A geyser of crispy noodles, seeming to erupt out of the bowl, leaves customers in fits of laughter.

The western region of Kanagawa Prefecture has brought us many surprises when it comes to restaurants: from a mountain of karaage fried chicken for your birthday to all-you-can-eat sashimi. Recently, whispers of a Chinese restaurant with a great atmosphere that’s frequently visited by celebrities reached the ears of our Japanese-language reporter Takuya Inaba.

The word out on the street was that among its plentiful lineup of dishes there is a dish which makes everyone burst out into laughter upon seeing it. Perplexed about how such a thing could be possible, Takuya summoned up four of his friends and set out to investigate.

The restaurant, Shikinjo, is located in the city of Hadano. From the closest rail stop, Hadano Station, it’s a 30-minute walk to the restaurant, but you can save yourself the steps with a roughly 10-minute bus ride from the Hadano Station Minamiguchi bus stop (located right outside the south exit of Hadano Station) to the Minamigaoka Higashi stop, which is just a block away from Shikinjo.

Stepping into the restaurant, Takuya noticed it had a spacious dining area with plenty of tables and an interior that almost made him feel as if he had been teleported to China.

Takuya and his friends arrived around 6:00 p.m., half an hour after the restaurant had opened, and customer were streaming in one after another; a testament to the place’s popularity. When the group opened up the menu, their eyes popped out of their sockets at the sheer number of dishes available to order: a whopping 194 items were listed on the menu, and all of them sounded delicious.

With so much on offer, they decided to order whatever caught their eyes, with the first dish being fried stick gyoza dumplings, costing 748 yen (US$4.80).

Each piece was pretty substantial, being around the same size as a spring roll and packed tightly with a meaty filling. They were absolutely fantastic. Naturally, this got them thinking, “What about the actual spring rolls?” These were similarly stuffed to the absolute limit with shrimp and crab, and were definitely well worth the 1,098 yen they cost.

They also ordered the mapo tofu for 1,298 yen.

The seasoning was spot on, making them crave rice from the bottom of their souls. The slowly building heat was utterly irresistible, and this is most certainly a must-order dish.

Next they added the yurinchi (also known as “you lin ji”), Chinese-style fried chicken with a sweet and sour scallion sauce. The amount that was served up was well worth the 1,089 yen price tag, and was both juicy and full of flavor.

Chatting a little with the staff, the group learned that the golden fried rice, for 1,012 yen, is also extremely popular, so they decided to get that too. They were introduced to an exquisite fried rice with perfectly loose grains that highlight the rich aroma of egg. Despite the simple seasoning, it was impossible to stop eating: a truly artisan-level dish.

Having eaten so much, they were feeling completely stuffed. Takuya sat back feeling that he could probably squeeze in one more dish. He let his eyes roam over a menu posted on the wall, thinking to himself that a noodle dish could be nice…when suddenly a thought popped into his head:

“Ah! I forgot the whole reason for coming here in the first place!”

The purpose of the visit was the rumored dish that makes you laugh when you see it: the Gomoku Ankake Katayakisoba, priced at 1,408 yen. Just from the name, nothing screamed out that the noodles had comedic potential: “gomoku” being a mixture of minced vegetables, meat, and fish, “ankake” a food covered in a thick, starchy sauce, and “katayakisoba” crispy noodles.

Eager to find out what was so humorous, Takuya placed the order, and after a while, what they brought out was…

“What on earth is this?!”

The entire group burst out into fits of laughter. “Is that… a fountain? Of noodles?” wondered Takuya as a gigantic bowl full of thick sauce was placed on the table, and in the center of that sauce were crispy noodles jutting upward just like a fountain.

While every dish up to this point had been impressively large, this dish was on a different scale altogether. It was so huge that they just couldn’t help but laugh.

When Takuya finally managed to calm himself enough to look at the dish calmly, he noticed that the amount served was easily enough for four to five people, which is simply amazing to think about when considering the price.

All of the members of the group were pretty close to being full, but the seasoning was sublime, so they felt pretty confident that they’d be able to finish it.

Even so, the portion was huge enough that Takuya was glad that he had invited his friends to join him.

When they finally polished off the dish, they all looked at each and burst out into laughter again. Truly a dish that lives up to the rumors.

The per-person final cost for the whole meal worked out to be about 1,300 yen, given that there were five of them, which meant that the taste, portion size, and value for money were all amazing. A visit to Shikinjo will leave you with a satisfied tongue and stomach and a relieved wallet, as well as a wide smile on your face.

Restaurant information
Shikinjo / 紫禁城
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Hadano-shi, Nishiodake 707-1
神奈川県秦野市西大竹707-1
Open 11:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m.–11:00 p.m.

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