Yokohama Chinatown, by Japanese Regulars: One Dish, One Restaurant — and Skip the All-You-Can-Eat
横浜中華街で地元民が本当に食べる店：料理別の使い分けと「食べ放題は行かない」の本音
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
In a 2023 thread on Yokohama Chinatown, the rule Japanese commenters keep repeating is simple: match the restaurant to the dish. The thread's most-liked comment (332 likes) lays out the whole map, Keitokuchin for mapo tofu, Saikoh Shinkan for yum cha, Santon for boiled gyoza, and closes with the caveat that explains everything: “as long as it's not all-you-can-eat, you can hardly go wrong.” One commenter, a self-described local (15 likes), is blunter still: they never touch the all-you-can-eat places. There is grief here too. The grand old Heichinrou had already closed, and Manchinro is named its successor for a celebration meal. The map has kept aging since; see the FAQ.
These comments are from a video published in 2023. Prices, rules and crowds may have moved since; anything we checked ourselves is marked with a source.
“In Yokohama Chinatown the restaurant changes depending on what you're eating. Mapo tofu: Keitokuchin. Yum cha: Saikoh Shinkan. A date course: Heichinrou. Boiled gyoza: Santon. Taiwanese: Aoba. Odd delicacies (crocodile and the like): Yoshu Hanten Bekkan. The one that's always in TV dramas: Shigoroku. For a story to tell: Meiran. As long as it's not all-you-can-eat, you can hardly go wrong.”
横浜中華街は食べる物によって店変わると思います。麻婆豆腐なら景徳鎮、飲茶なら菜香新館。カップルのデートなら聘鎮楼のコース。水餃子なら山東。台湾料理なら青葉。変わった珍味{ワニ肉とか}なら揚州飯店別館。ドラマに良く使われた四五六飯店。話の種に梅蘭等。食べ放題でなければ、外れはあんまり無いですよ。
Where Japanese visitors go instead
Kaiinkaku's fried shrimp and shumai; Shigoroku; Jukei Hanten. I'm a local — taste is personal, and truly bad restaurants here are rare. But I don't do the all-you-can-eat! If “it's cheap, so the food is what it is” works for you, fine — there might even be good dishes buried in the buffet menu — but it's about the overall balance. Honestly, my take: Yokohama's neighborhood machi-chuka joints beat Chinatown for good eating. Different genre, I know, lol.
海員閣の海老唐、焼売 四五六、重慶飯店 地元だけど、味は好みあるから 不味すぎるって店は少ない 食べ放題は行きません！安いから、味はこんなものかって思うなら問題ないです！食べほメニューの中には美味しいのもあるかもしれないけど、バランスだよね！ けど、観光者はいつでも食べれる訳ではないから良い動画だと思います！ 個人的には、中華街より 町中華の方が横浜は美味しい店が多いかなて思います！ まあ、ジャンル違いますけどw
— @AJ-lc7hu15 likes
Places named in this article
- Keitokuchin
The mapo tofu pick in the thread's most-liked dish map (332 likes).
- Saikoh Shinkan
The yum cha / dim sum pick in the 332-like dish map.
- Santon (2nd shop)
Boiled gyoza (suigyoza) with their famous coconut dip. The original shop is on hiatus — business runs at the 2nd shop, as of writing.
- Aoba
The Taiwanese-cuisine pick in the thread's dish map (332 likes). Yokohama Chinatown's official shop listing says Aoba is closed from March 15, 2026 for about a year while the building is rebuilt, so check before you go.
Sources: chinatown.or.jp — checked 2026-08-24
- Manchinro
“With Heichinrou gone, it's Manchinro, full stop” (32 likes): the celebration-meal choice, about 20% dearer, where “even the fried rice is on another level.”
- Dohatsu Honkan
One commenter's own-wallet pick: “When I'm paying for myself, it's the roast-meats lunch at Dohatsu Honkan.”
- Shigoroku Saikan
One commenter's default, “steady and dependable” (14 likes).
- Goku Chaso
One commenter's yum cha / tea-house pick, alongside asari clam ramen at Kitcho and lu rou fan at Shumien.
- Fukumanen Bekkan
A first-time visitor used the video as their guide and calls the ebi-chili “superb.”
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Where do people actually eat in Yokohama Chinatown?
- By dish, not by restaurant. The most-liked comment (332 likes) lays out the map: mapo tofu at Keitokuchin, yum cha at Saikoh Shinkan, boiled gyoza at Santon, Taiwanese at Aoba. Other Japanese viewers add their own defaults, Shigoroku Saikan (“steady and dependable”) and the roast-meats lunch at Dohatsu Honkan. The closing rule: “as long as it's not all-you-can-eat, you can hardly go wrong.”
- Should I do all-you-can-eat in Yokohama Chinatown?
- The thread says no. A commenter who identifies as a local (15 likes) puts it flatly: “I don't do the all-you-can-eat!” If “it's cheap, so the food is what it is” works for you that's fine, they add, but it's about the overall balance. The most-liked comment's rule points the same way: avoid all-you-can-eat and it's hard to go wrong.
- Which restaurants from the thread's map have closed?
- Chinatown turns over fast, and this map is from 2023. Heichinrou, the grand house founded in 1884, was already gone by then: its Yokohama main shop shut on May 15, 2022 and the company running it was declared bankrupt that June. The thread's successor pick is Manchinro, where “even the fried rice is on another level” (32 likes). Yoshu Hanten, the odd-delicacies pick, is in trouble too: the operator of its main shop moved to file for bankruptcy in 2025 with debts reported above 400 million yen. Aoba is closed from March 15, 2026 for about a year while its building is rebuilt, per Yokohama Chinatown's official shop listing. One commenter also reported the stall Dalian closed. Check the map link before you commit to any one shop.
Sources: j-cast.com · kanaloco.jp · chinatown.or.jp — checked 2026-08-24
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What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 60 of 92 comments
It's Hei-“chin”-rou, actually. Sorry to nitpick… I used to work there, so I'm attached to the name.
聘「珍」樓です 細かくてすいません… 働いていたお店なので愛着ありまして
😊 With Heichinrou gone, it's Manchinro, full stop. About 20% dearer, but if you don't order the luxury items it's not extreme, and you can eat in peace. The room and the service are in a class of their own, and everything is delicious. You came all this way — isn't a 980-yen meal a waste? Spend 2,000 yen and you eat a full tier better; even the fried rice is on another level. (Order bird's nest or Peking duck at the fancy places, though, and the 10,000-yen notes start flying.)
😊聘珍楼亡き後は萬珍楼一択。二割ほど高いけど高いもの頼まなきゃそこまで高くない、落ち着いて食事できる。 綺麗な店とサービスがダントツだし、何を食べてもすごく美味しい！ わざわざ遠くから来て980円とかもったいなくありませんか？2,000円出せば一段上の美味しいもの食べられます。チャーハンでもレベルが違う！ でも高級店で燕の巣とか北京ダック等高い物頼むとすぐ諭吉飛びます。
For special occasions it's Manchinro, no question — my father was a huge fan. When I'm paying for myself, it's the roast-meats lunch at Dohatsu Honkan.
ハレの日は萬珍樓一択。父親が大ファンでした。自腹の時は同發本館の焼き物ランチです。
Me, I like Shigoroku Saikan — steady and dependable.
自分は、四五六菜館が安定していて好き
Yokohama Chinatown? Then the asari clam ramen at Kitcho, the lu rou fan at Shumien, and for yum cha, Goku Chaso.
横浜中華街？ならアサリラーメンの吉兆とルーローハンの秀味園、飲茶なら悟空茶荘かな。
I used this channel as my guide for my first Chinatown visit and went to Fukumanen Bekkan. The ebi-chili was superb — genuinely moving. I can already tell I'll be craving it again.
このチャンネルを参考に先日初めての中華街で福満園別館に行ってきました。 エビチリ絶品で感動しました。また食べたくなりそう、情報ありがとうございました。
Heads-up: the first shop, Dalian, has closed.
1つ目のダリアンというお店、閉店されてました