredients, as is often the case at other restaurants (lol). And the soy sauce flavor is ridiculously delicious.

 

 

However, instead of heading straight for the bowls and noodles, I want you to try other dishes as well. Most of them are delicious, but I'd start off with ``bean sprouts'' and ``mushi chicken (green onions and ginger),'' and have ``stir-fried greens'' made with salt or oyster sauce. Next, I order something like ``nostalgic subbuta.'' This is subbuta with a very sour taste. Seeing that there is pineapple in it, the name of the dish in Chinese should be ``Salted Soup Meat'', so the chef is probably from Guangzhou or Hong Kong, or in any case, from Cantonese cuisine.





Either of the signature dumplings is fine. After all, one piece is so big that it really fills my stomach. I don't really understand the advantage of this gyoza, which is about three times the size of regular dumplings. I always think it should be at least half the size. Generally speaking, it is difficult to eat. Incidentally, the "Old Mapo Tofu" has a flavor that is more similar to mainland Japan, but the spiciness is overwhelming and leaves you wishing for a little more sweetness and depth. Of course, I'm saying this on purpose, and everyone is enjoying the food.

 

 

Looking around, I saw quite a few people ordering warm noodles, but I almost never tried them (the ``chive soba'' had a disappointing taste). Be sure to finish your meal with ``Soft Yakisoba (with soy sauce)'' or ``Chukadon (with soy sauce)''. There may also be a ``Tenjin-don'' that has a stronger sour taste than normal.

 

 

 

Ginza Tenryu Ikebukuro Tobu branch
Ikebukuro Tobu Dining City Spice 1F, 1-25-12 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
03-5956-3077
Opening hours: 11: 00 to 22: 00
No regular holiday

Bean sprouts 490 yen
Mushi chicken (green onion ginger) 590 yen
Stir-fried green vegetables 1,290 yen
Nostalgic subbuta 1,390 yen
Soft fried noodles (soy sauce) 1,090 yen
Chinese bowl (soy sauce) 1,090 yen








*Please be sure to check each store's business days/hours and prices as they may change.
















What does "If you don't eat this, your life is ruined" mean?
Bassey, an editor with over 40 years of food-loving experience, is rumored to be a Reiwa-era Brillat-Savarin, or even the return of Furukawa Roppa, who rushes west and east to eat every time he hears there's something delicious to eat. A heart-wrenching gourmet essay.

 



Author profile

 

Bassey is a foodie who has been eating around for over 40 years. In addition to Japan, he regularly goes to Hong Kong to eat Chinese food at his own expense, and also travels to Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok, and Seoul for delicious food. During his time as the editor-in-chief of a travel magazine, he visited many Michelin-rated restaurants around the world, especially in Europe, and later on in the World's Best 50 restaurants. We want everyone who loves food to try ``Crab Miso Bean Paste Noodles'' from ``Tenkorou'' (Hong Kong). Actually, I like the Chinese food at this restaurant the best in the world. Another example of the best Western food is "El Seger de Can Roca" from Girona, Spain, which was ranked number one on the World's Best 50 list. Ah, I want to go there again.

 



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