{  Jin Din Rou — 京鼎樓  }

Jin Din Rou 京鼎樓
Jin Din Rou 京鼎樓
Jin Din Rou 京鼎樓

One of my favorite Chinese food is Xiaolongbao (小籠包). I’ve had my share of soup dumplings but I still can’t get over how much I fell in love with Xiaolongbao when I first tried Joe’s Shanghai in NYC. I also really enjoyed a small hole in the wall Fried Xiaolongbao place when I visited Shanghai as well. So when I found out that Joe’s Shanghai opened in Ginza, I was so excited yet disappointed because it just didn’t taste like the same Xiaolongbao that I fell in love with. I’ve also tried a few other places here and there but still haven’t found my go to spot. If you know of an amazing spot, please let me know.

In the mean time, I found a pretty decent place in Ebisu so I thought I’d share it with you. I went during lunch time and I got the lunch set that included Xiaolongbao and tantanmen noodles and my friend got the fried rice with Xiaolongbao set. They were both decent but not to die for. It’s still a pretty good deal and conveniently close to Ebisu station so if you’ve got a craving and you’re in the area check it out.

Address // 4-3-1, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-5795-2255
Website // http://jin-din-rou.net/

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{  Kageyamarou – 蔭山樓  }

Kageyamarou
Kageyamarou
Kageyamarou

This Chinese restaurant in Jiyugaoka has amazing chicken broth salt noodles (鶏白湯塩そば) which are similar to a golden chicken-broth ramen soup! The soup is delicious and it’s great that they give you just a little bit of rice so you can enjoy it as a porridge at the end.

Two of us ordered the chicken broth salt noodles (鶏白湯塩そば) lunch set which is a 3-course meal and the other two ordered the Shark-fin (フカヒレ姿煮) lunch special that is a 5-course meal.

– The Chicken Broth Salt Noodles Lunch set includes a steamed vegetable plate, main dish, and a dessert for 1500yen.
– The Shark-fin lunch special includes: a steamed vegitable plate, shrimp mayo salad, main dish, half sized chicken broth salt noodles, and a dessert for 3000yen.

I highly recommend making reservations in advance if you plan to come here. This place also currently happens to be the highest rated restaurant on a Japanese food review site in Jiyugaoka and I can see why.

Address // 2-8-21, Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3718-6436
Website // http://www.kageyamarou.com/

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{  Kohien 香妃園  }

Kohien 香妃園
Kohien 香妃園
Kohien 香妃園

Kohien is an old-school Chinese restaurant that has been around since 1963 and has somehow survived in this mostly modern part of town (Roppongi). That explains the retro feel of the interior and the atmosphere of this place. This place was introduced to us by a friend who has been coming here for a while. Why this place? Well, it’s famous for their chicken broth noodle soup that has a lot of collagen in it (it makes your skin literally glow the next day…). It’s like a woman’s dream soup and because of that, models and celebrities are often spotted here.

The noodle soup is very mild but has a suprisingly good flavor to it — kind of like a really good chicken noodle soup. Every single table ordered this dish and it’s clearly their staple. The shrimp egg roll was not that impressive but the fried rice noodle was good. They supposedly have a secret menu item which you’d never suspect if you look through the rest of their menu. It’s actually “Curry”… but i’m not sure if I’d order curry at a Chinese restaurant. Anyhow, this place is open till 4am(!) so you can come here if you missed the last train, or if you’re hungry for something in the middle of the night.

Address // 2F, 3-8-15, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-3405-9011
Website // n/a

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{  Chen Kenichi Mabo Tofu  }

Chen Kenichi Mabo Tofu
Chen Kenichi Mabo Tofu
Chen Kenichi Mabo Tofu

We were at Minato Mirai in Yokohama over the weekend and wanted to enjoy some good food so my friend suggested this Mabo Tofu place which turned out to be owned by one of the most famous Chinese chefs, Chen Kenichi. Chen Kenichi is best known for his role on the television Iron Chef. He is the only Iron Chef to have held his position throughout the entire lifetime of the show. He was born in Japan to ethnic Han Chinese parents of Japanese nationality (according to wikipedia). His restaurant is spelled like this in Japanese: 陳建一麻婆豆腐店.

Anyhow, all of us got the classic mabo tofu lunch set for 1050yen and LOVED it. It was delicious. We were told that even the “regular” is very spicy so we ordered the “non-spicy” version and it was still a little spicy…haha The set comes with Mabo tofu, rice, soup, and za-sai(搾菜). Whenever I crave mabo tofu, I’m definitely coming back here!

Just a tip, when you are ordering, don’t forget to mention the free dessert coupon! You can print it out or just show it from your smart phone here! You can choose between mango pudding and anintofu(杏仁豆腐/almond jelly). (Not sure how long the coupon lasts but seems like a very common coupon that everyone uses.)

Address // 2-2-1, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 045-222-5111
Website // www.sisen.jp/outline/branch.html

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{  Shanghai Tea Salon Cha Yu  }

Shanghai Tea Salon Cha Yu
Shanghai Tea Salon Cha Yu
Shanghai Tea Salon Cha Yu

I went to this awesome Shanghainese place inside of Yokohama Sogo on the 4th floor with some friends. We went on the weekend for lunch and It was packed with older women and housewives and if you sit by the window, you get a great view of the Yokohama Bay. We got there around noon and the place was already almost packed with only a few open tables left. I had the Vietnamese Cold noodle plate with oolong tea for 1150yen and my friends both had the special of the day which was a cold sesame noodle lunch set that comes with a hot tea and dessert for 1500yen. Everything was delicious and I recommend this place if you want decent Shanghainese food near Yokohama station.

Address // Yokohama Sogo 4F, 2-18-1, Takashima, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 045-465-3176
Website // http://www.chayu.net/yokohama.html

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