Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan｜中華料理 山居自在

My wife and I were hesitant to eat here since we didn’t want to eat Chinese food in Japan but we were so happy we tried this place out. The flavor of the food was definitely a must try. It’s slightly different from the Chinese food I usually eat in San Francisco but in a good way. We got there around 6:30PM on a Saturday night (1 out of the 4 restaurants still opened in the area) and we got there right before two other tables. Please be warned that even though we were the 3rd table, they make their food table by table, in the order people come in and there’s only 1 chef who cooks the food and another person who preps the food. It might take some time to get your food depending on when people come in so be warned on the wait.

We had a fantastic meal at this small and warm restaurant. Started out with Omeshu. The plums were produced locally. Because the skin is thin, it can’t be transported elsewhere — Which means you can’t find it elsewhere. The mapo tofu is sooo good. We ordered one more rice to go with it. The pork is very tender too. Lastly, the seafood soup is a great wrap-up. Warm soup in the cold weather make the stomach so happy!

Was looking dinner in this quiet town of MotoHakone when I came across this Chinese restaurant. The owner was friendly enough to come out and greeted me. Owner is from China and settled down in Hakone, skilled in Sichuan cuisine so I ordered Sichuan noodle and it tasted really good (not for those who can't take spicy food). The owner is a hobbyist photographer and all the photos decorated on the wall are taken by him. He also provide guesthouse upstairs for travelers, will need to contact him directly to enquire. (not listed in any booking website as he runs the guesthouse business casually).