A note on the words: this blog is Hangover Meshi, and meshi means a meal. Kata-yakisoba is a nest of Chinese noodles fried until crisp, with a thickened sauce ladled over the top so that parts of it soften and parts stay crunchy; ankake is that thickened sauce, and gomoku means the assortment of ingredients that goes into it. Machi-chuka is the everyday neighborhood Chinese diner, a genre of its own in Japan — cheap, fast and usually run by one family. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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See the full details for Chuka Dining Koku on Tabelog (English)
I want to eat something good today too. This is Hangover Meshi. This time, Kami-Itabashi as usual. I had noticed there was a Chinese place right by the station. Chuka Dining Koku, it seems to be called. I took a look at the menu, and it looked good and fairly cheap, so I decided to drop in.
A calm, wood-lined room. The interior was clean and nicely done.
There is a lot on it, but the heart of it is a daily set at 800 yen that changes with the day of the week, plus the standard noodle and rice dishes.
With that many things on the menu it is hard to settle on one, but I picked something and ordered.
A good many locals seem to come here. I stopped in at lunchtime, and the place filled up right away. Popular.
After a little while, the food arrived. First, a small salad.
Oh! That looks really good.
Gomoku ankake kata-yakisoba, loaded with ingredients. It has been a while since I last ate kata-yakisoba ^^
One bite and — yes. Good. The seasoning is on the light side. Refined, in the sense that you can taste each ingredient clearly. It is closer to an upscale Chinese restaurant than to a machi-chuka, the everyday neighborhood Chinese diner. The pieces in it are generous, and as always, once I had checked the flavor as it came, I poured vinegar all over it, which doubled the pleasure.
After all that vinegar, taking a dab of the mustard with each bite is outstanding. The sharp heat and the sourness give the mild sauce a punch, and set against the crunch of the fried noodles you get something gently seasoned that still hits hard. I cannot leave it alone.
This set meal looks good as well!
I had a bite of it, and this one is gently seasoned too.
So, Chuka Dining Koku. You could call it a machi-chuka, and it is one, but the seasoning is very gentle and easy to eat. At this rate the rest of the menu is probably good as well. The heavy sort of machi-chuka is good too, but this is the kind of place you would want to go to every day. It also looks as though it would be good for you, which I imagine is part of why it is popular. They are open in the evening as well, so perhaps I will come back for a drink next time.
Chuka Dining Koku (Chinese / Kami-Itabashi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
