There is a highly rated Chinese restaurant in Kinshicho that I had been meaning to visit someday, and one holiday I finally went for lunch. Kinshicho is really close to Asakusa, only about ten minutes away by running.
The front entrance
It looks pretty fancy. Daisangen is a mahjong term, and Kinshicho has its own local flavour, so I had high hopes for the food but almost none for the atmosphere.. and it turned out to be a modern Chinese restaurant with jazz playing. The prices are not cheap, but considering the atmosphere they are not that high either, and the place was packed. Quite a few people were already having a drink at lunchtime.
Water glass
I sat at a round table and looked through the menu, and there are lots of dishes that look delicious. It would be even better to come with a group.
Rajanmen
The one-plate lunch was tempting, but that day I ordered the rajanmen (la jiang mian), the signature dish here. It looks like dandan noodles, but with a strong sour note.
The noodles
Maybe because I have not been eating much spicy food lately, I sweated quite a bit while eating, but the quality of the flavour was excellent. To be honest, I was expecting the kind of shabby atmosphere that Kodoku no Gourmet-style old guys love (like Yo, the Sichuan place in Jujo), but instead it was far too modern and cool, which was a bit of a letdown. When the atmosphere is too nice it feels awkward to go alone. Next time I will have to organise a proper get-together and go.