みのり台の新店はおかわり自由で満腹必至。 : Ichinichi Sanshoku Nikujiru Gyouza Sakaba

In the end, I decided to go to a restaurant called ``3 Meals a Day Meat Juice Gyoza / Dumpling'' that opened last month on the site of Minoridai Chinese restaurant ``Kakanai.'' Arrived about 5 minutes before opening time. It said "open for business," so I went in right away. Naturally, I thought I was the first one, but I saw a group of people sitting in the back seats. Business hours don't seem to be strict. I was guided by a staff member and sat comfortably in a box seat in the middle of the store. A spacious and luxurious table seat for one person. As the name suggests, the store's signature product seems to be Gyoza / Dumpling, but since they aren't on the lunch menu, I order the recommended "Fried Chicken and Shrimp Mapo Tofu Set Meal" (950 yen). The menu on Tabelog said it was 980 yen, but that's okay. I don't mind it being cheap. ``We've got shrimp mapo!'' When the order is accepted, a cheerful voice from the kitchen says, ``Thank you, Maasu.'' I thought there was no information about the drink bar, but I was belatedly informed that ``drinks are free.'' Ask for towels and have them brought to you later. Apparently, the trend of providing towels to lunch customers has not yet taken root. There were eight people in front of us, and it looked like a madam's girls' party. An order had just come in, and the clerk said it was "busy." I've only been waiting for 5 minutes, so I decide to wait without worrying. Upbeat J-POP music plays inside the store. The madams come to the drink bar in front of me in order to get drinks. When they saw the curry being brought to their seats, they excitedly exclaimed, ``This curry looks delicious,'' and you could tell they were sharing the curry on plates. After 12.3 minutes of waiting, the food was served, saying, "Sorry to have kept you waiting. Please wait a little longer for the fried chicken." It's quite filling even without the fried chicken, but if you add the fried chicken a few minutes later, it becomes overwhelmingly filling. I was told that I could have any refills of rice and soup, and at this point I felt like I could eat three bowls of rice. For now, I'll start with the salad. Crispy lettuce, cabbage, carrots, mizuna, and creamy dressing. Not bad for balance. The soup was noticeably bland. The ingredients are thinly sliced tender wakame seaweed, eggs, and small green onions. After adding a little soy sauce, the taste improved to some extent. Before eating the mapo tofu, I had a bite of piping hot fried chicken. Yeah, it's delicious. It's freshly fried and crispy, and the soy sauce-based seasoning is nice. Mapo tofu is delicious. It's not too spicy, and the main ingredient is the generous amount of meat. The flavor is centered around the sweetness of the meat, and does not have the depth of so-called Sichuan-style mapo tofu. The tofu is like firm tofu, but it is soft and has a weak presence considering the amount. As you continue to eat, shrimp will gradually come out from inside the bean paste. Probably less than 10 fish in total. Tastes like shrimp chili. Honestly, I thought I didn't need Small dish of cold tofu. It's fine for other dishes, but mapo tofu doesn't require tofu. There are two large pieces of fried chicken, and the mapo tofu is so voluminous that it would be impossible to balance it out unless you add a large serving of rice. This will inevitably require a second helping of rice. However, I think 3 cups is too much, so I limit myself to 2 cups and eat a balanced meal. In the second half, the mapo tofu became monotonous, so I added some spiciness with the spicy seasoning on the table. This is quite delicious. Adding more vinegar gives it a refreshing taste. By the time I finished eating, I was full. Finally, take a breather with hot coffee. Coffee made with a coffee maker and heated in a pot. The taste is typical for this type of coffee, so no comment is needed. At the drink bar, ``coffee'' is written as ``coffee,'' and on the menu, ``Old Fashion'' is incorrectly written as ``Old Fashioned.'' It seems like the staff are not native Japanese speakers. Perhaps because of this, there is some room for improvement in my language, but the customer service was not bad and I had a pleasant time from start to finish. I don't really understand the concept of the store, but I think the atmosphere is nice. The cost-effective food seems to attract a lot of customers, and most of the seats are occupied after 12:00. Judging from my interactions with the staff, including today's madam, it seems that many customers are already regulars. Accounting is done with PayPay. Come to think of it, yesterday's lunch was also 950 yen. Same Chinese food, same price. Although it's a completely different restaurant, this was a very satisfying lunch. [Visited on May 30, 2023]