There is a skewer restaurant in Takadanobaba. They serve a style of cuisine where you put skewers in hot pot soup, which is said to originate from Sichuan. The owner is from Tohoku and although I got excited thinking the water dumplings would be delicious, they don't make them. However, the owner is very friendly and cheerful. With over 40 types of skewers to choose from, and they only cost 30 yen each! The skewers on plates are priced at 380 yen for white plates and 680 yen for green plates. There are also two types of sauces, and I highly recommend the sesame oil garlic sauce! It was incredibly delicious. The spicy side of the hot pot has a rich flavor and is highly recommended! I ended up eating a total of 76 skewers! The skewers have a wide variety of ingredients, and I recommend trying the hormone skewers! It was so tasty. There is also a skewer hot pot all-you-can-eat option in Takadanobaba, but it seems like it's just for Instagram, while this place is known for its delicious food. According to Xiaohongshu (the Chinese version of Instagram).

Located a little less than 5 minutes' walk east from Takadanobaba Station towards Waseda Street, this hot pot and skewer restaurant called Huoguo Chuanchuan (Chanchan) can be found on the basement floor of a mixed-use building just past Nittoku Espass. Although I had just visited about half a month ago, my friend wanted to have hot pot on a weekday night, so we arrived a little after 9:00 PM for our second visit. It was a late hour, so there were no other customers at first, but another group arrived later. The staff seemed to be preparing to close as they were turning on the lights in the refrigerated shelves. We ordered the hot pot soup with a set of mild spicy and plain broths, and the skewers were brought out promptly from the refrigerated shelves. We ordered additional plates of sliced beef and scallops, as well as vegetables, udon, ramen, and glass noodles. When simmered in the spicy broth, the noodles and meat absorbed the flavors well, resulting in a really spicy and tingling sensation in the mouth. It was spicy, but addictive. We ordered the following items: - Ma La Soup (Mild Spicy) 1,580 yen - Sauce (Garlic sesame oil) 220 yen - Plate (Sliced beef) 680 yen - Plate (Scallops) 680 yen - White Plate (Udon x2, Ramen and glass noodles, Vegetables) each 380 yen - Skewers 33 yen per piece x 38 pieces - Bingfen (Black sesame jelly) 220 yen For drinks, I switched to juice halfway through as I stopped drinking alcohol. The juice came in a steel can with a pull tab, which is not commonly seen in Japan anymore. The can had a bold design with only Chinese characters. The almond juice tasted like melted almond jelly, very rich. The coconut juice, on the other hand, was a bit diluted, perhaps due to the generous amount of ice in the glass. The almond juice was the better choice. We ended our meal with the refreshing black sesame jelly dessert. The total cost per person was just under 4,000 yen, and PayPay was accepted as a payment method. We ate and drank a lot, and the experience was fun, spicy, and quite affordable.

Located about 3 minutes east of Waseda Street from Takadanobaba Station, there is a hot pot restaurant called "Shantou Li Tou Hot Pot Chuan Chuan" on the basement floor of a building with many dining options along the street. I visited for the first time on a weekday night around 8 pm. The restaurant originated in Chengdu, China, and the unique feature is that customers can pick their own skewered ingredients and cook them in the hot pot. The number of skewers is counted for billing. First, you order the soup, drinks, and individual items on an order sheet. The menu is in Chinese, but Japanese translations are available. I ordered the following: - Ma La hot pot soup (small spice level) for 1,580 yen - Sauce (sesame oil garlic sauce and sesame sauce) for 220 yen each - Skewers (priced at 33 yen per skewer) - White plate for 380 yen - Instant noodles and glass noodles for 500 yen - Ice powder black honey jelly for 220 yen - Fried mochi with kinako and black honey for 500 yen The total bill for two people was a little over 7,000 yen. The experience of counting the skewers for payment was fun. I would like to come back to try the meat and seafood dishes that were not on display.

Koji Sato Hot Pot and Skewers in Takadanobaba✨ Also known as skewer hot pot. It's a hot pot where you put bamboo skewers of ingredients into the soup. I chose the least spicy level for the soup, but when I tried it, it was quite spicy. Gotta have it that way (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵) I ordered garlic sauce and sesame sauce, and added udon-like noodles at the end. Enjoyed the hot pot to the fullest (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

My friend who is obsessed with authentic Chinese cuisine wanted to try Zaligani for lunch and Malatang for dinner, but we couldn't find them nearby so we settled for skewers instead. When we entered the restaurant, it had a strong authentic smell. The hot pot prices range from 1200 to 1800 yen depending on the spiciness, making it a good deal for 3-4 people. You can also order a second round of hot pot with a different broth. The dipping sauce is ordered separately. We also ordered the Sichuan oil dish. The ingredients are skewered and placed on shelves for you to cook in the hot pot. You pay based on the number of skewers you use. Each skewer costs around 30 yen, with higher quality ingredients having two or three skewers. The fish balls and beef tendons become tender and delicious when cooked. I personally enjoy the fried bread, which absorbs the soup and tastes great after a few seconds of cooking. The restaurant even has a sign at the entrance saying "A charm that prevents you from gaining weight no matter how much you eat," which is a nice touch.

My Chinese friend found a great restaurant for Sichuan hot pot called "串串四川火鍋"! I visited on Sunday morning. The taste of the soup was great, and we had to write down our alcohol order on a paper at the beginning. The paper was in Chinese and Japanese, which was a bit suspicious, so I left everything to my friend. I went to get the skewers from the shelf. Each skewer cost around 30 yen, and for the more expensive ones, there were two skewers. I took around 10 to 15 skewers at a time and cooked them in my pot. It was spicy, but sweating felt really good! I mixed Baijiu with lemon sour, and oh boy, I overdid it. What was supposed to be 30 yen per skewer ended up costing us over 14,000 yen for two people. I can't remember how much we had, but it was a really delicious restaurant. Thank you for the meal!

Recently, there has been a small boom in a dish called "Chuan Chuan" which may not be familiar to you. It is a style of cuisine where you put skewers in hot pot soup, originating from Chengdu, Sichuan. Gradually, this style of restaurant is becoming more popular in Tokyo. "Shanzilidou" is one of these Chuan Chuan restaurants. It is located about a 3-minute walk from Takadanobaba towards Waseda, on the north side. It is in the basement of a building, so it may be a bit hard to find, but look for the red sign as a landmark. When you go down the stairs and open the door, you will find a narrow hallway. There is a private space in front, a kitchen on the left, and a skewer corner, leading to a large hall. There are about 16-20 seats. Each seating area has space for a pot for every 2 people. The menu is mainly in Chinese, with prices listed in "RMB" which actually means Japanese Yen, so don't worry. Some of the staff can speak Japanese, so feel free to ask if you have any questions about the menu. While waiting for everyone to arrive, we ordered beer and some chicken nuggets. The beer costs 500 yen. Soft drinks are priced at 300 yen or 400 yen. If you look closely, you'll notice the logo of "Shanzilidou" on various items. When asked, they mentioned that they plan to open more branches in Japan in the future. Even the aprons have the logo on them, which is quite interesting. When everyone arrived, we ordered the hot pot. The spiciness levels are divided into three: mild is 1,200 yen, medium is 1,500 yen, and spicy is 1,800 yen. We opted for mild spiciness. There are two types of sauce, "Youdian" and "Gandian", and we chose "Youdian". Then, we went to the skewer corner to choose our favorite skewers. Skewers are priced at 30 yen each, and plate-like items are 600 yen per plate, making it quite reasonable. With over 40 types of skewers to choose from, it took us some time to decide. From processed foods to fish, pork, beef, lamb, and even mushrooms, there is a wide variety available. Don't forget the frozen tofu and other side dishes. Skewers are small in portion, but with the affordable price, you can enjoy a wide variety. Some premium ingredients come in sets of 2 or 3 skewers, priced at 60 yen or 90 yen each. Before we knew it, everyone around us was Chinese, and we were the only Japanese. Despite choosing the mildest spiciness level, we couldn't stop sweating, whether it was due to the spiciness or the air conditioning. The hot pot broth was delicious, and the sauce was also tasty, making it hard to stop eating. After filling our stomachs, we enjoyed the dessert, "Bingfen", a Chengdu specialty made of jelly-like substance with nuts and syrup. The jelly itself is tasteless, allowing you to enjoy the flavors of the nuts and syrup. Some people may like it. Finally, the bill was surprisingly cheap, around 3,000 yen per person. It made us wonder if they were making a profit with such low prices. If you're curious, give it a try!

It was delicious.

It was delicious. I am Chinese, but I went with my Japanese friends. They have rare authentic Chinese ingredients in Japan as well. I will definitely go again.