江古田担々麺最後の砦 : Cha pei

While hanging out with friends in my hometown, we were talking about how our favorite dandan noodle restaurant in Ekoda (Dan Dan Hanten Ekoda branch) had closed down, and we all started talking about how we wanted to eat some delicious dandan noodles. Five of us were thinking about eating dandan noodles near Nerima, which was a tall hurdle, and the only place we could think of was Bamiyan. In the midst of that atmosphere of, "Well, I think Bamiyan's dandan noodles are good, but that's not it," Chahei suddenly came to mind. The other day, I went there with some other friends and we talked about how the dandan noodles were really good, so we said, "Let's go!" and got in the car and headed towards Ekoda. This restaurant has a fairly large parking lot (about 8 cars?), so it's quite convenient to go by car. We arrived around 12 o'clock, but since it was Sunday, the parking lot was quite full. However, there was a vacant seat, so we parked our car there and went inside the restaurant. "It's full now, but I think it will be available soon," we were told, so we waited for a while. Well, it's a pretty big restaurant, but it's popular. By the way, there seems to be seats on the second floor, but they are only open to reservations for evening parties. After waiting for about 5 minutes, a seat opened up at the right time, so we were guided there. Well, looking at the customers around us, there were a lot of people who looked like "slightly wealthy families". Grandparents, their children, their children, etc. It's true that it's one of the few "high-end Chinese Cuisine Chinese Cuisine around here. Anyway, for the time being, we didn't order dandan noodles for the five of us, but instead ordered an appetizer platter, spring rolls, stir-fried vegetables, beef wrapped in lettuce, shrimp chili, and creamed bok choy. I thought, come on, this feels like we're enjoying some real Chinese Cuisine, and I was inspired by the smell. The appetizers were cold jellyfish, salmon, and bang bang chicken, which weren't particularly unusual, but each one was delicious. All the dishes that followed had the "classical Chinese goodness". The stir-fried dishes in particular had the "cooking style that only Chinese Cuisine can offer", and the oil was drained off while still retaining the texture...it's something you can't get at home. It's a shame that we couldn't drink alcohol because we came by car, but it was satisfying as Chinese Cuisine. Then, I thought about having dandan noodles at the end, but my friends were quite full, so we decided to share a bowl of gomoku Yakisoba (stir-fried noodles) among the four of us. I ordered dandan noodles by myself, saying, "I came here to eat dandan noodles", and they were also delicious. The rough texture of sesame and the rich flavor spread throughout my mouth, with the "main sesame umami flavor". Dandan noodles with a strong flavor of Sichuan pepper and chili peppers are delicious, but these comforting dandan noodles are also really good. The ingredients are very simple, just bean sprouts and minced meat, but I think this is the best way to finish off a Chinese meal. So, although it was a pretty expensive lunch, I left the restaurant very satisfied. I don't see many customers who order "only Ramen" or "only tantanmen," so I think it's okay to come just to eat Ramen without any side dishes. It's not a restaurant I go to often, but it was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

なんだかんだで暖かくなったり寒くなったりの昨今。地元の友人と「なんか温かいもの食べに行きたいねー」なんて話になり、その日は車だったので「どっか駐車場付きの店で温かいもの…」と考えたところ、「茶平が良いじゃない」という話になり、行くことになりました。

茶平、西武池袋線ユーザーだと「江古田から桜台に向かう途中、高架になる坂道で見えるお店か…」となんとなくわかると思うんですが、桜台駅からも江古田駅からも微妙に距離のある、老舗の中華料理屋さんです。最寄りは新桜台駅（有楽町線）になるのかもしれないんですが、それも線路を超えなきゃいけないんでちょっと遠い。江古田駅からだと南口を出て千川通りに出て、武蔵大学を超えたあたりにあります。ただ、車で行くのは結構便利で、環七から千川通りへ入る側道の正面にあります。駐車場も8台くらいは無料で停められるので、お酒は諦めなければいけませんけど、これが一番アクセスが良いかも。

さて、この茶平。私が知る限り30年以上営業している老舗中華屋で、2階席もある結構大きいお店です。ただ、夕方以降は結構混み合い、土日なんかは予約しないと並ぶことも多いみたいなんで、余裕があれば電話して行った方が安全かなぁ、と。

そんなわけで4人で入店し、「前菜4種盛り合わせ」「春巻き」「大正エビのチリソース」「野菜炒め」「青梗菜のクリーム煮」、そして主菜として友人は「鳥そば」「五目焼きそば」、私は「担々麺」を注文しました。1皿押し並べて1500～2000円くらいするんですが、大人数での中華は色々頼んだ方が楽しいですからね。

で、前菜盛り合わせは、バンバンジー風の鶏肉、クラゲの冷製、スモークサーモン、トマトなどが盛られてて、奇を衒うようなメニューではないんですが、クラシカルでオーソドックスな前菜って感じで安定感抜群。なんか食欲をそそるような前菜です。

その後春巻きや野菜炒め、エビチリなんかが続くんですが、なんか全体的に油が軽いので、中華料理独特の「もたれる感じ」が全然しないんですよね。全部丁寧に仕上げられた感じで、老舗ならではの実直な味です。

最後に「担々麺」「鶏そば」「五目焼きそば」が来たんですが、調子に乗って料理を頼みすぎたせいか、この時点で結構満腹気味。とはいえ担々麺も、オーソドックスだけどじんわり辛くてじんわり美味しい。なんだかんだでペロっと食べてしまいました。周囲のお客さんも締めに担々麺を頼んでいる人も多く、人気メニューみたいですね。

これで大体1人4000円くらい。お酒が入ると6000円くらいって感じなので、この地域の相場で考えるとちょっと高級店なのかな…とも思うんですが、客層も落ち着いた感じで居心地も良いので、「少し贅沢な夕食を」みたいな時には重宝するお店です。