A note on the words: machi-chuka refers to an unpretentious, neighborhood Chinese diner in Japan serving everyday comfort dishes, much like the one visited here with its extensive menu display. Kikurage is wood ear mushroom, prized for its crunchy texture, tsukemono are Japanese pickled vegetables served alongside rice, and subuta is Japanese-style sweet-and-sour pork. Mabo nasu is spicy stir-fried eggplant adapted from Sichuan mapo style.
Table of Contents hide
Saikou Rou on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Having some business in Ikegami, I headed to Ikegami Station. Wandering around thinking I would look for lunch in the area, I spotted a place right nearby that had the feel of a machi-chuka (a neighborhood Chinese diner). With an enormous number of menu items in a rather jumbled display, I wondered whether a place like this might be a hidden gem, and getting curious, I decided to go in.
The massive array of dishes posted out front has a great feel to it.
Stir-fried pork belly and onion — 850 yen
Mabo nasu (mapo eggplant) — 850 yen
Simmered daikon and beef short rib — 850 yen
The tancha set — 950 yen
Stir-fried pork liver and garlic chives — 1,000 yen
Stir-fried kikurage and egg — 1,000 yen
Subuta (sweet-and-sour pork) — 1,000 yen
There is quite a variety here, and everything looks truly appetizing. Looking over the board, I thought stir-fried garlic scapes and pork or stir-fried pork liver and garlic chives looked particularly tempting, but then I noticed the bargain lunch set was 850 yen, and the stir-fried pork belly and onion in it looked both cheap and delicious! So I went with the lunch set.
Here is what the inside of the shop looks like. It has a nicer atmosphere than what I imagined from the outside.
Oh, this looks good. The stir-fried pork and onion is quite a generous portion.
The salad is proper, and the tsukemono (pickles) look nice too. I see, this shop really is better than expected!
The firmly seasoned stir-fry is a perfect match for rice. The combination of pork and onion here is just great. It has a fairly rich, strong flavor, so it is best eaten together with rice. It is a substantial portion as well, so there seems to be no danger of running out of rice before the dish is done.
At 850 yen for all this, it seems like a real steal!
The corn soup is the usual thick, velvety style. Corn soup seems to turn up almost everywhere, and I wonder why that is.
Yes, speaking candidly, ha, it was tastier and more substantial than I had expected, and at this price, you would never be at a loss for lunch around here! With such an extensive menu, I thought that next time I am in the area, ordering something else would definitely be a great option.
Saikou Rou (Chinese / Ikegami Station, Musashi-Nitta Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
