After our visit to the temple and shrine, we caught the subway back to Shibuya and joined Yuma’s parents. They were in Tokyo visiting Yuma and his sister during the holidays. We learned right away that Yuma’s father is a big connoisseur of spicy Chinese food (Szechuan style). That meant we were going to China Town.
Tokyo’s China Town is the biggest China Town in the world, besides China itself, of course. On the way there, Yuma’s father was on line in his iPad looking up and reading the ratings of restaurants that specialized in the spicy foods he loves so much. He loaded up a map when they found one that looked good.
When we got there, we scurried through the narrow, brightly lit streets in search of the restuarant. It had stopped raining, but everything was still damp. There were Chinese performers banging on drums, playing flutes and dancing underneath those big Chinese lion dance costumes. The wet air was full of the most incredible mixture of scents. Street vendors were cooking right there on the street. Steam billowed out of the containers that held pot stickers or other tasty items.
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| Yuma trekking through the streets in search of the restaurant. |
After back tracking a few times, we reached our final destination. We sat down at a circular table and Yuma’s father ordered. For those of you who have been to an authentic Chinese restaurant, you will recognize the set up here. There is always an enormous lazy susan in the middle of the table. When the food comes, it all goes on the lazy susan and everyone has little dishes they fill from the shared food.
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| Karl and I with the delicious food! |
It was soooo good.おいしい！(oishii-delicious)
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| Our party! |
I don’t even remember the last time I had such incredible Chinese food…probably when I was in China a few years ago. My absolute favorite was the gyoza (pot stickers). Just incredible. I think I died and went to Heaven.
We also tried some Chinese sake. It was served at room temperature and you stirring in some sugar to make a bit less painful. It was an experience. We also had some hot Japanese sake. That is some strong stuff.
It was a very fun night-I really look forward to exploring Tokyo's Chinatown again soon!
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| Standing at the entrance to Chinatown |
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