A note on the words: hong suan tang hot pot (red sour soup hot pot) is the spicy, tangy broth in which the meat and vegetables cook at the table here. Hu la sauce (a peppery chili sauce) is mixed with some hot broth to make a dipping sauce for this meal. Yuba means tofu skin, which soaks up the broth here, and bifun means rice noodles, the final addition to this pot. A whiskey highball is whiskey with soda, the drink I paired with the hot pot.
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Ou-san Shikasai on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
This restaurant was featured in the hot pot episode of the TV show Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai (Matsuko’s Unknown World)!
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. I had not watched Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai for a while, but the episode I happened to catch was about hot pot. It introduced a place in Okachimachi with delicious hot pot: Ou-san Shikasai. I already had plans to go to Ueno, so I decided to stop by. The restaurant was bustling when I arrived, but luckily there was a table available!
Affordable and delicious? That sounds good to me!
Hong suan tang hot pot set — 2,750 yen
There it was in writing: featured on Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai!
That was what I had come for, so of course I ordered it.
I was not sure how spicy it would be, but a whiskey highball felt like the drink for this!
First came a large pot of broth and a portable gas stove.
It certainly looked spicy, but delicious too.
The meats, from the back, were pork, lamb and beef, I was told. Nice to have three kinds! The portion in the photo is for two people.
And here is the hu la sauce (a peppery chili sauce), which I added for an extra 250 yen.
Apparently, once the broth boils, you add about two ladlefuls to this and stir to make the dipping sauce.
I dipped some meat into it right away. That looked good.
One bite: delicious! And spicy!
The broth was full of savory flavor with a tangy edge. Really tasty, but the heat was intense. Anyone who struggles with spicy food might find it a bit much. I handle spice pretty well, and even I felt it. Still, there was plenty of flavor beneath the heat, so I happily fell into a cycle of: spicy! One more bite! Spicy! The highballs went down easily.
A little later, the vegetable platter arrived.
I was told to put the tofu, yuba (tofu skin), potatoes and thick napa cabbage stems in early, so in they went!
The yuba soaked up plenty of broth, and both that and the big wood ear mushrooms were especially good.
These were the rice noodles, quite thick ones. I was told they would be ready about 30 seconds after going into the pot.
As the meal went on, the meat and vegetables added more flavor to the broth, making it richer and deeper.
Rice noodles to finish!
I could see why this place was featured on TV. Delicious, and a treat for someone who loves spicy food. At 2,750 yen, I thought it was excellent value. The meat, vegetables and rice noodles alone made a very satisfying meal. Add the several highballs I ended up drinking because of the heat, and I was full. I knew I wanted to come back. That said, the intense heat will not be for everyone!
Ou-san Shikasai (Chinese / Ueno-okachimachi Station, Okachimachi Station, Ueno-hirokoji Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
