The soba restaurant that used to serve curry has been replaced by a Chinese eatery. One of the great things about this type of place is that it's affordable and you can fill up your stomach. The quality of the food also seems to be consistently good. Here, you can enjoy a satisfying lunch for under 1000 yen.

The soba restaurant in my neighborhood has unexpectedly turned into a Chinese restaurant. I couldn't see the inside from the entrance, and I worried it might be awkward to enter alone, so I took my time before finally going in. When I did, it turned out there was a lively drinking party from a nearby company, which was a relief. The entrance menu featured a late-night set: a drink, a cold dish, and a special item for 1,280 yen tax included. I had beer, dried tofu salad, and shrimp with chili, and I was surprised by how good it was for the price. Both the tofu salad and the chili shrimp were generously portioned and flavorful. The homemade chili miso on the table was a nice touch, making everything taste even better. Feeling encouraged, I ordered the gyoza for 500 yen. I thought it might be a bit pricey, but it turned out to be quite large and tasty. This late-night set was perfect for someone dining alone, and I realized this place is actually quite convenient for my neighborhood. I'll definitely return and try it for lunch as well. A few days later, I noticed my friend Renzo had finally visited and reviewed the restaurant. It seems it had just relocated here. I'm a bit worried that not many customers are coming since it's a new place, but I hope they thrive.

I visited a new Chinese restaurant that opened in the corner of Nakano Ward, just steps away from Suginami Ward. I ordered the five-ingredient sauced yakisoba (¥900, tax included) with a large portion of noodles (which is free). I’m not a fan of fried noodle yakisoba, but I love grilled noodle yakisoba, so I often find myself ordering it when I see it on the menu. Of course, I also ordered a medium bottle of beer (¥600, tax included) without forgetting. After a while, they served the yakisoba which included shrimp, squid, pork, Chinese cabbage, carrots, broccoli, red bell pepper, black fungus, enoki mushrooms, and quail eggs. Rather than being a five-ingredient yakisoba, it was proudly a ten-ingredient yakisoba. I particularly want to commend them for including three shrimp in this dish for that price. The problem was the noodles. They were medium-thick and had a bouncy texture. You might think that bouncy noodles would be fine, but that applies to ramen or dipping noodles. What I was eating was yakisoba. The essence of yakisoba lies in the contrast between the crispy, grilled parts of the noodles and the chewy sections, but these were not grilled enough at all. Combined with the overall mild flavor, it felt less like eating five-ingredient sauced yakisoba and more like having soupless five-ingredient ramen. Additionally, what I thought was an egg soup turned out to be corn soup. While it was tasty in its own right, it wasn't quite what I expected. However, I felt a sense of familiarity with the owner’s enthusiastic service. There was also a curry fried rice on the menu that I felt I might have tried before. The name of the restaurant, "Shouyu," seemed familiar too. Indeed, eight winters ago, I had been to a Chinese restaurant named "Shouyu" in Nakano-Sakua that was organized by a fan event by Berry Gaga. When I asked the owner during checkout, she confirmed that the Nakano-Sakua location had closed and moved here, so my memory served me right. It’s a bit sad that my memory, reminiscent of a detective in a drama, is only put to use for restaurant reviews on Tabelog.

It seems like there used to be a soba shop in this location, and it’s strange how you forget about things once they’re gone. I've always wished to go there but never managed to do so... It only opens at night, so I mostly just walked back and forth between the station and my house in Higashi-Koenji, not noticing much. However, I recently went to San-toku again and found out that this place had just opened. I decided to stop by for lunch on their opening day! That said, it was during my work break. When I entered, the place was relatively busy. At that time, I didn’t realize what was happening and ordered the five-ingredient tanmen for ¥900. I started to feel increasingly anxious about whether it would be okay. The food took a while to come out; even the dishes for the customers who came in before me were slow to arrive. I couldn’t help but think, “Should I cancel my order just in case?” It was quite stressful. I managed to hang in there, and finally, my five-ingredient tanmen arrived. There was a note that large sizes are free, and I wished I had ordered a large because the bowl was quite big. However, time was an issue, so I was relieved I didn’t get a large (laughs). I wondered if there was only one person in the kitchen – maybe they were just inexperienced since it was the opening day? The atmosphere was filled with conversations in Chinese. The ramen had a lighter flavor, but the five types of ingredients, especially the shrimp, were impressively large for the price of ¥900. Oddly enough, the water container wasn’t glass or plastic, but ceramic, which felt surprisingly authentic. I was also intrigued by the writing on the ramen bowl. A wait of twenty minutes for lunch at a Chinese restaurant is quite a fail in my book. I think I’ll watch for a while before making another visit. I noticed someone who looked like they could be from Biscuit Brothers (a local group). Oh, and the restaurant next door is also serving lunch! I realized this when I saw people walking in. Next time, I’ll check that one out.