Chef’s

A petite Chinese restaurant with a nice bistro like feel.
There is a stigma that a good Chinese restaurant is either really dirty or really high-​end. There are some scary looking Chinese restaurants near Ikebukuro that is popular with seekers of cheap but delicious eats. On the other end, go to one of the premium hotels in Japan and you will find an expensive Chinese restaurant serving shark’s fin.
Chef’s is a really good compromise between the two ends. You get really good quality food in a small bistro like atmosphere with excellent service. Cost per person is under 10,000 Yen.
WHAT TO ORDER: During the Shanghai Crab season, that is what most people have. Note that things do get more costly than norm, around 20,000 Yen per person. I am not a huge fan of these hard to eat Shanghai Crabs, so I ordered their specialty, which includes black vinegar deep fried pork. It was delicious. I also tried their marinated red bell pepper dish, which I wasn’t too impressed by. We shared several other interesting dishes (I forgot the name of these dishes), but all were very good.
BEER: Beer on draft is Kirin 700 Yen.
RESERVATION: My understanding is that reservation is difficult to get during the Shanghai crab season. Make sure you go here with a reservation as there are only about 20 seats.
SMOKING: Completely non-​smoking.