The variety show "Human Gourmet Entry: Surprisingly Delicious Restaurants" (Chukyo TV/Nippon TV Network, Tuesdays at 7 PM) introduces restaurants that defy expectations. On May 26th, the show will feature a local Chinese restaurant in Chiba City run by three generations of the same family.
Established 43 years ago, their "Ramen" features thin, curly noodles served with a bonito-based sauce combined with a pork and chicken bone-based ramen broth, topped with homemade bamboo shoots seasoned with sesame oil and seaweed. It comes with two small side dishes and costs a bargain price of 500 yen. Other menu items include "Gomoku Ankake Yakisoba" (900 yen), which is topped with many ingredients such as pork, ham, Chinese cabbage, and bamboo shoots, and "Negi Chashu Chahan" (750 yen), which features shredded green onions and homemade chashu pork. The menu has about 60 items in total.
The energetic 80-year-old owner still delivers food by motorcycle, and his son, the second generation to take over, and his granddaughter, a fourth-grader, also help out at the shop. The granddaughter, who is in charge of not only serving customers but also setting up and updating the shop's website, recommends the "Tori-san Omurice" (850 yen). When an order is placed, she gets excited and draws the shop's character in ketchup herself. Customers rave about the taste, saying, "It has elements of fried rice, and the rice is fluffy. It's addictive."
The restaurant, currently run by three generations of the family, almost closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the granddaughter encouraged her father, saying, "We have to keep the restaurant going," which allowed it to stay open. The granddaughter's dream of "increasing the number of customers and making the restaurant popular" is what sustains this long-established Chinese restaurant.
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Just a three-minute drive from the same restaurant is "Oshokujidokoro Washamon." Despite its suspicious-looking exterior, this restaurant has become a hot topic for its meticulously prepared dishes and service that is guaranteed to result in a loss, and this is the second time we've followed it closely. The day after the first broadcast, when the film crew went to the restaurant, the owner looked bewildered and said, "We don't have any curry today." In fact, customers had flocked to the restaurant immediately after the broadcast, and they had run out of a whopping 2 sho (20 go) of rice.
Furthermore, on this day as well, the line never ended from opening time, and accidents occurred one after another. They were forced to dash to a nearby convenience store, which they call their "warehouse." Moreover, on the weekend of the week the show aired, customers came from as far away as Tokyo and Tochigi, creating huge lines. Sales, which they say are "like night and day" compared to before the broadcast, have increased several times over.
The show's MC is entertainer Hiromi, and the host is Eiji Kotoge of the comedy trio "Viking". Guests include Ken Horiuchi of the comedy trio "Neptune", freelance announcer Reina Sumi, and Hayato Komori of the popular group "GENERATIONS".
