Here are the top 4 dim sum lunches in Tokyo!

The best dim sum lunch in Tokyo chosen by foodie editor Bassy is the "Izen Shichifuku Sakaya" in Shinbashi, which we introduced last time. This time, we will introduce three more recommended restaurants at once.

Click here to see why Bassy gives his stamp of approval as Tokyo's No. 1 ➡Not to be outdone by Hong Kong! The dim sum lunch at "Iezen Shichifuku Shuka" in Shinbashi, Tokyo is so blissful!

"Family Treasure: Jumping Dragon Gate"
The "Izen Shichifuku" are brothers.Top quality dim sum awaits

The head chef of "Iebo Toryumon" is the former head chef of Fukurinmon. Therefore, they are from the same school as "Iezen Shichifuku Shuka" that I introduced last time, and are like brothers.

So, let me say this in advance: this restaurant is also at an exceptional level. In fact, I would say that our restaurant and Izen Shichifuku are the best.

First, choose your tea. The variety of teas in this shop is quite impressive. It's just like the days of Fuk Lam Mon. The dim sum culture that remains in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province seems to have been lost in Japan.

Originally, it was called "yum cha," so tea is more important than dim sum. However, in recent years, Hong Kong people have been munching on dim sum to the exclusion of tea, so I follow that stance too (laughs).

Today I had Taiwanese Dongding Oolong tea. Even though it is a fermented tea, it has a refreshing aroma and a light taste. It's delicious.

As usual, the "Steamed Shrimp Dumplings" were excellent, with a delicious skin, bouncy shrimp, and a delicious filling. This is what the best quality in Hong Kong is like. As with Iezen Shichifuku, it's great that they start wrapping the dumplings after receiving an order.

"Daikon mochiyaki" is very delicious. Two pieces are served per serving, one with daikon and finely chopped sausage, the other with daikon and small dried shrimp, which is a little different in taste. The outside is crispy, while the daikon inside is soft and sweet. Here you can enjoy the pleasure of tasting both hard and soft at the same time. It's something you won't find anywhere else.

I also ordered the "Kamayaki Char Siu". This is also a good match with Izen Shichifuku. It's overflowing with pork flavor. However, this one has more pork fat. If there's any difference in whether you like it or not, it's only the fat. The difference may be whether they use rib roast or loin. It's hard to say which is better compared to Izen Shichifuku's, which is mostly lean meat.

For the final dish, I tried the chef's recommended "Stewed Ifumen." The yellow egg noodles are flat and wide. The toppings are yellow chives, bean sprouts, mushrooms and shimeji mushrooms.

The ingredients are fried and then combined with boiled noodles, with Chinese soy sauce (lao chuo) and oyster sauce as the main seasonings. This is the specialty of this restaurant, so I tried it. The soft noodles are without sauce, and the noodles themselves absorb the sauce well, making them delicious. The crispy yellow chives, bean sprouts, and shimeji mushrooms add to the flavor. Personally, I prefer the fried "Hong Kong Yakisoba."

This restaurant has a wide variety of menu items, reminiscent of Hong Kong's Fook Lam Mun and Ya Quan Chi Fook. Although I didn't try them, there were appetizers that actively used truffles and caviar, and I thought it was interesting that they were quite adventurous.

There are several lunch courses available, so if you want to sample some of the restaurant's specialties from lunchtime, you might find it more enjoyable than ordering a la carte.

There are some eye-popping, high-priced single-item menu items (dried abalone, shark fin, fish (croaker) maw, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, etc.). They are quite expensive compared to Hong Kong (the yen is weak these days so they may be about the same), but the taste should be almost the same.

"Akasaka Palace"
It didn't come from Hong Kong, it originated in Japan.The most powerful store

I once ate at the "Akasaka Rikyu Ginza Branch" a la carte restaurant, where I chose only the best dishes, and they were very, very delicious. Moreover, I felt that the price was not too high for the quality of the food. I think they could do this in Hong Kong.

There was a time when the head chef of Akasaka Palace was the famous Chou Futoku (how nostalgic!), but after he went independent, he was often featured in weekly magazines (lol). As an aside, the reason this restaurant has such a high reputation is because the owner and chef, Tan Hikoaki, has raised it to the level it is today.

This time, I went to the main store in Akasaka. Since TBS and Hakuhodo are nearby, it may be fully booked depending on the day. You can make a reservation by phone even if you're alone, so that's the safest option.

There are nine types of tea. I chose my favorite Taiwanese Alishan high mountain tea. It has a very refreshing and clear taste.

Of course, you can order dim sum individually, but there is a "Weekday Dim Sum" course for lunch, so I went for that. The dim sum includes two kinds of steamed dim sum, two kinds of fried dim sum, and Xiaolongbao.

First up was the "Steamed Shrimp Dumplings" and "Shrimp Shumai with Flying Fish Roe". The shrimp was plump and plump, and both were just as delicious.

The fried foods are "age mochi" (fried rice cakes) and "daikon radish pie." This is the more surprising one. The inside of the age mochi is meat paste or shiitake mushrooms, and since it's called mochi, the outside is that, but when you eat it with the fillings, you'll be amazed at how tasty it is. The daikon radish pie is made by wrapping the non-mochi parts of daikon radish mochi in a pie crust and deep frying it. The folds are really beautiful. The crunchiness of this pie is truly wonderful. It's no wonder it's called the executive chef's specialty.

Just as I was getting excited about how amazing this was, the "Shanghai Soup Xiaolongbao" put me off a little. First of all, the folds were not wrapped properly. Shouldn't they have been neatly wrapped in 12 spirals? It seems that they were steamed a little too long, so the folds collapsed, and the bottom was stuck to the metal fittings, so it broke when I picked it up. This is a failure. It's no good if it breaks.

Well, maybe the person who made the dim sum that day was bad, or maybe the metal tray was no good. If it was going to break, I think they should have put some Chinese cabbage on it.

Garlic stir-fried vegetables are served, and at the end you can choose one of the following: "meat buns," "rice wrapped in lotus leaves," or "shrimp and dried scallop porridge." Few Japanese people choose porridge. Japanese people almost never order porridge, but this is easy on the stomach, so I highly recommend it.

The porridge here is extremely delicious. It has a delicious chicken broth flavor, a few shredded scallops, and about 10 small shrimps. The rice is simmered until it becomes very soft. This has brought me back to normal.

After all, Akasaka Rikyu is also known for its menu using high-quality ingredients such as dried foods, so I recommend coming with a large group to try those dishes. They even have a whole roasted suckling pig for 72600 yen!

"Yaumei"
Good location, good service.The taste is not the best, but the atmosphere is

The ceiling is high, and the young staff are brisk and cheerful. There are many foreign staff, so it feels like you've been transported to Hong Kong or Singapore. Everyone is kind and efficient, and it's a very pleasant store.

First of all, I chose this restaurant from the perspective of the overall atmosphere and service, rather than the taste. Therefore, in terms of taste, among the restaurants I introduced, there is an inequality that goes as follows: Kazen Shichifuku ≧ Tiao Longmen > Akasaka Rikyu > Yau Mei. In terms of taste alone, Tim Ho Wan may be better than Yau Mei.

Yau Mei is produced by Alan Yau, a restaurant creator active in London and elsewhere. He's really good at creating restaurants.

The lunchtime dim sum is famous, and they have 24 kinds of tea. I chose the less fermented Tieguanyin (Anxi Tieguanyin Clear Fragrance). It was fragrant and refreshing, and quite good.

I went in alone. The floor manager, a guy in a black suit, was excellent at serving customers. He told me, "We have three kinds of dim sum," so I chose the three-piece set of "steamed shrimp dumplings," "scallop shumai," and "steamed pea sprout and shrimp dumplings," and the usual "radish mochi."

Unusually, three kinds of dipping sauce were served. In Hong Kong, dipping sauce is almost never served. There is no soy sauce, vinegar, or mustard. At most, there is doubanjiang (which means the dim sum is already seasoned).

But this restaurant is elaborate. They use Hokkaido salmon fish sauce and sesame oil, homemade XO sauce-based chili sauce, and doubanjiang-based chili sauce. All three are delicious. The doubanjiang one in particular has a deep flavor. This kind of approach might be good for Japanese and Westerners.

The shrimp steamed dumplings had a deep flavor with a pudding-like shrimp taste. The scallop shumai had a nice crunchy flying fish roe on top and a firm scallop. The pea sprout and shrimp steamed dumplings were nothing special.

Next, the "Daikon mochi" was, well, just ordinary. The inside was mushy, and I think it would be better if the surface was crispier. The quality of the dim sum is not comparable to the previous two places.

I left the dim sum here and ordered "Stir-fried Cantonese cabbage with garlic". Chinese people love the crunchy stems. There are practically no green leaves. The salt and garlic flavor keeps it crunchy, which is what I like. But it gets boring, so it's delicious when you dip it in one of the three sauces mentioned earlier. It goes especially well with the chili bean sauce. The amount of food itself is a bit stingy though (lol).

The final dish is "Porridge with Century Egg and Pork." I'm a sucker for Chinese porridge. Well, most restaurants can't go wrong with it. The abalone porridge is pretty good, but I also really like the pork and century egg porridge. The stock is made from chicken, and the chicken is nicely torn apart and mixed in with the finely chopped pork, finely chopped century egg, and shredded ginger for a nice spiciness. I think it would be even better if the rice was simmered a little longer, though.

It's good to come with a large group and share the expensive menu. The alcohol selection is very substantial. The price includes the rent and labor costs, so it feels quite expensive. The portions are small. Maybe it's a place for people who don't mind such things.

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.