Lounge

Premium Salon

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

2024.12.29

Everyone loves local Chinese restaurants! The top 2025 best local Chinese restaurants in Tokyo for XNUMX

You'll want to visit again and again! The top 2025 best local Chinese restaurants in Tokyo in XNUMX!






Everyone loves local Chinese restaurants. We introduced local Chinese restaurants in Tokyo in 2024 last year, but we continued to go around eating them. And this year, in 2025, we would like to introduce the top three local Chinese restaurants.

 

 

Please read the article about local Chinese restaurants in Tokyo that we introduced in 2024 below.





◆Click here to read about the most popular local Chinese restaurant in Tokyo, "Komatsuka"

I don't want to tell you, but I want to! The most popular local Chinese restaurant in Tokyo, "Koyuka" - Premium Japan












With outstanding taste and consistency, everything you eat is amazing!
Roppongi "52 (Goni)"





52 52



Town Chinese foodYaThere are plenty of them in town, butThis meansThe restaurant "Umai Zo" isAlmostdiluteIt can be said that.




Machi-Chuuka resembles Chinese cuisine, but the seasoning is a little different. It is a genre that developed uniquely in Japan, but it is difficult to describe.






This time, I visited many restaurants with good reputations, but I was disappointed. The three restaurants listed here are definitely the best, so please try them out.





It is no exaggeration to say that "52 (Goni)" is the best local Chinese restaurant. It opens at XNUMX:XNUMX in the evening, so it is open until late at night.






Therefore, it is known that many of the most famous chefs in Tokyo come here after work. This is because the food is prepared quickly and efficiently, and everything is delicious. It's the kind of place that you can't go wrong with.






It wasn't like that 5 or 6 years ago, but now it's almost impossible to get in without a reservation. It might be easier to just drop in with a friend later in the day.






52 Store 52 Store

The interior is made of exposed concrete and has an American feel. It's neat and tidy. In short, it doesn't look like a local Chinese restaurant at all.




We will introduce mainly the items that you should not miss. As appetizers, you must eat "regular potato salad", "gyoza", "shumai" and "spring rolls". The potato salad is the traditional Japanese one, with a strong pepper flavor and a light amount of mayonnaise. The potato flavor is strong. Therefore, the mayonnaise flavor does not remain in your mouth, and it is an excellent dish that does not interfere with the subsequent dishes.



52 Potato Salad 52 Potato Salad




The amount of gyoza and shumai will be adjusted to the number of people. If you go with four people, you can order four or eight. Of course, you can also order ten for two people!






52 dumplings 52 dumplings


Both the gyoza and shumai were clearly carefully handmade and a great way to start tonight's dinner.

 




52 Shumai 52 Shumai





It's wonderful that they start wrapping the dumplings after they receive the order. That kind of spirit is transferred to the food. The dumplings are loosely wrapped with the filling, but they are well cooked. The shumai with the dense meat is great.






Of these, the spring rolls may be the biggest hit. The ingredients, such as glass noodles and enoki mushrooms, are wrapped in shiso leaves and then wrapped in a skin. The ingredients are packed tightly together and have a strong flavor, so they are delicious as is. The shiso leaves tighten the flavor and do a great job.






On this day, four of us easily ate 12 dishes. Each dish was served on a small plate and the oil was very light, so it was no problem to eat that much.

 






"Yulinji" is quite different from the so-called typical Chinese cuisine. The batter is very light. Or rather, it is light because it does not absorb much oil. This is where the skill lies.






It is topped with a green onion sauce made with sesame oil and vinegar, which is so tasty that I want to pour it over rice and eat it.






Don't miss out on the "Pork Belly with Black Vinegar." It's pork belly deep-fried in potato starch, with a few fluffy vegetables like water chestnuts mixed in. The sweet and sour black vinegar mixed into the ingredients has a great balance of sourness and sweetness. You'll want to lick up the whole plate without leaving any leftovers (lol).





52 Sweet and Sour Pork 52 Sweet and Sour Pork





The "skirt steak" is made by cutting the beef skirt steak on both sides with a fine knife to make it easier to eat. It is seasoned with yuzu pepper and Sichuan pepper powder, and is soaked in a sour soy sauce sauce before being grilled, which is also delicious!






I also tried other dishes such as "Stir-fried green vegetables, wood ear mushrooms and eggs", "Stir-fried bean sprouts", and "Whitefish milt mapo", and they were all delicious.





I ordered fried rice and tantan noodles for the final course. The fried rice was simple, with roast pork, egg, and green onion, and seasoned with salt. It was very light, somewhere between fluffy and moist. It was so delicious that it was easily absorbed into the back of my throat (lol).

 

 





52 Dandan noodles 52 Dandan noodles





The best is the dandan noodles. The combination of sesame, chili oil, and miso meat is neither too spicy nor too sweet, but the miso meat has a nice depth to it. After I finished the noodles, I couldn't help but drink up the soup.






Even though the restaurant is always full, it's amazing that two guys are in charge of everything from cooking to serving to paying. There's no doubt that this is a famous restaurant that will enrich your nightlife in Tokyo. After the tantanmen, I ordered a second serving of spring rolls (lol).





Appearance of 52 Appearance of 52

52 (Goni)

4th Ikkoshi Building 6F, 4-XNUMX-XNUMX Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03-3402-0052

(Monday to Friday) 18:30 to 1:30 (last order)

(Sat) 18:30 - 0:00 (L.O.)

Regular holiday: Sundays and public holidays

Fried dumplings (800 pieces) XNUMX yen

Shumai (800 pieces) XNUMX yen

Spring rolls (800 rolls) XNUMX yen

Regular potato salad 600 yen

Pork belly with black vinegar 1200 yen

Fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce 1000 yen

Beef skirt steak 1400 yen






Champon and sara udon are musts, but the local Chinese menu also doesn't disappoint!
Shibuya "Nagasaki Restaurant"






Founded in 1975, this is a very long-standing restaurant. It has moved from nearby to a new, more modern store, but the prices are reasonable and the taste remains the same. It is a restaurant that is supported by a wide range of customers, from middle-aged men on their way home from work to young people and families.






There are several Nagasaki restaurants in Tokyo. I only know two of them, but it depends on the chef's skill. The one in Shibuya is better than the other one.






Since it calls itself "Nagasaki," the specialty dishes are "champon" and "sara udon." Of course, everyone orders one of these as a final dish. But don't forget about the other menu items.






First of all, the gyoza dumplings are small with large wings and crispy fried, so they look delicious. The filling has more vegetables than meat, but it tastes really good. This could be a representative Japanese gyoza. It's a hit.






Nagasaki Restaurant's Gyoza Nagasaki Restaurant's Gyoza




Next is Moo Si Lo (Stir-fried pork, egg and wood ear mushroom), but the oyster sauce flavor is strong and strong, and one bite makes you hungry for more. The seasoning is good. Oh, it makes you want to eat rice.





The dish is moo si lo (stir-fried pork, egg and wood ear mushroom), but the oyster sauce has a strong, rich flavor, and one bite will make you hungry for more. The dish is moo si lo (stir-fried pork, egg and wood ear mushroom), but the oyster sauce has a strong, rich flavor, and one bite will make you hungry for more.





Similarly, the twice-cooked pork (fried pork and cabbage with miso) has a lot of pork flavor with the miso-soaked loin meat, and the cabbage and green peppers are crunchy. The rich flavor makes you yearn for rice.





Twice cooked pork (fried pork, cabbage and miso) Twice cooked pork (fried pork, cabbage and miso)

The mapo tofu that the guys next to me were eating looked really delicious. The tofu was incredibly shiny. So I ordered some.






This was definitely the one. It was a little sweet with a strong spicy flavor, but it had a sharp edge. It was a pretty high score for a local Chinese restaurant's mapo tofu. They're really good at it.






The final dish is, of course, "champon" and "sara udon" (how much can you eat?!). The "champon" came first. The taste of the octopus, clams, pork and vegetables mixed in the hot water was as delicious as expected. Dripping with Nagasaki Kincho sauce gave it a more intense flavor and made it even more delicious.





However, the winner was the "sara udon" that came next. The crispy soba noodles were topped with the same filling as champon and topped with a thick sauce. This crunchiness was irresistible. It was the perfect accompaniment to beer and Shaoxing wine. If you add mustard and sauce to this dish to change up the flavor, it will have a different taste. It's the perfect way to finish off the meal.










Nagasaki Restaurant exterior Nagasaki Restaurant exterior

Nagasaki Restaurant

Umeyama Building 1F, 9-1-XNUMX Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 050-5593-4789

(Mon-Fri) 11:00-14:30, 17:10-22:00

(Sat) 11:00-14:30

(Regular holidays) Sundays and public holidays

Fried dumplings (700 pieces) XNUMX yen

Mok Shu Pork 1700 yen

Twice cooked pork 1700 yen

Mapo tofu 1400 yen

Chanpon 1000 yen

Sara udon 1000 yen






All of them are delicious. The careful work that went into making them really comes through in the flavor.
Chinese Kitchen Rantana






This shop is located in a crowded area right next to Sangenjaya Station on the Tokyu Denentoshi Line. It's been a while since I last got off the train, but the area is still as crowded with young people as ever.






I went there around 8:30pm thinking it would be empty by then, but all the tables were full. There must be a lot of customers who sit around for a long time. The young customers were smoking cigarettes.





The restaurant is run by a single man with short grey hair. On this day, a rather neat and tidy young woman was in charge of serving. In between serving the food, she gulped down a glass of draft beer (lol). It's a very interesting restaurant.

 





However, this man handled the additional orders coming in one after another from the table in a rapid succession. His speed was impressive.

 






Well, I went there alone, so I ordered 3 shumai, stir-fried meat and vegetables, and fried rice. I've been eating too much lately, and my stomach is tired (lol).






Stir-fried meat and vegetables. Stir-fried meat and vegetables.

Soon, the stir-fried meat and vegetables arrived. Pork loin, cabbage, onion, bean sprouts, komatsuna, carrots, and wood ear mushrooms - the variety of ingredients is quite impressive.






Wow, the way it was fried, or rather the way the vegetables were shiny, looked delicious. I ate it. Of course it tasted of soy sauce and pepper, but it wasn't a simple flavor. It had a strange breadth and depth. I also liked how the cabbage was charred in places. There was a certain skill in the stir-frying. Yes, this was quite delicious.






Next came the shumai in a small steamer. There were some cabbage leaves underneath. The man was doing his job very carefully.






The combination of chunky meat and minced meat is just right. It's also packed tightly and not stingy. I can see why many of the customers are well-built young men. It's also really tasty.




And then there was fried rice. It was a very normal dish with just roast pork, egg, and green onion. It was more moist than light. No, the flavor was soaked into every grain of rice. I couldn't stop eating it.







I wanted to try other dishes, so I went back another day. The "Sakura shrimp and green vegetables stir-fry" had just the right amount of saltiness. It really brought out the umami of the shrimp and was delicious.






"Twice-cooked pork" is made with thick pork belly, cabbage and green peppers. This guy is good at stir-frying. The cabbage is crisp and the sweet bean paste is light and delicious. It would be great if a local Chinese restaurant could serve this level of twice-cooked pork.






The mapo tofu is also a delicate dish. It doesn't have any filling, it's a rare dish that is more like a stir-fry. However, it has sweet bean paste, doubanjiang, and black fermented soybean paste, and the peppercorns add a nice spiciness. The garlic sprouts cut into about 5mm lengths are also effective. Yes, I immediately ordered rice.







Apparently the older sister was off work that day, so the older man was running the place alone. "This is my 25th year in Sangenjaya. Before COVID, we were open until 11am, but now we close at XNUMXpm." It's also a great place for a light snack after drinking. But unlike in the city, it's cheap!






Rantan appearance Rantan appearance

Chinese Kitchen Rantana

1-36-13 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03-3422-0149

(Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) 17:00-11:00

Closed: Wednesday

Stir-fried meat and vegetables 980 yen

Shumai (500 pieces) XNUMX yen

Fried rice 980 yen

Stir-fried Sakura Shrimp and Green Vegetables 1100 yen

Twice cooked pork 1000 yen

Mapo tofu 1000 yen





















What does "If you don't eat this, your life is ruined" mean?

When he hears something delicious, he rushes east and west to eat it all. Rumor has it that he might be the Brillat-Savarin of Reiwa, or even the return of Furukawa Roppa. Bassey is an editor with over 40 years of food-loving experience. 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.

 



Lounge

Premium Salon

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

Premium Salon

scroll top