As it is a popular and small shop, there is bound to be a line, so we arrived just after 11am, just after it opened, and as expected, it was fully booked.
However, there was no one else waiting, so I waited for about 10 minutes before entering the store.
While I was waiting, I was asked to order, and I ordered the special set meal, which was a regular-sized version of mapo tofu. Well, it's a full course.
The non-fried items arrived first, and the fried items arrived a while later.
⚫︎Soup
It was a so-called Chinese soup, and it was a common soup of beaten eggs and green onions.
⚫︎Steamed chicken
I think it was chicken fillet, but it was moist and perfectly cooked steamed chicken.
⚫︎Fried food
It came with spring rolls, fried chicken, fried gyoza, and raw vegetable salad.
The fried chicken was well seasoned and juicy.
The spring rolls had bean paste fillings and I was full from just the fried food.
⚫︎Mabo tofu
The menu says that they are particular about the ingredients used, and I think that's exactly what they say.
The tofu was made from soybeans from Nara Prefecture and was labeled as ``melt in your mouth,'' but it was truly melt-in-your-mouth tofu.
The minced meat was also from Nara Prefecture and had large grains, making it a hearty mapo tofu.
I was told that the chili peppers and Japanese peppers are kept sparingly at the time of serving, so please add as much as you like, but at first I thought they were sparing, but as I continued to eat, the spiciness and numbing effect started to take effect. I didn't add it.
The rice went well with mapo tofu, which had a lot of meat.
⚫︎Rice
⚫︎Sweet potato stew
It's cold and has a nice sourness, probably due to the citrus flavor, which leaves your mouth feeling refreshed.
The special premium set meal was 1,550 yen, and I added 100 yen to change the size of the mapo tofu, making the total 1,650 yen. I think this price is a great deal with so much content.
Reservations are not accepted for lunch, so expect to have to wait on holidays.
However, most of the customers are middle-aged and elderly male customers, and I think the turnover is quick, so I don't think there will be much waiting time.
The special best set meal is quite large even without changing the amount of mapo tofu, so I think the best mapo tofu set meal is enough for the average woman.
The store is located in the Higashimuki shopping street in front of Kintetsu Nara Station, right in front of Sanjo Dori, making it an easy place for tourists to get to.
Why not consider it as one of your lunch options?
