I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat and wandered around until I became interested in Mapo Tofu. I entered the restaurant just before noon and ended up ordering a set of Mapo Noodles and half Fried Rice. The Mapo Tofu was a bit spicy and would go nicely with rice. I was also happy to have a dessert to refresh my palate after the spicy Mapo Tofu. It's great that the lunch menu offers good value, even on weekends.

I stopped by for a weekday lunch. It seems that the place has been changed to "Shokumikuen Bekkann" without me noticing, but since I'm a fan of the original Shokumikuen, I was curious about this one too. The lunch sets included many standard options like mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, and stir-fried beef with green peppers. However, I wanted to eat knife-cut noodles, so I chose from the regular menu instead of the lunch set. While I love spicy mala knife-cut noodles, I thought it might be too spicy for lunch, so I opted for the dan dan knife-cut noodles. The dan dan knife-cut noodles came topped with plenty of minced meat and had a relatively mild flavor. The wide noodles were just as delicious as I had hoped. The broth had the complex aromatic blend typical of Shokumikuen, with the numbing sensation of Sichuan pepper coming through at the end. The female staff member in the dining area spoke Japanese well, but the conversation among the staff was in Chinese. Next time, I might take on the mala knife-cut noodles!

I visited around 11:05 AM and ordered the Mapo Fried Rice from the lunch menu. It had been a while since my last visit, and until I was served, I kept thinking it was "Suitenfu." Even though I looked at the sign and the menu, it's scary how assumptions can stick. I wondered if they had changed staff, as there seemed to be younger workers now. It felt a bit different because previously, the staff didn't speak so much Chinese to each other. Has it become less refined? The lunch blackboard in front of the restaurant has also changed. However, the interior hasn't changed much. When the Mapo Fried Rice arrived, I took a bite and thought, "Hmm, did the taste change?" Yet, it was a familiar flavor, and I love Mapo Tofu. The Sichuan peppercorns are well-balanced. Upon closer inspection of the menu, I noticed it says "Shuwiyuan Bekkann" (Shuwiyuan Annex) instead… I pondered for a moment and suddenly thought, "Oh! That's the place on the second floor where the water makes that high-pitched sound!" rather amusingly. This is a restaurant serving delicious Sichuan cuisine, particularly known for its Mapo Tofu that features a nice kick from the Sichuan peppercorns. I suppose the food was good enough to keep them in business. They’ve expanded a little, and now the real challenge begins! The place is essentially still the same. I wonder if they fixed the faucet in the original restaurant upstairs? (laughs) Personally, I prefer the taste from the original second-floor restaurant a bit more. It’s a bit disappointing that there’s one fewer option for Chinese cuisine now. The Mapo Fried Rice is 950 yen and comes with almond tofu, pickled mustard greens, and egg soup; a large portion costs an extra 200 yen. I enjoyed my meal today as well. Thank you for the wonderful food!

I had lunch at "Shuwuikan Bekkan," which opened on October 1st, right after "Suitenbu." I ordered the Mapo Tofu set meal. I had the impression that the Mapo Tofu at Shuwuikan would be very spicy, but it turned out to have a nice level of spiciness and numbing flavor, which was delicious! I would like to try the Mapo Tofu at the main branch to compare the flavors as well. By the way, I initially wanted to visit during their half-off campaign, but I gave up because of the long line. I'm glad I finally got the chance to stop by!

This was my first visit to the new location of Shuji Xuan, which opened on the former site of Suitenpu. They had a fantastic half-price sale for the first three days, so I decided to go immediately! Dishes like the spicy mapo tofu (¥1,580) and black fried rice (¥950) were half price! Even beer (¥600) was half price! It was wonderful, and I felt free to order a lot. I also tried dumplings, xiao long bao, and Lanzhou ramen! First off, being a Sichuan restaurant, the mapo tofu was delicious and nicely spicy! However, I felt the Sichuan peppercorn flavor was a bit weak. The black fried rice was probably the best dish! While the combination of black fried rice and mapo tofu was decent, it seemed like normal fried rice would pair better. I heard they have a mapo fried rice for lunch, which sounds like a great option! The squid and broccoli were also good, with a nice garlic flavor. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the dim sum. Both the dumplings and xiao long bao didn’t seem handmade; they lacked juiciness and I didn’t really taste any meat juice. Personally, I found Suitenpu to be better, so I was quite disappointed. If I were to revisit, it would probably be for the lunch mapo fried rice! Thank you for the meal.