Ikebukuro is said to have delicious Chinese food, and when I went there, it was really delicious! The majority of the customers in the restaurant were Chinese, so I felt like I was experiencing authentic flavors. I was impressed by the taste of the dishes, which were new to me. The interior of the restaurant was stylish, and they guided us to a semi-private room with a reservation, which was very nice. It was a really happy day.

I visited a Chinese restaurant recommended by my friend from China, and this time they took me to a place specializing in Chinese fish dishes. The flavors were all delicious, and we enjoyed the authentic taste along with traditional Chinese alcohol. There are still many dishes from around the world that I haven't tried, and this wonderful restaurant made me want to explore more cuisines in the future!

On the 4th floor of a dining building in Ikebukuro Chinatown, there is a restaurant called Shiki Kō Ikebukuro Kitaguchi Honten on the 1st floor. When you get off the elevator, the door is closed, creating a closed-off entrance. Upon opening the automatic door, you'll find Chinese people inside with karaoke playing in the background. You'll be given a QR code to order from your smartphone. I ordered the Sichuan-style water-cooked beef without spice, and the young woman who took my order seemed to be the owner. You can choose your appetizers, rice, soup, and dessert freely at the counter. The portions are generous, with plenty of beef. I asked for less chili peppers, but there were still a lot. Since the chili peppers are Chinese, the spiciness is not too strong. The dishes are generously seasoned with spices, just as the name suggests. The taste of the water-cooked beef was better at a Hunan restaurant in Shinjuku. The soup was a typical one with eggs sprinkled on top. If you want to enjoy the taste of ordinary Chinese food with lots of Chinese people around, this place is good. I would like to try more dishes to get a better sense of the restaurant.

This is a Chinese restaurant located on the fourth floor of a building near the west exit of Ikebukuro Station. They offer a buffet-style meal including soup and rice. I ordered the chicken and cashew nut stir-fry from the various set meals available through a touch panel. It had just the right amount of spiciness and was delicious. The tomato and egg soup was also refreshing with the tangy flavor of the tomatoes. The interior of the restaurant has a black theme and is quite cozy.

This is a local restaurant in China, the food is average and not exceptionally delicious. The spicy dishes taste cheap and are not recommended. However, other dishes can showcase the chef's skills. I will try something different next time.

I went to the restaurant on the floor above Aliya that I was curious about! The lunch is 880 yen and you can have unlimited salad, side dishes, and soup. The restaurant is mainly run by Chinese people. The beef stew has fried chili peppers on top, but it's not very spicy. It feels like they added it later. The taste is like they warmed up something made in a central kitchen, a kind of standard taste. The white fish soup is not very numbing, like they just mixed seasoning and warmed it up. It's not fair to compare it to the taste in Chinatown (about half the price), but it's not a place where people who care about the taste of authentic Chinese food would come. The lamb skewers are more like they microwaved it and sprinkled spices on top, you can tell it's from a central kitchen. However, it's great that you can get full for 880 yen. It's not incredibly delicious, but it's filling. I thought authentic Chinese food was all very authentic, so it was a learning experience.

Last week, I happened to come to this restaurant because the lunch menu was not available due to Golden Week, but I liked it so I decided to try other dishes. I came with a friend, and we each made our own orders. We also added lamb skewers. I had the beef stew with tomatoes, while my friend had the spicy beef stew. My dish arrived promptly, but my friend's took a while. We both started to get a bit anxious, but thankfully it arrived at the same time as the other customers. Maybe they make them all together. The tomato stew was not very flavorful, I wished it had more salt. The spicy stew was not as spicy as the fish spicy stew I had last time, but I'm not sure if they use the same seasoning. After trying three different dishes, I still prefer the spicy stew with white fish, despite its strong smell. It seems like the side dishes vary each time, except for the egg and almond jelly. I thought both rice cookers had white rice, but one was actually soup. Oh, but it wasn't that delicious. On that day, many Chinese customers were enjoying luxurious-looking dishes, which made me a bit envious!

There was a shop called Arie on the second floor that was supposed to be open for lunch on weekends according to reviews, but it was closed, probably due to Golden Week. We found a lunch menu sign in front of the building and decided to try the restaurant there instead. We confirmed if they had a lunch menu before sitting down. The lunch was reasonably priced at 780 yen (tax included). The white fish stew I ordered had a lot of white fish in it, but it had a muddy taste in some parts. I accidentally slurped up some enoki mushrooms on my first bite and choked on them. They offered unlimited rice, tea, and side dishes. The fried wheat dish was surprisingly tasty, but the rice was not good. They were attentive and refilled our tea when it was running low. We arrived around noon and by the time we left, the restaurant was almost full, mostly with Chinese customers. Many people were eating a large hotplate-like pot dish that was not on the lunch menu. Maybe they were treating themselves for Golden Week? I realized that this area is full of Chinese restaurants when I visited Don Quijote a few days ago. I will come back to try some spicy food again.

Located on the 4th floor of a building near Ikebukuro Station, this restaurant offers lunch starting at 780 yen. The lunch set includes soup, rice, pickles, appetizer, seasoned egg, and salad, all-you-can-eat. I ordered the thinly sliced meat set for lunch, which was both spicy and sweet. I also ordered another meat dish (forgot the name) which was delicious. The dishes at this restaurant are centered around spiciness and are very tasty. Highly recommended for those who enjoy spicy food!

When returning to the car, I was handed something and asked, "Orange?" But it turned out to be a "setoka" instead of an orange. I was informed that the Ikebukuro store has a last order at 8:30 pm and closes at 9 pm due to the state of emergency. It seemed a bit early, and I wondered if I could make it back in two hours. The return trip always feels faster, so I quickly got on the highway. I was offered potato chips and coffee chocolate to eat, and I mentioned that I could go for a non-alcoholic drink since I wouldn't be driving on the way back. With 160 kilometers left, I wondered if I could make it in time for an 8 pm arrival. We managed to find the restaurant after some searching and ordered four dishes: Sichuan-style crayfish, white fish cooked with mustard greens, cold beef offal in spicy Sichuan-style sauce, and stir-fried chicken. We also added yakisoba noodles, lamb skewers, and all-free drinks. The white fish dish turned out to have mustard greens in it, which surprisingly tasted good. The rest of the dishes were spicy and delicious, especially the cold beef offal. The grilled yakisoba noodles were a favorite, and the lamb skewers were similar to those I had in Dalian. The owner of the restaurant apparently plays golf regularly and has improved his score to under 100 in a year. We settled the bill early, and although the individual dishes were cheap, the total cost added up. The parking fee of 1,700 yen was considered high. My companion expressed a desire to go skiing again, and we left the restaurant with a plan to return.

Conclusion... The grilled fish specialty is authentic Chinese flavor. Once you step in, it feels like you are in a second-tier city in China. The owner is said to be a half-Chongqing, half-Japanese person, so the seasoning is exactly like authentic Chongqing. You can feel like you've traveled to Chongqing. ★...5 Special restaurant 4.5...Impressive 4...Want to visit again 3.5...Delicious 3...Average one step

I visited this place once at night and saw the lunch menu on the signboard on the first floor, and I've been wanting to come back for about 4 months now (lol). This was my first visit for lunch. There are three Chinese restaurants in this building, so I took the elevator to the fourth floor, where there is a dedicated door with a male symbol on it. When I gestured and said "I'm here," a few male staff members, who looked Chinese, welcomed me and led me to a table for two in the center. The person at the table on the right had a hot pot with lots of chili peppers floating on the table. Truly a Sichuan cuisine restaurant! I looked at the menu and thought the spicy fish hot pot sounded good, but I also asked the staff what other dishes they had besides the eggplant trio stir-fry, as I couldn't understand the Japanese. Another staff member was asked the same question, but the answer was "the food in that corner and unlimited iced oolong tea." Okay, then I'll have that! Eating is believing! The self-service section had rice, soup, pickles, side dishes, salad, boiled eggs, and iced oolong tea. When I asked for a glass for the iced oolong tea, the staff told me to wait, and after a while, they brought a jug of iced oolong tea and chopsticks. The chopsticks were cute and red. The rice for the fried rice seemed to have a little less sweetness, was well cooked, slightly warm, and well steamed, making it easy to eat. The egg and tomato soup had a good sweet and sour smell when I opened the lid. The combination of egg and tomato was classic and delicious. I loved the balance of the tomato's acidity and sweetness, along with the sweetness of the egg and onion. I went for seconds! The pickles were refreshing, with cucumber, dried yuba, and carrots lightly seasoned with soy sauce. The cold dish of pig intestines and cucumber was good, with a nice texture and a light seasoning. The vegetable salad had shredded vegetables that were a bit dry, so I asked for dressing. The French dressing was sweet. The boiled egg had a mild flavor and a slightly runny yolk. The eggplant trio stir-fry was served, and it was hot, so I had to wait a bit. The potatoes were fluffy, well-seasoned, slightly firm, and sweet. The eggplant was soft and sweet, and the peppers were crunchy, providing a nice accent. The colors of red and green were beautiful, and despite the amount of oil, there was no greasy feeling left on the tongue after eating. This is the essence of stir-fry dishes: if you control high heat well, you can get rid of excess fat. I enjoyed it until the end, even though the eggplant was still hot and delicious. I saw almond jelly on the menu, but it wasn't there. However, when I went to the buffet section, I found yellow jelly-like substance and leek cake, so I took both. I went to get dessert spoons, but the staff happened to have ladles, so I took one. The jelly had a familiar taste, but it was light and hard to identify. When I asked the staff, they said it was mango from China, but it was ???. Apparently, it changes daily. The leek cake wasn't on the lunch menu, but it was served, and it was light, which was perfect as I felt the rice was a bit lacking. The iced oolong tea was served when I ordered my meal, and it was refreshing and had a mild flavor, almost no aroma. I drank two glasses of it as a substitute for water. I stayed for about 40 minutes after the meal. I enjoyed everything except the vegetable salad and boiled egg. The dishes were well-liked, as they didn't lose their flavor much even when pre-made, and there were not too many spicy options in the buffet, which was a relief (lol). After all, it's a Sichuan cuisine restaurant, and there are people ordering dishes with lots of chili peppers, so I was relieved that the eggplant trio stir-fry I ordered was not spicy at all.

I couldn't help but think a little about the "ingredient level" in Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine is known for its bold flavors, whether it's spicy dishes, numbing dishes with Sichuan peppercorns, regular chili dishes, or dishes cooked in oil. Among Chinese cuisines, Sichuan cuisine tends to have a strong impression of intense seasoning. I have eaten at various restaurants in Ikebukuro's Chinatown and have been visiting restaurants in Yokohama's Chinatown recently. Since I have never been to China, my experience is limited to Japan. In conclusion, with such intense flavors, I wonder if the quality of the ingredients plays a significant role in Sichuan cuisine. This particular restaurant is located in Ikebukuro's old North Exit area, next to the recently opened Don Quijote building. The lunch set includes the "Water-cooked Beef" and skewers of lamb and beef tripe. The water-cooked beef, a dish I have been enjoying lately, is not as spicy as it looks, with a flavor similar to chili oil. The overall taste is lacking in depth, with a strong presence of minced raw garlic. The skewers were decent, but the self-service dishes, such as cabbage and dumplings, were cold and unappealing. The clientele at the restaurant during lunchtime seemed to match my observations. The lunch may not reflect the quality of the dishes served in the evening, but it offers a cheaper option for diners. The self-service style allows for a hearty meal, but the quality of the ingredients may vary. It ultimately depends on personal preferences when choosing a restaurant. Overall, it's a common conclusion that finding the right restaurant that suits your taste can be a journey of trial and error.

During lunchtime, I was looking for a meal that would warm me up, so I checked the lunch menu in front of Shikikou Honkan and Shikikou Shinkan. I came across a delicious-looking menu item called "Szechuan-style boiled beef" and decided to try it out at Sancho. The entrance was a bit hard to find, but if you go down the passageway next to Shikikou Honkan and continue towards the back, there is an elevator on the left side in a blind spot. Take the elevator to the 4th floor. When you get off the elevator, there is a warehouse-like area on the right, but the entrance with automatic doors is on the left wall. I feel like I've made a similar comment before when I visited another restaurant that was located here. As I entered the restaurant, I was greeted with a warm "Irasshaimase" in fluent Japanese, which put me at ease. The lighting was not very bright, giving the interior a mysterious atmosphere with pillars serving as displays. Some may not like this kind of darkness, but it allows you to relax and unwind. While the staff spoke Japanese fluently, the voices inside the restaurant were mainly in Chinese on that day. Soon enough, the Szechuan-style boiled beef arrived. Rice, boiled egg, vegetables, and more were self-service at the counter. The portion of meat was generous, and the spiciness was just right, not overly infused into the ingredients. The amount of chopped chili peppers was plentiful, and the Szechuan peppercorns added a delicious touch to the hot pot. As I was eating, the staff brought me a complimentary pan-fried dumpling, which was filled with plenty of delicious ingredients. I would definitely like to visit again.

The white fish stir-fry with pickled vegetables (780 yen), black vinegar sweet and sour pork (780 yen), oolong highball (300 yen), soft-boiled seasoned egg, onion rice cake, tomato soup, spicy dried tofu salad, spicy steamed cabbage, shredded cabbage salad, almond jelly, and unlimited white rice all for just 780 yen including tax is amazing! The soft-boiled seasoned egg is fantastic and I could eat as many as I want. I couldn't help but order some alcohol too. The enoki mushroom, glass noodles, scallions, and pickled vegetables are plentiful, and there is a generous amount of white fish! The white fish is firm yet melts on the tongue. The pepper adds a kick, but the rich flavor is addictive. I can't stop drinking the soup! The sweet and sour pork is also of high quality, not too sweet or sour, just the right balance of flavors. It's juicy and tender without any greasiness.

Upon entering the Chinese restaurant "Go to eat" for the first time, located on the fourth floor of a building with different Chinese restaurants on the first and second floors, I was greeted by a lively atmosphere. The place was bustling with a few standing customers, and almost all seats were occupied. I informed the staff of my reservation, time, and that I was dining alone. They checked my name on a list and confirmed in Japanese if it was okay. Despite having a reservation, there seemed to be no available seats. They offered a two-person seat, but since there was a small separate area near the entrance with about five seats, I negotiated to wait there. I ordered an iced oolong tea, saliva chicken, and egg fried rice. I didn't plan on staying long, so I opted for simple dishes. Eventually, other seats became available, but I decided to stay in the initial spot. One of the staff members apologized multiple times, and the person who brought the iced oolong tea even squatted down to apologize. The iced oolong tea arrived relatively quickly, followed by the saliva chicken, which had a generous portion and a vibrant red color. It looked delicious and appetizing, with cucumber at the bottom to soothe the tingling sensation from the spiciness. The chicken included various parts, each with its own unique taste, and the numbing sensation from the Sichuan peppercorns lingered. Despite not being a fan of spicy food, I found myself enjoying it and finished the dish with satisfaction. Next, I ordered the egg fried rice, expecting a large portion as it was not spicy. However, I had to wait for about 75 minutes for it to be served, which was quite puzzling. The restaurant wasn't very crowded at that time, so I wondered if they had gone to buy eggs. Nevertheless, after a couple of reminders, they finally brought a complimentary dessert of cherry tomatoes in mint syrup. I would have preferred to enjoy it after the egg fried rice, but I was too hungry and ate it immediately. The dessert turned out to be excellent, and I was surprised by the Sichuan twist on cherry tomatoes. I ordered another iced oolong tea to accompany the meal, but even after waiting patiently, it took a while to arrive. Finally, the egg fried rice arrived, as anticipated, with a generous portion and a perfect balance of flavor. It was light and fluffy, and I polished it off quickly. The receptionist (in the Chinese restaurant style, only responsible for reception) was attentive and suggested having desserts during the payment. They apologized for the long wait, which was around 45 minutes, but it felt more like 75 minutes. The kindness shown was not just superficial, and even the staff member who brought the iced oolong tea had a sense of goodwill and openness. Their Japanese was polite and fluent, making me want to learn from them. I later remembered that there were others who had similar impressions. It was like encountering the generous nature of Tibetan people in Ladakh, India, which used to be part of Sichuan. Despite a series of troubles and a total stay of about two and a half hours, I couldn't help but laugh at the end. The menu seemed to focus mainly on Sichuan cuisine, with many unfamiliar dishes and a variety of challenges. I hesitated to try them as the photos of the dishes looked very red and extremely spicy. It was quite impressive that they only served Sichuan cuisine. The portions seemed generous, and there were apparently cost-effective set menus for groups. I heard there might be karaoke, and they also offered regular dishes not available on the evening menu. **Additional note: I found the photo of the fried rice and the menu! Thank you for the meal.

I used to go to the Ueno branch and it was great, but the Ikebukuro branch had a completely different atmosphere. The food was delicious!

I was told that the wait time on weekends is about an hour and a half, so it seems to be a popular restaurant. The food was tasty, reasonably priced, and average. I would like to try their specialty grilled fish dish next time.

A great choice when you want to eat something spicy! Enjoy it like you're at a bar.

The beef stir-fry and fried corn were delicious.