Local activity on ASCII [Series] 300 restaurants in Yokohama Chinatown “Freedom to choose, inconvenience not to choose”

　There are said to be 500 shops in Yokohama Chinatown. About 300 of them are restaurants, most of which are Chinese restaurants. The fact that there are many shops means that you can choose as many as you want. Yokohama Chinatown is paradise when you're hungry.

Then how do you find the store? For starters, let's start choosing a store while eating "baked xiao long bao" while eating and drinking tapioca drinks. You can look at the menu at the store, or you can decide with a friendly touting guy. It's also a good idea to enter the cafe and search for the menu you want to eat.

　Click here for the previous article. [Series] Yokohama Chinatown President ROUROU thinks about "Japanese town" and "Mountain town"

* Click here for past serial articles: Yokohama Chinatown Trend News ~ Deep walks from the local area ~

　Since you've gone all the way to the store, it's also a good idea to ask the cafe staff to secretly tell you about your favorite stores and recommended menus. Many fortune-tellers in Yokohama Chinatown also eat at restaurants here and there, so they are quite well-informed. It is also a place where information from customers is collected.

　As with any town, the best thing to do is to ask people who live or work there about the town. There are many gourmet towns all over Japan, but there aren't many towns with so many options. It may not be a good analogy, but if you were looking for a lover, there would be a line of people of the opposite sex waiting to meet you.

　For those of you who are hungry to eat Chinese food in Yokohama Chinatown, there are 300 options in front of you. . . Where else can you find such a charming environment? "It's like having 300 lover candidates with different personalities, isn't it?" "How do you like it (laughs)?"

　In addition, in Yokohama Chinatown, you can choose different shops according to your needs, budget, who you are with, when and for what purpose. For example, it may be used by families. It could be a regular meal or someone's celebration. Also, you may use it on a date. Sometimes you want to look cool, and sometimes you want to go to a busy restaurant and sit next to each other for a meal to get closer. You may have a corporate relationship. There are times when I take my juniors with me, and there are times when my boss asks me to look for a store. There will be legal affairs and class reunions. There will also be seminars with meals that hundreds of people gather.

Frankly speaking, I can assure you that Yokohama Chinatown can meet all these needs (laughs)! If you're having trouble finding somewhere to go, just come to Yokohama Chinatown and you'll be able to enjoy it with anyone in any situation.

　On the other hand, however, there is also the problem that "there are too many shops and I don't know which one to enter".

　In such a case, please ask me! ! (smile)

　Actually, I not only consult with the media about where to interview, but also help my friends and acquaintances in choosing stores that meet their needs. Recently, I was contacted by a completely unknown person who heard rumors about me, and I even asked for advice (of course, I don't charge a consultation fee, it's free).

　Even from the side of the store that is waiting for customers, they want their store to be found, but there is also the problem that it is difficult for them to find it. The shops on Chinatown Boulevard and long-established shops have an advantage in that respect. Also, it is easy to find shops that have been featured in the media in the past.

　It's interesting, when planning a special feature on Yokohama Chinatown for TV programs and magazines, we research past programs and articles while creating programs and magazines, so once it's picked up, it's the same thing over and over again. A phenomenon occurs in which shops and menus are taken up. Most of them do not have the time or budget to search by foot. That's why only the same stores are exposed to the media. However, there are many hidden famous restaurants with extremely delicious menus that have never appeared in the media.

　As the Yokohama Chinatown Development Cooperative, which I belong to, I would like to shine a light on such shops. Nobumasa Takahashi, the chairman of the union, often uses the expression "lighting up a corner." From our point of view, it's a store that's serious about running a store, but it's a store in a corner that no one pays attention to. I want to shine a light on shops that have not been hit until now, and I want customers to know about them.

　In Yokohama Chinatown, there are 300 restaurants alone, so it would take nearly a year to go from door to door. Furthermore, it is said that 2/3 of the stores will be replaced in 5 years, so it will be difficult to visit all the stores.

　I think you'll know what kind of store it is once you go there. But you can't visit every store and interview them. You can't get a good image of a restaurant just by looking at gourmet sites or search sites. Before you go, wouldn't you like to see what kind of menus are served in the store and what kind of owner thinks about running the store before you go?

Yes! "For those of you who are like that, we interviewed each house!" ! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-HbC1DplCuXaQ-zlwUUvFw

　At a time when customers disappeared from the city due to the corona crisis, the directors used their free time to say, "There's no point in looking down. Let's all work together to do what we can do now." We split up and interviewed almost all the shops (this was really hard, sweat).

Before you go to Yokohama Chinatown, please take a look! ! In addition, the official website of Chinatown also has videos of film festivals and events. Please subscribe to our channel! !

　I also appear like this.

　Now then, let's wait for the #boss meal corner.

　Since I introduced the store above, please introduce your own store once in a while!

"ROUROU Cafe" Singapore chicken rice (1,230 yen with drink, tax included).

Jasmine rice is cooked in chicken soup made by boiling domestic chicken thighs marinated overnight in garlic and ginger. You can enjoy boiled chicken together while enjoying "taste change" with 4 sauces.

　The soup that comes with the set is really delicious. It is a popular menu that receives orders for 10 or more meals when there are many. Actually, I used to live in Singapore when I was little. I reproduced the taste that I ate at the stall on the way home from school.

　Please come to "ROUROU Cafe" as well!

◆Store data Store name: ROUROU Cafe Address: 130-12 Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama Phone: 045-650-5466 Business hours: 12:00-18:00 (LO 17:30) Closed: None *12/31 (Friday) and January 1, 2022 (holiday) are closed

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Text / Yoichiro Ishikawa

Yoichirou Ishikawa. Born in 1972. Rouro Japan Co., Ltd. Representative Director and General Producer. Managing Director of Yokohama Chinatown Development Association. Born in Chigasaki, lives in Yokohama. Spent his childhood in Singapore. His hobbies are systema and bonfires.