It's been a while since my last visit, and there were quite a few changes, so I wanted to share my experience. The weather has been really hot lately, right? When it comes to cold noodles, I always love the Ryofu Ramen series here. However, I was a bit shocked to see that the price had increased to 1040 yen and the extra-large portion now costs an additional 200 yen, when it used to be around 990 yen with free upsizing. Anyway, the Ryofu Chicken Ramen arrived, with its refreshing appearance, noodles, toppings, and soup all served in a chilled bowl, perfect for summer. I mixed in the generous amount of chopped green onions and enjoyed the thin noodles. The crunchy texture of the green onions and pickled vegetables is irresistible! The goji berries also added a nice touch. But at 1240 yen now... the value for money has decreased, which is disappointing. As for dessert, I always go for the almond jelly. It used to be 450 yen, but now it has significantly increased in price. If you're a gourmet member, you can get a discount, so be sure to take advantage of that. The almond jelly from Yangzhou merchants is truly delicious. It melts in your mouth like no other. The syrup has just the right amount of sweetness that you can almost drink it. I haven't come across almond jelly this good anywhere else, as other places tend to be too firm or too soft, with a jelly-like or overly sweet taste. The restaurant used to have a smoking section, then it became non-smoking with ashtrays outside, but now even the ashtrays outside have been removed, and it's completely smoke-free all day. One positive change is that they now accept credit cards. They also offer major touch payment options like Suica and d Payment. Despite the decrease in value for money, I still want to come back for the almond jelly!笑

I had the Cool Breeze Chicken Soba for 1,080 yen. It's refreshing but also has a spicy kick. The portion size is small and the price is a bit high, but I guess that's typical for Tokyo. To feel full, you might need to order some side dishes, which could easily push the total cost over 2,000 yen.

Premium Sura Tanmen for 1,390 yen with 6 gyoza for free with membership registration. It was my first visit. This place seems to be popular for its Sura Tanmen. I arrived on Friday before 1 pm and entered the restaurant without waiting. The menu has a wide variety of options, but I decided to go with the premium Sura Tanmen. You can choose from 3 types of noodles, and the recommended one was the chewy mochi mochi noodles, but I was curious about the knife-cut noodle style, so I ordered that. The food was served quite quickly and looked delicious. The knife-cut noodles were not as thick as I expected and easy to eat. The flavor was not very impactful, but it was easy to eat, with a gradually increasing sour taste. It was not spicy. The bowl was full of ingredients. I heard that if you download the app and register as a free member, you can get 6 gyoza or almond jelly for free regularly. This time, I tried the gyoza. I ended up eating more than I expected (sweat). Next time, I want to try the black vinegar fried rice!

It's getting warmer, so how about starting with chilled Chinese noodles? I ordered the chilled tantan noodles (1240 yen for a large serving) and imagined a spicy sesame flavor. But there was no sesame taste. It was just salty. The noodles were very thin. Nothing about the food matched what I had imagined, and there was nothing that exceeded my expectations. It's disappointing. The dumplings might appeal to those who like a meaty taste. It's expensive, not tasty, and despite being located right by the subway ticket gate, it doesn't even get full during lunchtime, which could be seen as a positive point. Also, there's a lively older lady there. That's my review.

I finished work late and felt too lazy to cook at home, so I went to the nearest Chinese restaurant. It was past 9 PM when I arrived, but the restaurant was about 80% full. I don't like crowds, so I chose a table near the entrance. I ordered the recommended hot and sour soup noodles, pork xiaolongbao, shrimp xiaolongbao, and wontons. This was my first time knowing that you can choose the number of xiaolongbao, so I ordered two types. After waiting for about 5 minutes, the wontons and hot and sour soup noodles were served. The hot and sour soup noodles had a good tangy flavor, which I always order when I visit. You can choose from 3 types of noodles, and I chose the regular Chinese noodles. The hot and sour soup noodles were full of ingredients and had a nice sour and spicy taste as always. The xiaolongbao were juicy and delicious. I highly recommend the hot and sour soup noodles and xiaolongbao.

Visit on Sunday around 1:30 pm. No waiting in line. Ordered "Tantanmen ¥1010-" and "Spicy Suratanmen ¥1010-" both with medium thickness noodles. Tantanmen was consistently delicious. The Spicy Suratanmen was not very spicy, so it may be a bit underwhelming for those who like spicy food. As a member, I received a "yakisoba seasoning" which had plenty of noodles in it.

After the final banquet in Tokyo, I was recommended the Yangzhou Golden Soup Noodles as a must-try menu item. I couldn't resist ordering it! I also ordered some Xiao Long Bao to go with my beer. The Yangzhou Golden Soup Noodles had a soy sauce-based thick soup with large chunks of fried chicken. The soup was delicious, but it was a bit heavy and thick for my taste. The chicken was plentiful and healthy, making it more suitable for younger women. The Xiao Long Bao had a solid filling inside, which was different from what I expected. I think I should have stuck to the hot and sour soup noodles here!

◆ Ramen registration number 5769th • 221st bowl in 2023 ◆ Chinese Ramen Yangzhou Shangren Higashi Ikebukuro branch (Toshima-ku, Tokyo) ◆ Tonkotsu Ramen ¥1000 ● Instagram tsukasan777 ● Twitter tsukasan2010

I don't eat much! But each dish is modest! That's why I end up at the Yangzhou merchant on my way home about three times this week. There is always a neat little lady there who must be a regular. Today I finished with a refreshing dish, the famous hot and sour noodles, but the salt one was also delicious!

At around 10:30 pm, most of the shops in the neighborhood were already closed. I aimed to be like a merchant from Yangzhou. The restaurant was full, with a waitlist of one group. It took a while for a table to open up, and when it did, there were no large tables available. I waited for about 20 minutes. The noodles all looked delicious, so it was hard to decide. While sipping on beer and enjoying a side dish, I finally made up my mind. As usual, I ordered the hot and sour soup noodles, which were delicious. Towards the end, I added some vinegar to change the flavor.

I think Shinjuku Nicomart is the best place to watch a sticky Korean movie, but it seems that the movie is playing in many theaters, and among them, it was convenient for me to watch it in Ikebukuro at a time that suited me best. While walking under the blue sky, I wonder why I haven't been watching movies on the east side of the Yamanote Line, such as Yurakucho and Nihonbashi, where there is not much to do. Although watching a movie in Shinjuku or Ikebukuro may lead to going to a favorite bar afterwards on the Saikyo Line, I feel like that's not the reason why I haven't been going there lately. I feel like I've exhausted all the dining options in Ikebukuro, and also, many restaurants around Ikebukuro Station have been consistently crowded recently, so today I'm walking along the wide street in front of Seibu Ikebukuro towards Gokokuji. As the road starts to run along the Metropolitan Expressway, I remember that under this road, there used to be a shop run by a disciple that was forced to close due to redevelopment but reopened with the help of the disciple (at least that's how I remember it), and I think about how I never eat tsukemen. Then, I see a sign for a shop that saved me from being a sake and food refugee on New Year's Day, set up by a merchant on the opposite side of the west exit of Ikebukuro Station, and I decide to check it out. When I stepped inside the "Yangzhou Merchant Higashi Ikebukuro Store," the counter seats in front of me were mostly empty, and there were also empty tables to the right. Although I couldn't see it from here, it seemed that there was also a floor on the left side across the kitchen, and I could hear the chatter of a party from that side. It was an irregularly designed shop, and just as I thought that, the restaurant quickly filled up with customers. However, the counter had only about two chairs and was separated by a partition, so it might be more comfortable than the two-seater table behind, and even if it got crowded, I wouldn't feel guilty sitting at the counter, so it might be more convenient. I decided to try the "Mapo Eggplant Ramen" priced at 1,030 yen. As I glanced at the menu, the four-character idiom "Mapo Eggplant" caught my eye, and I imagined the viscosity of the soup in my head and decided to pair it with the thickest of the three types of noodles, the Musashino Udon-style noodles. However, I heard something unpleasant... "Then why didn't you write 'Frozen Eggplant Mapo Ramen' on the menu!" (There's no such shop!) But maybe eggplant, like tuna, tastes better when frozen first (Tuna does that!?) So, I encouraged myself to order the "Mapo Eggplant Ramen" and a very delicious bowl with a rich, sweet and spicy broth arrived! The soup was sweet and spicy, and although I don't cook, I wondered if it was the taste of doubanjiang and sweet bean sauce in Mapo tofu. The soup did not separate like in typical Mapo Ramen, and the whole soup was thick and sticky, which matched well with the thick noodles I chose, and it was very delicious! Next, my fetish is the quality of the minced meat, and when I picked it up with a punching metal spoon, it wasn't that great, but it wasn't unpleasant either. It seems that this shop is different from Chinese cuisine on the mainland, and I can add it to the map in my head as one of my emergency food shelters. As I searched my merchant visit history, I realized... Oh no... I thought I had eaten it for the first time, but the one I ate on New Year's Day at the west exit store was also Mapo Eggplant Ramen! At that time, I asked the girl at the shop, which noodles would go well with this ramen? And...

It is located very close to Higashi-Ikebukuro Station on the Yurakucho Line and Higashi-Ikebukuro Station on the Asakusa Line. It is one of the closest stations to Sunshine Ikebukuro. The interior of the restaurant is clean and the atmosphere is nice, with friendly staff. The knife-cut noodles are delicious. I ordered the soy sauce chashu ramen. The chashu is tasty, but I preferred the hot and sour noodles I had before. This restaurant is better suited for more Chinese dishes. It is not a high-end restaurant, but also not a budget one. The prices are average, but the taste is good.

On the night before a holiday at 11 PM, most places are crowded, but a little off the beaten path, there's a place called Yangzhou Restaurant that's open until 4 AM. Even though it's about 70% full, my friend and I were able to easily get a table. We enjoyed beer along with juicy dumplings, saliva chicken, and stir-fried eggs and meat. The dumplings were juicy and delicious, the saliva chicken had just the right amount of saltiness, and the stir-fried eggs and meat were crispy and fragrant. For our last dish, we had spicy and sour soup noodles. The sour and spicy flavor of the noodles was delicious. The noodles were knife-cut, medium-sized, and thin. I prefer the thin noodles because they go down smoothly and have a good texture. It was worth spending almost an hour there.

Midnight indulgence in the forbidden Szechuan-style tantanmen noodles. When it comes to the dish of the Szechuan merchants, it has to be the hot and sour soup noodles. I had some errands in Tokyo the next morning, so I decided to move during the night. By chance, I passed by a crossroad with the traffic light turning red, and I saw the signboard of the Szechuan merchants right in front of me. There was a free parking space at night! I was drawn in by the sight and ended up at the restaurant. By the time I finished eating, it was just a little before midnight. I couldn't help but think that I would definitely gain weight from this meal. But I was satisfied and happy. The restaurant is located right next to the East Ikebukuro station exit, making it easily accessible by train.

Public holiday Monday, just past 1 PM. I used to really like this place and often went to the shop in Jinbo-cho with my colleagues after work. I always ordered the soy sauce wonton noodles, while my friends went for the tantan noodles. This was about 20 years ago, when I had just started drinking alcohol. Back then, I really liked the traditional soy sauce ramen with wontons. So, naturally, I ordered the soy sauce wonton noodles, only to be told that they were sold out! The char siu was also sold out, along with some other items, which was disappointing. I decided to skip the beer. I tried to remember what I had eaten back then, but since I had only eaten the wonton noodles, I couldn't think of anything else. I ended up ordering just the soy sauce ramen for 790 yen. I also got a free plate of dumplings (6 pieces) for 450 yen with a coupon from a flyer. The line outside was probably due to the effectiveness of this flyer. Printed materials and paper media are becoming less common with the rise of the web and digital, but they still have their power, as seen in this case. After waiting for about 10 minutes, my order arrived! I immediately tried the soup... Huh, the taste is a bit different from what I remember. The soy sauce flavor is clear and sharp, lacking the depth of a rich soy sauce broth. Hmm, is it because they distributed too many coupons and got more customers than expected, resulting in a lower quality product? The dumplings were decent, but I probably wouldn't order them for 450 yen without the coupon. If I came here for drinks at night, I might consider ordering them. Overall, the ramen prices have increased quite a bit. (Well, it's understandable when compared to 20 years ago) I guess since the wontons were sold out today and I still have plenty of coupons left, I'll give it another try. Next time, I'll order the soy sauce wonton noodles and the free plate of shrimp wontons and write another review. For now, I'll rate it lower based on the impression I received today. Thank you for the meal.

I had a delicious meal and drank a lot of shochu at a restaurant on my way back from Ikebukuro. There is a restaurant called Chugokushokudo. I used to go to one in Yokohama about 20 years ago. Recently, I moved to the neighborhood and finally visited the restaurant after over 20 years. The prices have gone up quite a bit, with most ramen dishes costing over 1000 yen. I ordered the Sanrata-men, and it was delicious! Every dish looks tasty. I plan to try a little bit of everything from now on.

I personally have a high regard for this chain restaurant that prioritizes on-site operations, but among them, this particular store stands out for its exceptional customer service. Of course, this may vary depending on the day and time you visit, as it is likely influenced by the shifts of the part-time staff. It is important to have a team of staff members who excel in customer service at all times to create a high-performing store. Despite not having the most operationally efficient layout (such as a one-way design in front of the restroom or a two-room structure separated by the central kitchen wall), the staff here always greet you with a smile and provide excellent service. When refusing disposable paper aprons, they respond with a sincere hospitality, saying "I'm worried..." without any hint of sarcasm. I hope they continue to work here for a long time. Oh, and of course, I am satisfied with the food.

I was always curious about the neon sign, so I finally went in. The food was so delicious that I ended up eating too much. The mapo tofu and braised pork with star anise made me crave for white rice. Yummy. The shrimp mayo was a bit sweet. The shrimp wonton was slippery and I could eat as many as I wanted. The dumpling skin wasn't very crispy, but it was tasty. The shrimp roe stir-fry was simple yet delicious just the way it was. Next time, I want to try the carbohydrates.

I am a newsletter member and I always use the service because I am very happy with the 100 yen gyoza. I also like the wonton ramen in soy sauce flavor. There is also a salt flavor, but both are delicious, so it's hard to choose between them. Each wonton has a good volume and is satisfying to eat.

When it comes to Yangzhou merchants, I have never ordered anything other than hot and sour soup noodles, but this time I challenged the super spicy version! In the midst of the corona pandemic, I choked uncontrollably after just a sip of the soup, causing inconvenience to the customers around me. I'm sorry, it was not due to corona, just the super spicy soup... Please forgive me. The soup is extremely spicy, but the taste is still amazing. I usually drink the soup too, but this time I was too scared and barely drank any. I focused on picking up the ingredients and eating them. This time I chose thick noodles! Thin ones are delicious too. It's always a dilemma for me. After the meal, I had almond jelly. The almond jelly here is seriously delicious, I think. It's at the level where you want to eat it in a big bowl. I received a tantanmen soup base when I registered an app! And the service from the waitress wearing glasses was seriously amazing and lovely, it's worth going to the Higashi Ikebukuro branch just for that! How many places these days welcome you with such great hospitality? It was a very pleasant lunch. Thank you so much! I will definitely go back again.