DENさん
There are four menus available on the table: 1) Drink menu 2) Set meal + noodles menu 3) Side menu 4) Evening drink set + all-you-can-eat menu. Prices are shown with tax included or excluded, which can be confusing. The evening drink set is 700 yen including tax. Some dishes are priced at 750 yen. The set includes one drink and one dish, and can be ordered multiple times. With bottled beer priced at 600 yen including tax, the food effectively costs only 100 yen. This kind of crazy set is common in the cheap Chinese restaurants around Kinshicho. Set meals start from 650 yen including tax, and many male customers order them after work. Rice and soup can be refilled once for free, and the portion of side dishes is unusually large for the price. Side dishes like half fried rice for 150 yen or half ramen for 200 yen can be ordered only by customers who order set meals. It's questionable if anyone would actually order a side dish with their set meal. This restaurant is unique in that they don't offer individual dishes. If you want to order a single dish, you have to choose a set or opt for the all-you-can-eat option for 3,278 yen including tax. Now, what to order tonight? From the evening drink set, I'll have a bottle of beer with mixed vegetables for 700 yen including tax. The mixed vegetables dish is full of ingredients, with a decent portion for a small plate. It's lightly seasoned and not overpowering, with plenty of shrimp, squid, and my personal favorite, wood ear mushrooms. Next, from the evening drink set, I'll have a 10-year-old Shaoxing wine with oyster beef stir-fry for 750 yen including tax. The Shaoxing wine was a pleasant surprise, served in a proper glass with a generous pour, probably over 200ml. The taste is smooth, befitting of a 10-year-old wine. Most cheap Chinese restaurants in Kinshicho serve a faux 1-go tokkuri, so this was a nice change. The oyster beef stir-fry is generous with the meat and includes green peppers, red peppers, onions, and shimeji mushrooms. The flavor is rich but satisfying. While not exceptional, the value for money is definitely outstanding. When considering the effort of making these dishes at home, this is definitely the cheaper option.