Yang, a Chinese restaurant in Ikebukuro, is famous for its fiery Sichuan cooking. I’d always liked the mapo tofu at the main branch, and the place showed up in the TV drama Kodoku no Gurume (The Solitary Gourmet), so when I had to go to Ikebukuro to buy some appliances I made a point of dropping in. I shopped around quite a few places, and sure enough Yamada had the cheapest appliances..
The front
It’s tucked down an alley, so it isn’t easy to find. A bit of an awkward spot for the Solitary Gourmet to have stumbled onto by chance.
Fried rice
I ordered the fried rice ahead of time, to take the edge off the spicy Sichuan food still to come.
Shirunashi tantanmen
This is the dish Goro ate while sweating buckets. If you’ve seen the show you’ll know that the first time you come and order, the staff warn you that the tantanmen is very spicy and steer you towards the mildest level. So I went with the mildest for now, and contrary to expectations it wasn’t spicy at all… A little more heat and it would have been worth eating, but this just wasn’t it. Next time I should order around level 3.
Mixed up
Too mild..
Boiled dumplings
These were just so-so.
I should have just ordered the mapo tofu instead — this visit was a bust. I’ll have to come back around next summer when it gets hot again.