Fukuoka City Sawara Ward, on the south side of the commercial facility "Plariba," which has been renovated and reopened, is a Chinese restaurant located along the "Nishishin Orange Street." The restaurant's name "Koukou Huoguo" is pronounced as "Shanshan Hinabe." The kitchen is run by the young chef, Mr. Jiang Shijie, who trained in Sichuan cuisine in Chongqing, a city adjacent to Sichuan Province in China, and the hall is managed by the female owner. During lunchtime, they offer unique noodle dishes such as "Lanzhou Beef Noodles," which have become popular among ethnic cuisine enthusiasts, and "Youpo (Oil Splash) Noodles," which is said to be the origin of Peperoncino. During dinner time, they mainly serve hot pot dishes with strong spiciness, such as "Chongqing Hot Pot." Customers can choose from four types of soup, including "Chongqing Mala" made with over 30 kinds of spices, and "Rich White Broth" made with chicken and pork bones, and then add ingredients such as meat, offal, and vegetables to cook in the pot, adding various condiments to season the dish. I revisited the restaurant after a long time. I went for lunch alone and ordered the other signature dish, "Youpo Noodles" for 750 yen, as I had tried the popular dish "Lanzhou Beef Noodles" last time. "Youpo Noodles" is a type of "Biang Biang Noodles" from Shaanxi Province, China. "Biang Biang Noodles" are known for their ultra-wide hand-pulled noodles, with a width of 3 to 6 cm and a length of 60 cm to 2 m. At this restaurant, the chef makes the noodles by hand in the kitchen, so I couldn't see the process this time, but I imagined the steps of making the noodles: 1. Kneading flour with water and salt to make a dough ball and letting it rest, 2. Stretching and pounding the dough before boiling, 3. Splitting the flattened noodles into "rings," 4. Putting them in a pot! I waited while listening to Chinese pop music and imagining the process. The "Youpo Noodles" have a fragrant sesame oil taste that is soft, sweet, and aromatic. The ingredients include bean sprouts, komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), and peanuts, which are healthy. The condiments include chili peppers, sesame, and plenty of minced garlic. I mixed everything as instructed by the owner and enjoyed the dish. The flat wide noodles were chewy and had a great texture. The spiciness of the chili pepper and the rich umami of the minced garlic made it a Chinese-style "Peperoncino." The crunchy bean sprouts, sweet and nutty peanuts, and slight bitterness of komatsuna were also excellent. I slurped up the noodles quickly and finished in no time. The accompanying "Kakitama Chinese Soup" had a wonderful aroma and flavor of star anise. Once again, the exotic flavors, beyond imagination noodles, were excellent! I will definitely come back for more. It was delicious, thank you!

(2022.09.24) Located in Nishishin, "Koka Hot Pot" is a specialty hot pot restaurant that has been increasing in popularity due to the recent spicy hot pot trend. They source all their spices from Chongqing, so you can expect to enjoy authentic flavors. Although I haven't had the opportunity to try their hot pot yet, I decided to visit the restaurant in advance to see what they have to offer. The entrance, with its stone steps, earth walls, and plants, creates an atmosphere reminiscent of a Chinese traditional house. The cozy interior of this small restaurant, with about 20 seats, was inviting. While they offer individual hot pots, I learned that reservations are required for lunchtime hot pot. So, I opted for the lunch set menu, which included "Meat Trio Dumplings" made with shrimp, chives, and pork. I chose the boiled dumplings over the pan-fried option and enjoyed the chewy texture of the dumpling skin. The filling had a nice combination of crunchy shrimp and fragrant chives. Although the dumplings tasted great with the provided vinegar soy sauce, I couldn't help but wonder how much more delicious they would have been with the 10 or so different "sauces" displayed near the entrance.

"I wonder if you have ever tried Yu Po noodles? When I read the reviews of the same restaurant 'Koka Fire Pot' on this food log, I found out that there is a soupless noodle called Yu Po noodles, also known as Yo Po noodles or Biang Biang noodles. I have heard of the latter, so I was not sure if I have tried it before or not. Anyway, I decided to go and try it because it's better to try it than wonder about it. The restaurant is located in Nishijin, towards the end, to be more specific, it's behind the newly renovated 'Prariba', on the Orange Street, which is a bit further down the shopping street. Since it's in the city, there is no designated parking lot. On the day I went, there was no traffic and the city was calm, and I even found a perfect parking spot, so I thought maybe I was lucky. However, when I arrived at the restaurant, it was still a few minutes before the opening time. I took a quick walk around the area and returned exactly at 12 o'clock when they were supposed to open, but it seemed like they were not open yet. I wondered if the opening time was wrong. A few minutes later, a lady came out from the inside of the restaurant. But, the menu displayed outside did not have the Yu Po noodles that I was looking for. I thought maybe it would be on the menu inside the restaurant. So, I entered the restaurant. Inside, it had a dimly lit atmosphere like an izakaya, with three 4-person tables and one 6-person table. There were also about 3 counter seats, but there may have been more. There seemed to be a kitchen at the back, but I couldn't see the owner, only the lady who seemed to be Chinese. She spoke broken Japanese, but it was understandable, and she didn't have the typical pushiness you might expect. Unfortunately, the Yu Po noodles that I was looking for were not on the menu inside. The Lanzhou beef noodles that caught my interest were also not there, and only the common Chinese menu items were available. The only unusual item was the Mapo noodles (with rice) for 1200 yen, which seemed unusually expensive. I thought about asking the lady about it, but I couldn't see her, and I was worried that it might ruin the good flow of the conversation, so I just asked if the Genghis Khan lunch was Chinese-style. She started to say, 'It's stir-fried lamb and vegetables,' and in my mind, I was like, 'I know!' But I calmly asked again if it was Chinese-style or Japanese-style, and she replied with a slightly bitter expression, 'Japanese, it's Japanese-style.' That made me lose my appetite, so I ended up ordering the other option, the Sweet and Sour Pork Set for 900 yen. I had a feeling that lamb might have a strong flavor, and I had already started drinking the water on the table, so I couldn't just leave without ordering anything. Also, I was hungry, so I thought a set meal like that would be just right. The answer to that came later when I was taking a photo of the menu outside the restaurant, and I saw a note written at the bottom saying 'Lanzhou beef noodles and Yu Po noodles are no longer available!' So, it was partly my fault for not checking properly before entering, but it's also a bit hard to understand why the restaurant would discontinue their signature dishes. There may be reasons that I'm not aware of, but honestly, it's a bit puzzling, right?"

I chose the 90-minute all-you-can-eat course. In addition to the price of the all-you-can-eat course, I had to pay extra for two types of soup. And for a little extra item like vinegar or kimchi, it cost an additional 550 yen for all-you-can-eat, which felt like a bad deal. Even though warm vegetables were included in the course. The staff were Chinese and spoke broken Japanese. Most of the customers were also Chinese, so it felt very out of place. Chinese news programs were playing on the TV in the restaurant. It took about 20 minutes for the hot pot and other items to arrive after ordering. If there are other restaurants nearby that offer warm vegetables, it might be better to go there instead.

It was a cold day, so I felt like having hot pot and decided to visit this place after a long time. They offer a choice of seafood, meat, vegetable, or hormone platters for the hot pot set. I chose the seafood platter and enjoyed creating my own sauce to dip the ingredients in. It was fun to try different flavors while eating. The hot pot is made with medicinal herbs, so it seems good for the body. I ate until the end and left feeling full. I would like to visit again.

There are still many lunch spots in Nishishin that I want to try, but on this day I chose this Lanzhou beef noodle shop. I wonder where Lanzhou is located... haha. It was around 12:30 on a holiday, and as I entered the shop, I saw a family of four customers leaving. They seemed to be speaking Chinese, so I had high hopes for this place! I ordered the Lanzhou beef noodles from the fluent Japanese-speaking staff. They asked if it was okay to add cilantro and spicy oil, but of course, no problem. I received some spicy wood ear mushrooms and cold water at the service counter and waited, as it took about 15 minutes for the noodles to be prepared. The beef noodle soup arrived with two small slices of beef and about five thinly sliced radishes. I took a sip of the soup, and to be honest, the flavor was not very strong at first. The noodles were quite thick and chewy, and as I slurped them up, I felt like I was biting into them. After a few more sips, I started to taste the richness of the beef bones in the soup, along with the spiciness of the chili oil and the aroma of cilantro, gradually feeling the authentic Chinese flavor. This soup is actually pretty good! The beef was disappointingly small and bland, but the radish went well with the soup. I added the spicy wood ear mushrooms halfway through and enjoyed their texture. I'd like to try a different menu item next time while having a light drink. Let's start the beef noodle training! haha.

An authentic yet Japanized hot pot. I got hooked and ended up going multiple times! You can choose the level of spiciness, and the variety of seasonings is incredibly appealing!