In Iriya, not far from Ueno, there is a Korean-style Chinese restaurant. Given the prices, more than double what you would pay in Korea, there should be no reason to go.. but when you live in Japan, the craving hits now and then. Luckily it is not one of those places that is just expensive and bad, so once in a while it is worth a visit.
The front entrance
Stir-fried seafood
I forget the name.. but it was packed with ingredients and tasted great. Loads of abalone, far better than your average Chinese place in Korea.
Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)
I am not a fan of it coming with the sauce already poured on, but the frying itself is excellent. With ingredients this good, it could hardly taste bad. Chinese restaurants in Korea tend to sacrifice taste to keep prices down, so eating tangsuyuk this good in Japan somehow feels a little bittersweet.
Jajang rice
What I actually wanted was fried rice.. but anyway, it tasted fine. On my next visit I ordered the fried rice and got exactly what I wanted. Compared with Korea the price is painful, but it tastes better than most Chinese restaurants in Korea.
Jajangmyeon
The noodles are good too.
Jjamppong broth
The spicy kick holds up against any Chinese restaurant in Korea.
They gave us a free dish for eating so much.
I had eaten so much greasy food that it did not go down easily though.. They serve Korean-style Chinese food good enough that I do not feel any need to seek out a Chinese restaurant when I am back in Korea. Jajang 1,000 yen, gan-jajang 1,300 yen and so on.. apart from the brutal prices, there is nothing to complain about taste-wise. Actually, considering the ingredients that go into the dishes, they do not even feel that expensive. I will probably drop by whenever I get a craving for jajangmyeon. Now when I go to Korea, I guess naengmyeon is about the only thing left to make sure I eat.
Join the Discussion