A note on the words: an izakaya is a Japanese drinking house that serves food; edamame are salted green soybeans in the pod; menma is seasoned fermented bamboo shoot; negi chashu is braised pork under chopped spring onion; xiaolongbao are Shanghai soup dumplings; yuxiang rousi is shredded pork in a sweet-sour chilli sauce. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
Fukunishiki Shinjuku-gyoenmae on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
So: at Shinjuku-gyoenmae, once the first place of the evening is done, where should one go?
There are certainly plenty of stylish places between Shinjuku-gyoenmae and Sanchome, but late at night it is another matter. In fact, not many of them stay open until close to the last train.
The izakaya I recommend at such an hour is “Chinese Izakaya Fukunishiki, Shinjuku-gyoenmae branch”!
Open late, good snacks, an easy-going Chinese restaurant
— and so the satisfaction runs high. I think.
This being the second stop of the night, let us order a few snacks and a great deal to drink!
First, of course, we start with beer!
Beer calls for this, I thought, and ordered edamame without thinking twice. They are in season from June to August, very much a summer vegetable, so before long they will be turning up everywhere.
Not to be missed!
The photograph on the menu shows menma on its own, but what arrived had spring onion in it too.
A welcome surprise.
Wait — this is 400 yen? It is an outstandingly good negi chashu.
Moist braised pork under a heaped mountain of chopped spring onion. A house dressing of sesame oil, soy, vinegar and chilli oil is poured over the whole thing, and it is perfect before you even taste it!!
One mouthful and the savour of the pork fat, the crisp freshness of the onion, the sharpness of the vinegar and the fragrance of the sesame oil all arrive at once, with the slow warmth of the chilli oil coming along behind.
Above all, the seasoning is pitched a little strong, which is exactly right. The onion is pungent and fragrant enough that I am fairly sure it will still be with me tomorrow — but deliciousness wins. I can take something for my breath when I get home!
The strongest of starters. I could happily order three. That this costs 400 yen is hard to believe.
The menu photo shows three of them, so why do four arrive? (Wonderful.)
Plump xiaolongbao, and they do not look scaldingly hot.
Just in case, I dipped one in black vinegar to cool it a little. Lift it gently with the chopsticks, and in it goes. Soup bursts out from inside. The pork filling is good too!
I only ordered four dishes, but I drank more than eight glasses. It is a comfortable room and I stayed far too long! Prices are remarkably reasonable for the times, and the portions come out bigger than the menu photographs promise, which is lovely. If you are stuck for somewhere around Gyoenmae, this is the answer. And the fact that they keep real-deal Chinese dishes on the menu — yuxiang rousi, tofu in a stone pot — is part of the appeal.
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Chinese Izakaya Fukunishiki, Shinjuku-gyoenmae branch (Chinese / Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station, Shinjuku-sanchome Station, Yotsuya-sanchome Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
