The Book Behind the Journey｜这趟寻味之旅的起点

中華満腹大航海 — 酒徒 / Shuto

Author / 作者：Shuto / 酒徒

Publisher / 出版社：KADOKAWA

Edition owned / 所藏版本：Japanese / 日文版

Reading note languages / 介绍语言：English · 简体中文

English — An invitation to eat beyond the familiar

Come to Tokyo for sushi, by all means. But save a few meals for the Chinese food.

Shuto’s 中華満腹大航海 follows journeys through the food of mainland China. It gives me an opening to introduce another journey: exploring Tokyo through the regional Chinese cooking you can find here. The book is the departure point; the Tokyo invitation is mine. [1]

The Japanese expression gachi-chuka roughly means “seriously authentic Chinese food.” In practice, it is a useful search term for restaurants serving regional dishes and tastes familiar to Chinese communities in Japan. I use it as a doorway, not a medal of authenticity: Japanese-style chuka has its own history and pleasures, too.

Start in Ikebukuro. The area around the station’s north and west sides is a good introduction. At 友誼食府 (Yugi Shokufu), a food court beside a Chinese grocery, you can explore several regional traditions in one place. Recent reporting describes stalls offering Sichuan, northeastern Chinese, Shanghai and northwestern dishes, alongside Taiwanese food. That variety is the point: “Chinese food” is an invitation to ask a more specific question—which place, which dish? [2]

Then try Shinjuku. For a straightforward group outing, 海底撈 (Haidilao) Shinjuku offers the shared-table ritual of hot pot in Kabukicho. It is an international chain, useful as an accessible starting point rather than a stand-in for the whole scene. [3]

My Personal Shortlist — Soup, Dumplings, Hot Pot & Tea

These are the places I would add to your Tokyo food map. Keep the original names handy when searching.

• 小魏鴨脖店 / Xiaowei Yabo — Shinjuku’s Shin-Okubo area & Ikebukuro No. 2. My pick: malatang (麻辣烫), a hot, spicy soup with a choice of ingredients. For the Shinjuku side, use the currently listed Shin-Okubo Station branch (新大久保駅前店); the operator marks the former Shinjuku flagship as closed following relocation. The Ikebukuro shop is the one also listed as シャオウェイヤボー 2号店. Branches
• 永祥生煎館 / Eishō Seisenkan — Ikebukuro. Go for shengjian (生煎), the Shanghai-style pan-fried buns sold in Japan as “yaki-shōronpō.” Put these on the map alongside steamed soup dumplings: a browned base brings a different pleasure. Shop introduction
• 唇辣道・中国菜 池袋店 / Chun La Dao — Ikebukuro. Another of my recommendations for a sit-down Chinese meal, with hot pot as a starting point. Listings also use the name 魚火鍋 唇辣道 池袋店. Restaurant details
• 七里香 / Qilixiang — Takadanobaba. My pick: chòu dòufu (臭豆腐), “stinky tofu.” An invitation to let your curiosity lead your appetite. Search for the Chinese restaurant in Takadanobaba, rather than the similarly named Japanese confectionery shop in Waseda. Restaurant & menu
• 甘露 / Kanro — Nishi-Waseda. Finish with Chinese tea and sweets, including sweet dessert soups known as tángshuǐ (糖水). A café stop belongs on this map just as much as another spicy meal. Official café page

A bowl of malatang, a few shengjian, a table around a hot pot, then tea: there are many ways to get to know a city.

For a first visit, I would keep things simple:

• Follow a region or a dish. Save the Chinese characters as well as the Japanese or English name; they can make searching menus much easier.