南風直通
In the second half of March, on a weekday, I walked around the Hibiya area looking for lunch. I decided to visit New Tokyo after a long time, heading towards the Sukiyabashi location. Huh? From a distance, I could tell the atmosphere of the glass-fronted store on the first floor had changed. It looked more like a Chinese restaurant. Oh, it’s Chinese. I arrived at the entrance. The name is still New Tokyo, but it seems like the first floor has been remodeled into a Chinese-style restaurant. I checked the menu on a stand outside and went in.
"Welcome. Please take a seat at the counter." Once seated, I took a closer look at the menu on the table. It looked like the menu mainly featured Sichuan-style spicy dishes like Dan Dan noodles and Mapo tofu.
"Excuse me, (pointing at the menu) I’ll have this one, please."
"Sure, that’s the Dan Dan noodles with soup. How spicy would you like it? We have three levels: mild, medium, and hot."
"I’ll go with medium, please."
Four minutes later, the Dan Dan noodles were served on a tray.
"Here’s your Dan Dan noodles. (Pointing to the condiments on the tray) This is Sichuan pepper and vinegar. Please add the Sichuan pepper little by little to your liking. The vinegar is optional, but we recommend trying it as is at first."
The bright red soup looked extremely spicy. Chopped raw purple onions floated on the surface, which was a distinct feature. Ground beef was heaped in a half-sphere in the center of the bowl.
Before mixing the beef into the soup, I took a sip of the red broth with a metal spoon (there were two spoons, one for soup and one with holes for picking up the meat and chopped ingredients). Wow, it's spicy. I had to be careful not to cough as I swallowed. It’s definitely spicy, but also delicious.
Next, I slurped the noodles. "Slurp!" I tried to take a big bite, but oops! I swallowed it the wrong way, almost choking. I had been careful with the soup, but I let my guard down with the noodles. It’s delicious, but so spicy. Medium spice seems a bit too much for me.
I mixed the ground beef in the center of the bowl with the soup. Then, using the solid spoon, I scooped up the broth again. Now, I noticed the garlic flavor was quite strong. Earlier, I had been focused on the heat from the chili peppers, but now I could taste the balance, with the crunchy texture of the onions adding to it. I think I’m getting used to the spiciness.
The portion size was just right. I could have ordered a larger portion for an extra charge, but the regular size was enough. However, I wondered if rice might have been a good addition. A small rice portion is only 100 yen, so I debated whether I should order it now. I felt that rice might actually be better for soaking up the broth than noodles. But I decided against it— I didn’t want to feel too full for the rest of the afternoon’s work.
I finished in 14 minutes. I didn’t finish the soup, but I used the holey spoon to carefully scoop up all the small pieces like the beef and onions that had sunk into the broth. It was delicious! Thank you for the meal!