Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan｜Koryu

If you wish to taste real old-school "Machi-chuka", this "Koryu (光竜 / こうりゅう）" is the one to visit. Machi-chuka style is a Japanese version of Street Chinese foods established after WWII. They typically serve Ramen, Gyoza, Chahan(Flied rice) and several combo dishes so called "Teishoku", such as Niku-Yasai-Teishoku (Flied pork & veggie set). However, those restaurants are now in a verge of extinction because of aging of chefs. This restaurant is not in the case. Koryu is a rare example of a restaurant that preserves the "Mach-chuka" style flavor without modernizing it. Both the ramen and the fried rice have maintained the old standard of deliciousness. They use tons of MSG and it's good thing. People sometime need to have this highly enhanced umami taste. The owner-chef is still young and energetic. He does not challenge creating own recipes or some marketing stuff. Instead, he just maintains old-school Mach-Chuka taste. I think it is trustworthy. The building looks bit old, but the inside is kept clean. That's nice too. No credit cards are accepted. Japanese is the only language spoken here, so if you are worried about communication, get a translation app ready.

A highly rated shop. Closed on Tuesdays. I was curious and came to see it. Opens at 11:30. I arrived a little too early and was sitting far away, but by about 11:25 there was a line of about 5 people waiting for the store to open. Surprised. There are 5 people at the counter and 3 sets of table seats. The owner is the only one doing the cooking, so if you miss the first lot, you'll have to wait a bit. Large order of fried rice (700+50) The serving size is easy to understand, such as ``1 serving + large serving''.The large serving is recommended as it is the best in terms of cost performance. I'm glad that it also comes with a bonus soy sauce soup. Ramen is also cheap at 650 yen. When I looked around, I saw a la carte dishes and rice, mapo bowls, etc. The taste is not unique but homely. The horse tone works well. Contains chopped chashu. It's neither crunchy nor soupy, but somewhere in the middle. This is the only one that's cheap and filling, so if you're full, you won't have any complaints. It's a very conscientious store. Thank you for the meal! It was delicious!

Visited around 12:45 on a holiday in February 2023. There is one customer waiting outside. I was lucky that it was less than I expected, but after about 10 minutes of connecting, I was guided to a counter seat inside the store. I ordered a yakiniku bowl for 700 yen and a mini ramen for 500 yen for a total of 1,200 yen. After about 12 minutes of waiting, the yakiniku bowl comes first. A brown world jumps in front of me, and I feel a rush of excitement. The smell of burnt sauce wafts through the air, slapping your appetite and waking you up. I can't stand it. Carelessly scoop it up with a spoon. The richness of the pork belly fat and the crunchy sweetness of the onions. The refreshing soy sauce brings everything together. I thought it would have a strong sweet and spicy flavor, but it was mild and quite mellow. However, this is truly exquisite. With one more bite, the rotation of the cuckoos accelerates. Just then, the mini ramen arrives and restores sanity. The soup is low in oil and has a sharp salty taste, giving it a slightly Japanese-style flavor. The rich flavor of seafood remains in your mouth. The thin, curly noodles have a chewy, chewy texture that lifts the soup well. Although it is advertised as mini, it has quite a volume. This bowl and ramen go together wonderfully. The rally doesn't stop. Thank you for the meal with a full stomach. ---------- Visited around 11:40 on a holiday in February 2023. When you enter the store, the fragrant smell of oil tickles your nose. The restaurant is small with 6 counter seats and 3 table seats. Even though it was just before noon, the place was almost full with previous customers, but I was able to slip into one of the empty seats at the counter. This restaurant doesn't have a set menu, so if you want something like that, you order a side dish and rice. This time I ordered 550 yen for stir-fried meat and vegetables and 250 yen for rice for a total of 800 yen. It is served after about 9 minutes of waiting. The first thing that hits you is the aroma of garlic that gets your heart pumping. When you eat it, the aroma of soy sauce is added to it. It has a strong aroma, but the flavor is mild. However, it is not lacking. It may have been designed so that you won't get tired of it even if you keep eating it since there's plenty of it. The vegetables are bean sprouts, cabbage, chives, and carrots. They are cut into small pieces, making them easy to eat and crunchy. The rice was average, but it was a generous amount. Moreover, it feels dense. The large portion my neighbor ordered was a manga portion. Surprisingly, the soup is made with bonito and has a full Japanese flavor. However, this one has a rich flavor and is very delicious. It was a very satisfying Chinese meal. Next time I would like to try the noodles or rice bowl.