Okaro, Shin-Okubo: A Proper Chinese Course for Next to Nothing

It's Yoko, the food blogger who can't resist a good deal.

Today I came to Okaro, a Chinese restaurant about a five-minute walk from Shin-Okubo Station!

The restaurant is inside this Kanto IT Software Health Insurance Society hall.

The lobby is so clean.

This is one of the facilities run by the ITS health insurance society, and like the Sanno Medical Center where I had my full medical checkup, it offers health checkups run directly by the society.

To use it, you need to be a member of the society or be accompanied by one.

There's a checkup center and meeting rooms, and Okaro is in the basement.

When you go down the stairs, you can see the glass-walled dining room.

I was surprised that more than ten people were already lined up before opening.

Not just at Sushi Isshin, everyone loves a good deal (lol).

Private rooms are for parties of six or more. There were two of us today, so we sat in the main dining room.

The tables are nicely spaced out, so it's comfortable!

Today's course.

It includes shark fin soup and Peking duck, and it's only ¥3,000! Such a bargain.

Courses start at ¥1,000, and at ¥4,000 they add things like lobster and abalone.

I didn't need to go that far, so I chose the ¥3,000 course this time.

The drinks are cheap too!

After some agonizing, I went with a chunky peach sour. The snacks were curry-flavored arare (rice crackers) and peanuts.

Also, several kinds of tea, including pu-erh and jasmine, are free!

If you want tea, just ask the staff.

Assorted appetizers.

Char siu, jellyfish, shrimp and vegetable jelly, water bamboo (makomotake) and pork tongue.

Water bamboo is a favorite of mine, so I was happy!

I get it now and then at Chinese restaurants, but you can't find it in stores... sob.

Next, the second dish.

...Shark fin soup already (lol).

The soup was the best part!

My beloved Peking duck!

They bring it out to show you before wrapping it.

The part with the meat is sandwiched in a fluffy steamed bun.

There's also the classic style with crispy skin.

Honestly, two pieces aren't enough! I wanted about three times as much (lol).

Salmon with BBQ sauce.

What flavor is BBQ flavor, anyway? According to Wikipedia:

That's what it says. And yes, I did taste something Worcestershire-like.

Stir-fried beef with black beans.

I love stir-fries made with douchi (fermented black beans), so maybe "black beans" is just the plain-language name for it?

I couldn't really taste the black beans, but it was delicious.

Soft-shell shrimp with spicy powder.

True to the name, you can eat the whole thing, shell, head to tail.

It's pretty spicy but addictive.

The dim sum was steamed shrimp dumplings and corn shumai.

Crab fried rice.

For dessert, a melon and coconut tart, and...

Coconut milk with fruit!

I love that there's a variety of desserts!

The whole course was lightly seasoned, in a way that should appeal to just about everyone!

Each plate is small, but there are plenty of dishes, so I ended up very full (lol).

(Bonus) The vending machines in the building were cheap!

If you're working your way through the ITS health insurance society's restaurants, do give this one a try!

But don't forget to make a reservation! I saw a customer who just dropped in get turned away, so be careful!

Okaro
2-27-6 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0073
11:30-15:00, 17:00-22:00
03-5925-5333