HIBUSUMA
+ TORITSU-DAIGAKU, TOKYO

Toritsu-Daigaku(Tokyo Toyoko Line) isn’t exactly the first place I’d think to look for authentic Shanghai cuisine, but it’s just the spot where you’ll find it. Only by accident did we come across Hibusuma, and what a happy accident it was. Walk left after exiting the stations single, large entrance and continue walking straight until you hit a major highway. Cross the highway and walk up the hill, you’ll shortly see it on your left, with it’s brightly lit interior and big windows. One glance past the counter and you’ll know what you’re in for. Giant steamers stacked into towers with the smell of sweet meat and tea in the air. It only gets better, the menu prices are low enough to reason at least a few dishes to sample, with some priced as low as 250 yen.

Our dinner consisted of their house special crab miso mabo tofu, their standard fried rice, sho lon po(steamed dumplings filled with soup), a variation of kakuni(a sort of broiled pork covered in a rich sauce) and several other dishes of steamed buns and vegetables. I usually avoid mabo tofu simply out of boredom from the amount of restaurants which serve exactly the same fare. This mabo tofu is not what you’d expect. Delicious crab flavored savory sauce with small squares of tofu on a pretty, white square plate. Our steamed buns were excellent, the dough sweet and delicate. We were recommended to dip the steamed buns into the sauce of the kakuni, the taste was simply brilliant. I kept thinking of how I wish this was an option for dinner or lunch at least once a week.

The menu was very easy to navigate, with it’s color photos for each menu item and simple design. Our waiter, likely the owner, was kind enough to let us smell each of the teas in their beautiful jars before ordering. They’ve got quite a variety, all worth trying. We stuck with the standard jasmine whose aroma was unforgettable. It was the perfect compliment for our desert, a sweet bowl of annin dofu(almond/coconut flavored desert tofu). After living in Tokyo for some time, you get to know the canned variety of annin dofu and the real thing. This was the real deal, and it tasted exquisite. If you’re sick of Bamian and the China Quick, this will more than satisfy for almost the same cost(if not less depending on your appetite).

Hibusuma Oriental Cafe

1-2-5, Yagumo, Meguro-ku
Tokyo, 152-0023
Tel.: 03-3723-2455
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 11:00AM - 21:30PM(L.O.)
Closed on Mondays
Train: From Shibuya, take the Tokyo Toyoko Line on a local train five stops.

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