Chinese food is really well developed in Japan, probably because so many overseas Chinese have settled there. Thanks to that, the general standard of Chinese cooking is far above Korea’s, but since few people come all the way to Japan only to go looking for Chinese food, not many know what it’s actually like. Ramen is about the only famous thing, and not many people even think of ramen as Chinese food.
Papa Chubo is an ordinary Chinese izakaya near my home. I heard the head chef used to cook at a famous hotel. I had high hopes before going, and it turned out to be genuinely great. They’ve toned down the heat of authentic Chinese food to suit Japanese tastes, but they’ve kept that distinctive flavor alive.
Tomato salad
The taste is just so-so, but it’s very cheap.
Subuta – sweet and sour pork
It looks really unusual, doesn’t it? It struck me as an improved version of Korean tangsuyuk. The pork itself seemed a little lacking in quality, but the cooking skill is definitely there, and the coating shattered with a nice crunch.
Mapo tofu
It’s not very spicy, but the spices are used really well. The best of the best of all the mapo tofu I’ve ever had.
Shellfish steamed in sake
We ate it like a salad.
Even after eating all that, it came to about 1,500 yen per person, so it’s really cheap. It doesn’t seem to be doing great business, which makes me sad. I ought to go often, but as you know, Chinese menus don’t change much with the seasons, so I don’t feel the need to go regularly, which is a bit of a shame.. On top of that, the location isn’t great for a night of drinking..