Hurry up for hiyashi chuka with little time left!
Three carefully selected stores in Tokyo are revealed at once!

In my opinion, there is no food that has been treated as poorly as hiyashi chuka. This is because most of the time, it's just made to look that way, and it's made in a somewhat ordinary way. Compared to the perfection of regular ramen, hiyashi chuka is mediocre.

Noodles are placed in soy sauce or sesame sauce, cucumber, roasted ham (or roast ham), and thinly sliced ​​omelet are placed on top, along with bean sprouts, tomatoes, and pickled ginger on top. be. Or, even though I have listed 13 items, the taste of liver and kidneys is not good.

However, in order to cool down in the summer, Japanese people like to eat somen noodles, soba noodles, and hiyashi chuka, even if it's from a convenience store. Yes, especially when it's fucking hot like this year. That's why I've been looking for a proper set-up.

This is a famous Chinese soba restaurant.
There's no way that "chilled Chinese noodles" can be bad!

It's a famous Chinese soba restaurant that won't let you down. For me, Ogikubo is far from my living area, but I don't know how many times I've been there. What I always order is ``Chinese soba'' with a large amount of seasoned eggs, or ``Wonton noodles'' with a large amount of seasoned eggs. That's right, there aren't many noodles in the normal portion here (is that an excuse?).

The shop owner is very stubborn. Every morning, I make noodles and cook soup. Have all employees taste the food to make sure it's okay. There aren't many stores like that.

That's why I thought that the summer-only ``hiyashi chuka soba'' couldn't be a bad idea, so I tried it for the first time. It was delicious. The ingredients are cucumber, onion slices, shredded chargrilled pork sprinkled with green onions, shredded egg, one cherry tomato, and meat miso (personally, I don't think tomatoes are needed in hiyashi chuka, but I guess it's for color).

Homemade noodles are the star!
Exquisite balance of bonito scented soy sauce sauce mixed with noodles

What's amazing about it is that it's homemade noodles. I remove the slime from the noodles boiled in the large pot in front of me and cover them with ice. The medium-thick noodles are extremely elastic. It's cool enough to have a good taste, and when you bite into it, it's crunchy and delicious (it's more chewy than warm noodles). The star of the dish is definitely the noodles.

The bonito-scented soy sauce sauce has a perfect balance of not being too sweet or sour. You can go all the way to the end just by eating it with the sauce, so just eat it with whatever ingredients you like when you feel like it. Among the ingredients, the powerful meat miso may be the best. The ``Tsukemen'' that the people around me were eating was also quite simple and looked delicious (it was a very hot day with a temperature of 37 degrees, but half of the customers were eating hot Chinese noodles! I understand the feeling).

What's great about this store is that it opens at 11am and stays open until it closes at 21pm. There aren't many popular ramen restaurants like that. So, as long as you schedule your time, you won't have to worry about not being able to eat even though you came all the way. I think this is a store with a great spirit of caring for its customers. Appare.

Ogikubo Chinese Soba Harukiya

1-4-6 Kamiogi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo
03－3391-4868

Opening hours: 11: 00 to 21: 00
Closed holiday: irregular holiday

Chilled Chinese noodles 1050 yen
Tsukemen 1000 yen
Chinese noodles 900 yen

Overturning the concept of hiyashi chuka
What is “chilled salt ramen”?

It is read as "Rahamen Yaman." At this restaurant, ramen is called ``Ramen''. For some reason, the owner, who is into reggae, has hung a Jamaican flag in front of his store. "Yaman" is Jamaican Patois and means "How are you?"

The soy sauce-flavored ``ramen'' and ``shio-ra'' are of course exquisite, and I have eaten them many times. The crisp, hand-made noodles are amazing, but the neutral soup has a layered flavor that's even more amazing. Only during the hot season (until mid-September), ``chilled salt ramen'' is available (I couldn't find any signage for it in the store). This is a far cry from the image of hiyashi chuka that has existed in the world up until now.

High degree of perfection as ramen
``Chilled salt ramen'' with soul

First, the ingredients are boiled chicken breast, boiled egg, and boiled eggplant. The chicken soup is cold, of course, and contains finely charred green onions, perilla, pickled plums, and white green onions. The noodles are homemade, medium-thick, straight, and smooth. It is on a different level from the typical hiyashi chuka served on a flat plate. In other words, it is a completely new creation. If boiled chicken is good, then boiled eggplant is excellent. I want about 3 more pieces.

The detailed work that went into the soup, especially the perilla and pickled plums, added to the overall flavor and brought out the deliciousness. The combination of ingredients is perfect, and the ramen as a whole is by far the most complete. The quality of each item is much better than that of Harukiya. Could the owner be a surfer? Judging from his tanned appearance, it doesn't look like he's playing around (maybe it's just prejudice?), but it's outrageous. Not only is he very serious, but he also takes his work very seriously. Put your soul into ramen.

The trend is similar to the ``chilled chicken soba'' of ``Tenjinshita Daiki,'' which a certain gourmet critic listed as the top ``noodles to eat in summer.'' The hot ``Chicken Soba'' at ``Daiki'' is a masterpiece, and is one of my favorite ramen dishes in Tokyo. However, the noodles in the ``chilled chicken soba'' are lumpy and the soup is like gelatin, so it doesn't go down your throat easily. Boiled eggplant is very delicious, but you might not need tomatoes, thinly sliced ​​cucumber, and green onions. I think Yaman's homemade slippery noodles taste better chilled and have a much higher level of perfection as a whole, so if I had to choose among the same trends, Yaman would be the winner (of course) (The passion that Daiki puts into ramen is still a subject of respect.)

People call it a reggae store.
Customer-oriented ramen shop “Yaman”

``Yaman'' only has one assistant, a young An-chan, and the rest is made by the reggae shop owner who puts his heart and soul into the production. In the case of regular soy sauce and salt, medium (280g) and large (320g) servings are free, and the price is less than XNUMX yen. Since it's non-chemical, the cost of materials shouldn't be ridiculous either. These days, there aren't many store owners with this kind of customer-oriented and high-spirited spirit. As expected from a man who loves Bob Marley! I have nothing but respect for you, reggae guy!

Rahmen Yahman

22-1 Sakaemachi, Nerima-ku, Tokyo
03-3557-0703

Business hours: 11:30-16:00, 18:00-21:00
Closed: Thursday

Chilled salt rahamen 1100 yen
Ramen 780 yen
Salt etc. 820 yen

New wave Chinese food on the rise
``Chilled green onion soba'' from ``Toriya''

The last one I'd like to mention is a famous restaurant that has already become a buzz in some circles over the past few years, so many of you may already know about it. This is also a departure from traditional hiyashi chuka.

What's unique about this dish is the ingredients. It's elegant that it's just thinly sliced ​​cucumbers, roasted pork belly, and white onions sprinkled with a large amount of spiciness. When you remove the green onions, a considerable amount of curly, thin noodles are revealed, but the sauce is on the bottom layer. Everyone mixes noodles with white onions and eats them with sauce. The sauce had just the right amount of sweetness and sourness, and the slightly spicy flavor was probably due to the sesame oil.

The noodles are very normal thin noodles made by an outside vendor, but they are easy to eat and go well with this style. The presence of cucumber and roasted pork doesn't matter, and it's almost like eating it with white onions. The white onions are soaked in water, so they stay crispy (I was able to add more green onions before). I see, this is a bit addictive. I can understand that there are addicts. As you continue to eat it, it might be a good idea to add vinegar, chili oil, and black pepper to change the taste.

Excellent queue!
Bring a parasol and let's go!

I went there for lunch, and to my surprise, about 20 people in the restaurant were enthusiastically eating the ``chilled green onion soba.'' Even though it's a Chinese restaurant in town, not a single person orders a fried levanilla set meal. It might be a strange sight. Please be prepared for a line. Since you'll be waiting under the scorching sun, it might be a good idea for men to bring a parasol as well.

chicken house

3-9-9 Aobadai, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
03-3463-5365

Business hours: 11:15-14:30, 17:00-20:30
Closed: Sundays, holidays

Chilled green onion soba 1050 yen
Ramen 700 yen

What does "If you don't eat this, your life is ruined" mean?

When he hears something delicious, he rushes east and west to eat it all. Rumor has it that he might be the Brillat-Savarin of Reiwa, or even the return of Furukawa Roppa. Bassey is an editor with over 40 years of food-loving experience. A heart-wrenching gourmet essay.

*Please be sure to check each store's business days/hours and prices as they may change.

Author profile

Bassey is a foodie who has been eating around for over 40 years. In addition to Japan, he regularly goes to Hong Kong to eat Chinese food at his own expense, and also travels to Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok, and Seoul for delicious food. During his time as the editor-in-chief of a travel magazine, he visited many Michelin-rated restaurants around the world, especially in Europe, and later on in the World's Best 50 restaurants. We want everyone who loves food to try ``Crab Miso Bean Paste Noodles'' from ``Tenkorou'' (Hong Kong). Actually, I like the Chinese food at this restaurant the best in the world. Another example of the best Western food is "El Seger de Can Roca" from Girona, Spain, which was ranked number one on the World's Best 50 list. Ah, I want to go there again.