A note on the words: hoikoro is twice-cooked pork, though the Chengdu hoikoro featured here is stir-fried with thinly sliced, crispy pork in a noticeably red, spicy sauce rather than the sweeter miso-based version familiar in Japan. Chinjao rosu is a stir-fry of shredded meat and green pepper, and mapo tofu is tofu simmered in a spicy Sichuan chili bean sauce. Kakuni refers to tender braised pork belly, and kikurage is wood ear mushroom, prized for its springy crunch.
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Amesyuka on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Now, the spot I visited for lunch this time was right in front of Akasaka-mitsuke Station. I headed to Amesyuka, a Chinese restaurant that opened on the former site of Akasaka Hanten, which had served very delicious hoikoro (twice-cooked pork) before sadly closing! The name is written in kanji I could not read at first, but apparently it is said “Amesyuka,” ha.
I had noticed that what looked like a new Chinese restaurant had opened, and it turns out to be a place serving Beijing-style Sichuan cuisine.
I have hardly ever heard of a genre called Beijing-style Sichuan cuisine myself, so I wonder what it is like?
Stepping inside, my impression was that there were quite a lot of Chinese customers. Chinese was flying back and forth, ha.
If that is the case, this might be a place that feels pretty close to the real thing. My expectations rise.
Chicken with peanuts — 1,300 yen
Chinjao rosu (shredded meat and green pepper) — 1,100 yen
Chengdu hoikoro — 1,200 yen
Sichuan-style mapo tofu — 1,000 yen
Shrimp in chilli sauce — 1,300 yen
Pork with kikurage (wood ear mushroom) — 1,200 yen
Fried rice with kakuni (braised pork belly) — 1,200 yen
Tantanmen — 1,100 yen
There are quite a few items on the menu. Many of them are classic dishes, but they all look delicious.
After agonizing over what to choose, I picked the Chengdu hoikoro. I suppose that must mean Sichuan-style twice-cooked pork. Looking at this photo it somehow does not seem that spicy, but we will see!
And so, after waiting a short while, here it is:
Oh, it is redder than I thought.
The meat is sliced quite thin, and if anything is more on the crispy side. Taking a bite, true to its color, it has a sharp spicy kick and is delicious. If asked whether this is hoikoro, it does not quite feel like typical hoikoro, but the taste is good all the same, I would say. The seasoning is quite strong, making it just right when eaten with rice. If you eat it on its own, the spiciness and richness really stand out.
With salad, tsukemono (pickles), dessert, and soup all included for 1,200 yen, I think this feels like great value for Akasaka-mitsuke. Something like a hearty lunch set at an everyday neighborhood Chinese eatery? I am quite curious about the other dishes too; maybe next time I will come back for the pork with kikurage.
Then, at checkout, they asked if I had a stamp card, and hearing how it works revealed something pretty amazing, ha.
You get one stamp for each lunch, and on your tenth visit, one lunch is free, ha. That means, assuming you keep coming here forever, it works out to a 10% discount at 1,080 yen for lunch! That might actually be a bargain! So, for anyone who regularly has lunch around here, it might be worth recommending.
Amesyuka (Chinese / Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Nagatacho Station, Akasaka Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.0
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
