On Sunday night, two of us visited a ramen shop called Kantan Tanmen, which was crowded even at 8:30 pm. We ordered the meaty tantanmen, which was not extremely spicy and easy to eat. It had thick slices of braised beef, sliced pork, and minced meat, making it a great choice for meat lovers. Overall, it was delicious.

I visited the Plarail Expo at GW Sunshine and decided to have lunch here. When I arrived a little after 11 o'clock, I couldn't get in on my first try, so I had to wait for the second round. The restaurant was small, so there was a line of people waiting after the first round of customers finished eating. I waited for 35 minutes and got tired of waiting. It was a rainy day, and being at Sunshine, all the restaurants had long lines. Department stores were the same, but on holidays, people start lining up early and wait. Oh, I got tired of waiting!! I was very hungry, so my husband ordered the Spicy Tantanmen and I ordered the Dipping Tantanmen, along with the Spicy Chicken Fried Rice for the two of us. The kids had the children's set with Ramen and Fried Rice. The Tantanmen used a noodle called "Ran-giri-men," which had various thicknesses. My husband's Spicy Tantanmen was so spicy that he couldn't finish it. It was so spicy and full of spices that it felt like his taste buds were destroyed. He said he couldn't taste anything after that (laughs). I recommend the regular Tantanmen instead (laughs). The Spicy Chicken Fried Rice wasn't really spicy, but the base fried rice was sweet, with a hint of spiciness from the doubanjiang. The chicken was fried. It was quite delicious!

For appetizers, we had salad, cucumber, menma, and negi chashu. The mapo tofu was just right in spiciness. I tried the level 4 spicy ramen, and it was quite spicy. The chili dumplings were deep-fried with mayonnaise and chili sauce. We ordered quite a variety and the portions were generous. The dumplings may vary in quality.

Breakfast @ Shinpachi Shokudo February 18, 2023 Tanmen @ Manrikiya Today's purpose was to attend an exhibition at Ikebukuro Sunshine. It feels like it's been a while since I last came here. Before participating in the exhibition, I decided to have an early lunch. I visited "Manrikiya," a restaurant that mainly serves Chinese noodles and dumplings. I had a vegetable-filled tanmen. The thin noodles were delicious. Sometimes I crave for a light ramen. Thank you for the meal. Now, off to the exhibition.

In between work, I stopped by for lunch. This is a chain restaurant of a corporation located on the 3rd floor of Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. Back in the day, it seemed like their stores were popping up everywhere, but now there's only this one left in Tokyo. I used to come here when I was younger, but this is my first visit during work in Ikebukuro. It's been over 10 years since I last came. I ordered the pork and cabbage fried rice, and it arrived in about 10 minutes. The flavor is a bit salty, but the moist rice and the pork fat are nicely balanced by the cabbage. The portion is decent and doesn't leave you feeling too guilty. This fried rice dish always had a consistent taste at any of their stores, and even after all these years, it still tastes the same. I wonder who I came here with last time? Oh, it was that person. After that, a lot happened, but I wonder if they're doing well. As I think about these things, lunchtime quickly comes to an end. Alright, back to work. Thank you for the meal.

Tonight I went to eat using the Goto Eat campaign. I arrived at 6:30 pm on Wednesday and there was one customer already there. There was a digital number at the register but no sticker, so I checked with a paper ticket just in case, and it was fine. I ordered the white sesame tantanmen with half fried rice set and two banana dumplings, which used to be called large dumplings, I think. The fried rice arrived very quickly, in about 1-2 minutes, and it was a generous portion. It was delicious, not greasy, and had a nice texture. By the time I had finished about a third of it, the tantanmen arrived. The noodles were irregularly cut, with both thick and thin noodles mixed in, and it was also tasty. After a while, the banana dumplings arrived, and they seemed to be longer and thinner than before, about the size of a ramen bowl. The filling was meaty and delicious as always. The total price before tax was 1,560 yen for the white sesame tantanmen (880 yen), half fried rice (380 yen), and banana dumplings (330 yen), with a consumption tax of 156 yen, making a total of 1,716 yen. I paid with a 1,000 yen Goto Eat voucher, a 500 yen voucher, and 216 yen in cash. It seems that prices are slightly higher at night.

Thursday lunch visit at 11:50, and the seating rate was already around 80%. As expected, Sunshine 60 during lunchtime is crowded. By noon, it was already full, and there was a waiting board to write down names. I used to come here often before the renovation because I liked the beef tendon rice and jumbo dumplings. When I had extra money, I would sometimes change the beef tendon rice to pork belly fried rice. I think the beef tendon rice was under 500 yen back then, but I wonder if they still serve it at night. This was my first time coming for lunch, so I carefully looked at the menu and decided on the tantanmen set. I was curious about the white tantanmen, but since it's the end of September and the weather is warm enough to walk in short sleeves, I opted for soupless tantanmen and a rice dish, along with the lunchtime special of dumplings. First, the half rice bowl arrived, not on a plate but in a teacup. It looked small, but it was quite heavy. Next, the soupless tantanmen arrived with noodles that were irregularly cut. When I tried it, it was quite spicy, and I started sweating even though I avoided hot noodles! Lastly, the dumplings arrived, and I thought it was just one jumbo dumpling, but during lunchtime, you get a whole plate of regular-sized dumplings for just a hundred yen?! The taste is better with the jumbo dumplings, but for a hundred yen, it's a good deal. Indeed, the lunchtime set has great cost performance! The total price for the tantanmen set at 1078 yen and the set of dumplings at 110 yen was 1188 yen including tax. I paid with my Suica card. There were many businessmen, so the turnover was good. By the time I finished eating and left around noon, the seating rate had dropped to around 60%.

Head to this restaurant located in the 3rd floor restaurant street of Sunshine Alpa. The interior has both counter and table seating. During early dinner time, about 70% of the seats were filled. The menu focuses on noodles such as ramen, tantanmen, tsukemen, and yakisoba, as it is affiliated with Koutora Gyoza-ya. There are also dumplings available. This time, I ordered the Tomato Tantanmen and Stamina Yakisoba, each with a side of dumplings. Tomato Tantanmen: A whole tomato sits on top of the tantanmen. While the visual impact is impressive, the taste is just average. The noodles are medium thickness and easy to mix with the creamy soup. However, the tomato is difficult to eat due to its size. It would be helpful if it was pre-cut. Hormone Yakisoba: A salt-flavored yakisoba with plenty of vegetables and a surprising amount of hormone. The hormone is chewy and delicious. The noodles are medium thickness and have a refreshing taste with a hint of spiciness. The portion may seem small for those with a big appetite. Banana Dumplings: These large dumplings are included in the set menu. They have a crispy exterior, a crunchy skin, and juicy meat inside. As expected from the Koutora Gyoza-ya affiliation, they are simply delicious. Two pieces were satisfyingly large. Overall, the restaurant offers average flavors that appeal to a wide range of people. However, there were some issues with the floor staff, such as knocking over items without apologizing or delaying orders. The presence of foreign staff, operational aspects, and staff attitudes were a bit challenging. Despite these issues, the food is tasty, affordable, and perfect for a quick meal. Thank you for the meal!

The restaurant mainly has counter and table seats for two people, which may feel a bit cramped for infection prevention during weekday lunch hours. I had the soy sauce ramen set for 869 yen (soy sauce ramen and half fried rice). The ramen had a thin noodle with normal soup, and the fried rice didn't leave much of an impression, not particularly delicious.

I decided to try a restaurant in the Sunshine City dining area, as the main street was too crowded for lunch. I stumbled upon a Chinese restaurant called "NOODLE KITCHEN" and ordered the "Curry Mapo Tofu" for 968 yen and a set meal for 220 yen. Despite the name, I didn't regret my order as the food was delicious. The combination of curry and mapo tofu on one plate may seem unusual, but it was surprisingly tasty. The atmosphere was family-friendly, with many families with young children dining there. Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience.

The restaurant was packed during lunchtime. The knife-cut noodles and rich soup were delicious! You could choose between extra noodles or rice for free. The banana dumplings were also satisfying and filling! Highly recommended.

Ikebukuro is a shop located on the 4th floor of Sunshine City. I was curious about it when I saw it last time, so I decided to visit this time. I went for lunch on Sunday, around 1:30 pm, and it was a bit less crowded. There were only two groups waiting, but we were seated right away. As expected of a Chinese restaurant, the turnover is fast. In the photo, on the left: banana dumplings! On the right: shrimp noodles. The famous banana dumplings are huge! It's hard to tell from the photo, but they are really big! The shrimp noodles are my favorite, so I had to order them. Delicious. Not too salty, lots of shrimp, and a bouncy texture, just the way I like it. The menu is extensive, so it's hard to choose. Next time, I'll try the grilled hormone noodles!

I had lunch at Manrikiya in Ikebukuro Sunshine. We arrived a little after 1:30 pm and had to wait for about 40 minutes to be seated. I ordered the black sesame tantanmen with an extra side of gyoza. I wanted to try the banana gyoza, but it turns out you can only get it with a set meal. The noodles were like knife-cut noodles and the rich soup was so delicious that I almost finished it all. They offered a free choice of extra noodles or rice, so I chose rice and ended up feeling very full.

I was happy to see Sanma-men on the daily special menu, so I decided to try it. In simple terms, Sanma-men is a ramen dish with a vegetable stir-fry topping. It is a popular dish among Kanagawa residents. However, the Sanma-men at this place was quite different. It was loaded with plenty of vegetable stir-fry and pork stir-fry, with bean sprouts instead of mung bean sprouts, and no sauce topping. But, it was still good in its own way! The chef here is from China, so they are not trying to cater to the Yokohama style, but rather offering their own interpretation of Sanma-men. And it's really good!! Apart from being a bit salty, there were no issues at all (laughs)

Lunchtime was really crowded. Chinese food that is easy for kids to eat is popular, right? I waited for about 40 minutes. I sat at a table and placed my order. The kids' lunch arrived in about 10 minutes, but why are the kids' dumplings fried? My child was happy with the toy, but the fried dumplings were too hard and couldn't be eaten at all. It would be nice if they could change it to regular dumplings. I ordered apple juice, but they brought orange juice instead. It's a bit chaotic, haha. Overall, the dan dan noodles were just okay.

On New Year's Day 2022, before visiting Zoshigaya Kishibojin and Otori Shrine for the first shrine visit of the year, I decided to have a meal at Alpa on the 3rd floor in Ikebukuro. The restaurant was not crowded, with only a family of 4 ahead of me in line. I ordered the fried chicken with green onion and garlic sauce for 858 yen, along with a set meal for 220 yen. The food arrived in about 10 minutes, consisting of crispy fried chicken in a tangy sauce served over rice, accompanied by pickled vegetables and egg soup. The sauce was lightly sweet and not too heavy, and the pickled vegetables provided a refreshing contrast. I also tried the banana dumplings, which I think would go well with beer next time. I will definitely visit this restaurant again.

I was drawn in by the banana dumplings and decided to try them out. The banana dumplings were a great deal - 5 pieces with rice, soup, and a choice of fried chicken or salad for only 1012 yen. Each banana dumpling is said to be equivalent to 3 regular dumplings, so by eating 5, it's like having 15! It's a filling meal. On a side note, I really respect people who can eat 100 dumplings. The dumplings here seem to have a bit more meat in them compared to others. By choosing fried chicken and rice, I've already met my daily calorie intake. It was a satisfying meal at Kanmeshi! Don't expect much from the service, but definitely come for the quantity over quality. Thank you for the meal!

Because it was raining, I had lunch at Sunshine. I went to this shop that has recently been spicing up their menu (lol). I had the tantanmen. The stir-fried vegetables on top are so crunchy! When I analyzed it, I think it's because of the crunchy Chinese cabbage. I'm not sure, but maybe they use Cantonese cabbage instead of regular Japanese cabbage!? The noodles are thin, straight, and high in water content, and the soup is normal. But just experiencing the overwhelming crunchiness of the Chinese cabbage is worth trying this tantanmen here (lol).

Beef brisket tantanmen banana dumplings set kids set fried rice set. Visited on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm. The restaurant was about 60% full. They offer a kids set with toys, which is great for families with children. I recommend the noodle dishes over the dumplings.

The store in Sunshine City is crowded with office workers and families during lunchtime. The dumplings looked delicious, but I tried the summer limited cold black sesame tantan noodles. It's not that it's not delicious, but maybe the chicken broth lacked depth, it felt a bit lacking. It could use a bit more spiciness from the doubanjiang too, I think.