Last year around this time, my theme was exploring dishes with liver and leek, but that quickly came to an end. That's because I remembered that doctors had advised against eating organ meats. However, it seemed like my body was craving for a lot of vegetables. The liver and leek set meal with giant dumplings: The crunchy and piping hot vegetables have a delicious flavor that seeps into your body. The live cooking experience, where the dish is quickly prepared right in front of you (well, not right in front, but you can't see the cooking process), adds to the essence of fiery cuisine. I finished it in no time and missed taking a photo of the on-the-rice dish. Shortly after, the dumplings were served. Due to their size, they take a bit of time to cook through. The chewy texture, crispy skin, and aroma of wheat... And once again, a large amount of vegetables are hidden in the filling. Looking back, this is a good way to unconsciously consume a large amount of vegetables. Oops, I always regret it, but these five dumplings are too much for me. I always think I should go for the set of three, more appropriate for my age, but since I can only come here occasionally, I end up ordering a lot.

Mitaka City, Tokyo, Shimorenjaku. This is the Mitaka Minami Exit store of "Ichien," famous for its jumbo dumplings. This store opened in 1984. The nearest station is quite a distance away, at Mitaka Station on the Chuo-Sobu Line. It is located on the border between a shopping street and a residential area, about a 12-15 minute walk from the station. There is also a store at Kami-Igusa Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. Currently, I think they are probably under separate management. The main store in Kichijoji has closed. Jumbo dumplings, simple ramen, delicious! On a scorching hot weekend at the end of July, I went on a food tour in the Mitaka area. I used to visit the Kami-Igusa store quite a few times when my workplace was nearby, but this was my first visit to the Mitaka Minami Exit store. It had just opened, with 3 customers in front and 2 customers behind me. The staff consisted of an elderly couple and their son, giving it a family-run neighborhood Chinese restaurant vibe. Payment is made after ordering verbally. Today's order: Soy sauce ramen for 650 yen, Jumbo dumplings x 3 for 390 yen. Everyone, including myself, seemed to order the jumbo dumplings. First, the ramen arrived. Simple but flavorful chicken broth soy sauce soup. It came with large slices of char siu, green vegetables, menma, and a small amount of chopped green onions. The traditional balance of lean meat, tendon, and fat in the char siu was to my liking. The noodles were ordinary Chinese noodles. The famous jumbo dumplings had a thick skin and plenty of filling. The balance of vegetables and meat was just right. The grilling was also done perfectly. I enjoyed it with soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil. It was delicious. As I was bid farewell by the seemingly kind master, I left the restaurant.

Recently, when walking down the street, there are many cute girls. It seems like both fashion and makeup have leveled up, as there are fewer ugly girls. Similarly, when it comes to ramen shops, there are plenty of delicious ones around the city. However, when it comes to fried rice, it's hard to find a really tasty Chinese restaurant in the city. In fact, frozen food might even taste better. In the midst of this, I visited Ichi-en, a little ways from Mitaka Station, which is a well-received restaurant for both ramen, fried rice, and dumplings. A place with beautiful girls, good figures, and nice personalities? Is there really such a place? That was my initial thought before visiting. To cut to the chase, everything was just average in my opinion. In fact, the soy sauce ramen had noodles that were overcooked and tasted like average frozen food. The dumplings were large and unique in appearance, but the taste was just okay. The fried rice was decently tasty but nothing special. I wish it had more uniqueness and charm, like the now-closed "Daruma" on the antique street behind Omotesando.

Ramen and boiled dumplings set (soy sauce flavor) from a local chain that has been around in this area for a long time. However, I felt like the taste was somehow different from other branches, but maybe it's just my imagination. The soup here has a subtly light flavor. Maybe it's tailored to be something you can eat every day since it's located right in the middle of a residential area? The boiled dumplings have a thick skin and a satisfying chewiness.

Mitaka Station South Exit is a bit of a distance away. The interior of the restaurant has counter seats and table seats, giving off a vibe of a long-established Chinese restaurant in town. I ordered the Jumbo Gyoza Set (980 yen), which comes with 5 large gyoza, rice, and pickled vegetables all on one plate. Additionally, it includes a small portion of mapo tofu and soup on separate dishes. The gyoza are larger than usual, with a good balance of meat and vegetables in the filling, and the thickness of the skin is just right, giving it a crispy and delicious flavor. The gyoza seem to contain garlic, but it's not overpowering. The mapo tofu is a bit on the sweeter side, with a taste similar to gochujang. It seemed a bit dry, possibly due to being left out for some time. They also offer gyoza for takeout, and there were many customers taking advantage of this service.

It's hot... Finally, this season has arrived. The humid Japanese summer. The cicadas aren't chirping yet, but I'm already crying. No, it's not just hot. The sweat won't stop. It's like a waterfall of sweat... I can't take it anymore. So, I suddenly felt like eating chilled Chinese noodles. After finishing my errands, I noticed I had arrived in front of this restaurant. Ichien...? Wait, wasn't there one in Kami-Shakujii Station too? Upon asking, I found out it's the same chain as the other one. They recommended dumplings and fried rice, but today I'm having chilled Chinese noodles. Looking at the menu, they also have curry ramen, mapo noodles, and more. And the prices are reasonable. If it's a familiar place, I feel at ease. And here it is. Tomato, cucumber, chashu, lettuce, seasoned egg, and watermelon! This is the real deal for summer! The first chilled Chinese noodles of the year. The firm and chewy noodles are unique to chilled noodles. Not the usual sourness, but a delicious sesame flavor. Ah, this is good. The combination of tomato, cucumber, lettuce, and the meaty chashu is a great accent. I can't stop eating. There's no overpowering sourness, so even though I'm eating quickly, I don't feel choked. I finished it in no time, enjoying the crispiness of the watermelon at the end. Ah, this is the first watermelon of the year too... Well, for a single guy living alone, it's not often I get to taste fruits like this. Probably the first time in about 3 years. I can bring back peaches and grapes of this size from unmanned produce stands during my cycling trips, but watermelon is a different story... I finished everything, including the sauce. Grateful for the amount I could finish and the deliciousness. It was seriously delicious! Thank you for the meal.

Char siu fried rice for 780 yen. The simple moist texture is nice, and the soup was consomme soup. The interior of the restaurant is filled with photos and newspaper clippings, showing a lot of love. It's tough during the pandemic, but I hope they keep doing their best. #Food is essential in life.

The previous cartilage curry ramen was delicious, so I was tempted to repeat it, but this time I tried the mapo ramen! The dumplings are also delicious, so this time I ordered a medium size for the first time. Since it takes time to cook the dumplings, I ordered them first and then ordered the ramen about 5 minutes later. The restaurant is run by a family, with the husband and wife mainly handling customer service, and the son in charge of cooking and frying. The mapo ramen was also prepared by the son. They are quiet in the kitchen until an order comes in, but once the order is placed, they move efficiently and the sound of the cooking creates high expectations. The medium-sized dumplings are cute bite-sized pieces with a thick and chewy skin, allowing you to enjoy the deliciousness of the skin more than the filling, compared to jumbo dumplings. I like this too. And the mapo ramen is delicious! Just like the curry ramen, they don't use pre-made ingredients for the ramen, but cook the mapo tofu in a pot for each order. The appearance is a dark brown color with sprinkled Sichuan pepper, and unlike the spicy oil-based ones, it suits my taste. After one bite, I thought "delicious!" Even though I initially thought it was a waste to have it dissolve in the soup from the moment it was served, it was so delicious that I ended up finishing it all, so my concerns were unnecessary. The curry ramen was also delicious and I finished it all, so One En's ramen is just too delicious. I'm looking forward to what I'll eat next. It was a very satisfying lunch. Thank you. * You can use PayPay, dPoints, and other payment methods.

Today I was thinking about where to go for lunch when I came across a tweet from Ni-en (the daughter of Ichi-en) and decided to visit their restaurant for the second time. I had been planning to come yesterday but couldn't make it, and today Ni-en was also working at the shop, so I decided to try their curry ramen. I heard from Ni-en before that their curry ramen is made fresh each time, not pre-made with spices. It was quite cold today, so I also ordered a classic lager and three jumbo gyoza to go with the ramen. The gyoza takes a bit of time to cook, so I started with the beer. The gyoza looked plump and juicy, with a nice color and sheen, like looking at a beautiful cheek. They were delicious. I also ordered the cartilage curry ramen, cooked by their son, and it was flavorful and had a good amount of meat and a raw egg on top. The curry broth was surprisingly delicious, not too spicy but very flavorful. The meat with cartilage was tasty, and I ended up eating it before the noodles. The noodles were soft and a bit sticky, but absorbed the curry flavor well. It was a completely different experience from curry made with flour, with a strong spice aroma. I was told that the husband had studied spices and developed the recipe, which the son now continues. The restaurant's interior and the illustrations of gyoza and ramen, as well as the gyoza character outside, seemed to be Ni-en's work. It was heartwarming to see a family-run Chinese restaurant that has been in business for a long time. I'm glad I discovered it through my connection to Jidoriya and the Curry Club.

I visited this ramen restaurant at the end of November 2021. I have been to their Mitaka Kitaguchi (North Exit) branch before. The Kitaguchi branch is a bit crowded with salarymen, but this Minamiguchi (South Exit) branch has a more relaxed atmosphere, with locals as customers. It's about a 9-10 minute walk from the station, a bit further than the Kitaguchi branch. I visited on a weekday around 1 pm, and there were a few customers. I ordered a simple Ichinen Ramen for 590 yen and 3 Jumbo Gyoza. The ramen was delicious and comforting, even though I don't eat ramen often. The Jumbo Gyoza was indeed large, with a thick and chewy skin filled with plenty of vegetable filling that was flavorful and refreshing, not heavy at all. The owner was friendly, and the whole experience at this cozy restaurant was warm and inviting. I felt comfortable dining alone as a woman. I would definitely like to visit again. Thank you for the meal.

In the Musashino area, I have visited the Ichien Honpo in Kichijoji many times since high school, and I have also been to the Kitaguchi store in Mitaka a few times, although it was a long time ago. This was my first visit to the Minamiguchi store. It is about a 15-minute walk from the station, so it may not be well known to people in the area. I found out about it for the first time because I like the neighboring Jidoriya Curry Bu. When I entered at 12 o'clock, there was no one there, but later quite a few customers came in, so it seems to be doing well. I recommend trying the Ichien Ramen and Jumbo Gyoza here. The other noodle dishes and fried rice also look tempting. There are two types of curry ramen, and I was torn between them, but since it was my first visit, I ordered the Negi Ramen with spicy leeks on top of the Ichien Ramen, along with 3 gyoza. I'm looking forward to it. The Negi Ramen looks like a very ordinary local Chinese-style ramen with spicy leeks, but the chashu is huge! The chashu at the bottom is tender and full of flavor, which I like. The soup has more richness than I expected, and it is smooth and delicious. The noodles are a bit too soft for my liking, but overall, it was delicious and something I would want to eat again. The gyoza is not exactly jumbo, but rather on the larger side, with slightly thicker skin wrapped around a cute round shape. When you bite into it, you can taste the strong flavors of leeks and garlic, making it juicy. I was a little disappointed that it was smaller than I thought, so I wish I had ordered the 5-piece set. I am also curious about the "soupless mapo noodles" that another person (probably a regular) ordered, as well as the curry ramen and the 100 yen more expensive cartilage curry ramen, so I will definitely come back again.

I enjoyed it very much. What I had was, in the order they came to the table: - Grilled dumplings: Out of the 5 dumplings, 3 were big with a nice crispy texture on the skin. They were filled with a sweet and savory flavor of vegetables and meat, cooked just right. The balance of dough and filling was good, and I thought these dumplings could be a main dish. - Char siu fried rice: Delicious fried rice with plenty of char siu. It was cooked to perfection, and I added a bit of vinegar for extra flavor enhancement. It was really tasty. Oh, and the soup, usually not worth mentioning, but this soup was delicious. How delicious, you ask? Well, that's a surprise you'll have to find out yourself (^o^) My companion had: - Mapo tofu noodles without soup: A perfect combination of authentic mapo tofu and noodles, enjoyed with every bite.

The other day, I went to "Ichien (Mitaka Kitaguchi branch)" for the "Stir-fried pork, egg, and wood ear mushrooms over rice" but it was not that great, so I decided to give it another try at the branch in Mitaka South Exit, as I heard they are related. However, despite being called Mitaka South Exit branch, it was quite far from the station, which was a bit inconvenient. I ordered the "Stir-fried pork, egg, and wood ear mushrooms" and "Jumbo dumplings (3 pieces)". The dish arrived with a decent amount of pork and wood ear mushrooms, but they only used one egg! The egg was not beaten! There were many points to criticize, and the visual presentation was very disappointing. The seasoning was mainly salt and pepper. On the other hand, the pork seemed to be coated with potato starch, giving it a slimy texture. As for the "Jumbo dumplings," they were filled generously but the skin was bland, it would have been better if they added something more to it. I did not enter the restaurant with the intention of criticizing, but personally, I have to give this branch a tough evaluation as well.

I went to Ichien Mitaka Minami-guchi store for lunch. I ordered the Gyoza Yakihokkori Gohan S. It arrived after a while. The gyoza was definitely jumbo, with a width of over 10 cm. The crispy side was crunchy, while the rest was chewy with plenty of filling. The rice was a bit firm but still good, and the kimchi was mildly spicy. The small dish of what seemed to be oil-drizzled chicken had a rich flavor that went well with the rice. The soup had a slight seafood taste, which was nice. I thought that this soup would also go well with noodles. I'd like to try their noodle dishes next time. Thank you for the meal.

Located a 5-minute walk from JR Chuo Line Mitaka Station, this is a popular town Chinese restaurant known for its jumbo gyoza. Today we visited Tokyo Mitaka and tried the Mitaka Ramen for 700 yen at "Ichi En". We started with some appetizers while waiting for the jumbo gyoza to be ready - Menma for 200 yen and Zasai for 300 yen. The gyoza arrived fairly quickly and were indeed jumbo-sized. They were delicious, with a flavorful filling and a thick, chewy skin. We also ordered some side dishes - Stir-fried Pork and Vegetables for 700 yen, Mapo Tofu for 700 yen, and Stir-fried Pork, Egg, and Wood Ear Mushrooms for 700 yen. All the dishes were tasty and went well with drinks. Lastly, we tried the Mitaka Ramen, which was a light soy sauce-based ramen with cabbage, onions, carrots, komatsuna, chashu, and menma. The soup was light and perfect for finishing the meal. Overall, this restaurant offers a great selection of dishes and is a perfect place for both dining and drinking.

On a rainy Sunday, I walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant called Ichien for lunch. I ordered Negi Ramen and 3 gyoza, and they were served quickly. The atmosphere was old-fashioned and the food was delicious.

The shop was very clean and well-maintained, giving off a sense of pride in their establishment. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the positive attitude and craftsmanship were evident. The half-size fried rice for 400 yen was delicious with just the right amount of saltiness, although the portion size was a bit small for the price. The jumbo dumplings, a specialty of the shop, were huge and well-cooked, although the center was slightly cold. It seemed like they were a bit rushed in serving such large dumplings, but the filling and chewy skin were tasty.

One Circle Ramen for 590 yen. The noodles are medium-thin straight noodles. I wish they had a bit more firmness. The soup is a mix of Chinese-style and local ramen shop flavors. The bamboo shoots are average, but the chashu is soft and delicious. 5 dumplings for 550 yen. They are jumbo dumplings, but surprisingly tasty.

Jumbo dumplings (5 pieces) for 550 yen Rice for 230 yen

A branch that split from the original Jiyugaoka Honten. The gyoza here is lighter as it is cooked with half the fat compared to the main store, making it more refreshing and both my companion and I preferred it here! The menu is also extensive, and I was impressed by a customer at the counter who ordered over 7,000 yen worth of takeout. It seems to be related to the Mitaka Kitaguchi store, but originally it was separated from the main store. The ramen seasoning is the same, but slightly richer here, making the flavor better. The location is not great, but it is a beloved local restaurant. I would recommend this place over the main store for my next visit.