Hyperlocal Tokyo

A Chinese restaurant in Harajuku. It's located about a 10-minute walk from Harajuku Station. It was awarded the "Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in Japan" in 2021. Established in 1977, it's a pretty seasoned establishment. I went there on a weekday at around 1:30 PM and there were 3 groups waiting. It's amazing to see this many people waiting on a weekday. I was able to get in after about 10 minutes. I was aiming for the Mapo Tofu lunch set, as it's apparently popular here, but they had a half-set with a variety of dishes, so I decided to go for that instead. ✔︎ Half-set (¥2600) The price is a bit high for lunch, but it comes with 6 half-sized dishes + rice and pickles, making it quite a voluminous meal. Plus, the rice is refillable. Here's what's included: - Rice, pickles - Spicy Chicken Salad (Banbanji) - Spicy Sesame Noodles (Tantantanmen) - Pork Buns (Shumai) - Large Shrimp Buns (Daiban Ebi Shumai) - Almond Tofu (Anin Tofu) First up, the pickles. Don't underestimate these pickles. They're a mix of radish, carrot, and bell pepper, all cut into thin strips and pickled. They're incredibly delicious and there's a decent amount. You can faintly smell the star anise. Next up, the Mapo Tofu and Spicy Chicken Salad. Even though they're half-sized, they're quite satisfying. The Mapo Tofu is amazing, as expected. The balance of spiciness and numbness is just right, making it perfect for eating with rice. The savory flavors of the soy-based sauce and chili oil hit you hard, followed by the lingering aroma of Sichuan peppercorns (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*) I had a second helping of rice and enjoyed it as a Mapo Tofu rice bowl. The Spicy Chicken Salad has plenty of cucumber underneath the chicken, making it surprisingly refreshing. The Spicy Sesame Noodles are also pretty big for a half-size portion! The aroma of white sesame seeds and minced pork blends beautifully into the soup. However, I'm not sure about this one. The noodles are firm and don't really match the soup. The soup is delicious, but it's not light. It has a watery quality that I think would be better if it were removed. Then there are the two types of buns. The pork and shrimp buns are packed with flavor. They're also juicy. The texture of the shrimp is nice too. Finally, the Almond Tofu. They also served us tea afterwards. It's easy to see why this place is busy even on weekdays. The service is efficient, and although there are many foreign staff members, they're not at all rude, which is great. The food was delicious(^^) Thank you for the meal!!

This Chinese restaurant is located just past Takeshita Street in Harajuku. I went there on a weekend at 12:50 pm and there was a line of about 10 people. I was able to get in after waiting about 25 minutes. ☑︎ Cold Soy Milk Dan Dan Noodles ¥1700 This is a summer-only cold soy milk dan dan noodle dish. The soup has a strong sesame flavor in the first bite. It's rich and creamy ✨. It has a bit of spice in the smooth soy milk, but it's not the kind of spice that makes you numb, so even I could handle it! The noodles are flat and have a good chewiness. These noodles are absolutely delicious!! I had some soup left over, so I got some rice and put it in the soup to eat it. Ah, it was so good!

There's always a line, so I usually give up, but I happened to see that there wasn't one! I took the opportunity to go in. They had cold noodles and seasonal specials, but of course, I had to get the mapo tofu! It's a super fast menu item, coming out in seconds after ordering (lol). It's great for a quick lunch break. The portion size is pretty generous! It also comes with soup and pickles. It was my first time going in a while, but it was delicious!

I arrived at 11:35 am on a weekend, just five minutes after the 11:30 am opening. The restaurant was already full, and I was at the head of the waiting line. Soon after, a queue formed, so it seems like you'll almost certainly have to arrive before opening on weekends for lunch. 🙏🏻 The layout of the restaurant, with the register and other areas where people gather near the entrance, makes it difficult to both enter and exit. I had to practically crab-walk sideways to get to the register to pay, avoiding the staff who were serving food. 😂 The signal was also nonexistent, likely due to the restaurant being in the basement. (I use docomo.) I ordered the cold chicken with sesame sauce noodles and the lunch set (chicken with sesame sauce, dan dan noodles, and Sichuan mapo tofu). Everything was delicious. The chicken with sesame sauce was quite spicy, with the heat building gradually as I ate. The dan dan noodles and mapo tofu had that unique Sichuan peppercorn numbness that numbs your tongue. My mouth was tingling, but it was addictive! 🌟 Even the soup that came with the set was flavorful, surpassing the quality of soup you'd typically find at other Chinese restaurants. The almond tofu was also delicious, with a smooth, modern pudding-like texture. 🍮 I'll definitely be back on a weekday evening.

I arrived at around 1:00 PM on a weekday and was the second group to arrive. I waited for about 10 minutes on the stairs before being seated. I ordered the weekly lunch special, a stir-fry of shrimp and vegetables in sweet and spicy vinegar sauce. Moving the large chili pepper to the side, I found cashew nuts, an abundance of vegetables (pumpkin, lotus root, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, eryngii mushrooms, bell peppers, paprika, etc.), and large shrimp galore. I was delighted by the variety of ingredients and the combination of seasonal flavors. The moderate spiciness and savory flavors made the white rice go down smoothly. The pickled daikon radish in aged rice wine was also delicious, and the soup had a gentle and soothing flavor. The staff was friendly, and I left feeling satisfied.