What to Eat in Kobe Chinatown! Best 10 Local Foods & Restaurants You Must Try!

Kobe is located west of Osaka. The city of Kobe was flourished as a port city, so you will see an exotic atmosphere all around the city influenced by foreigners. Kobe is well-known for many tourist spots, such as Mount Rokko, Arima hot springs, etc. This article introduces you the best places to eat in Kobe Chinatown. Enjoy the taste you can only find in Kobe!

1. Roushouki

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“Roushouki” is a must-go shop when you visit Kobe Chinatown. The shop is only five-minute walk from Motomachi station. A steamed pork bun is popular food to eat in Chinatown, and you should buy it here if want one.

One of the popular menus here is, off course, “Buta-man”, a steamed pork bun. Their steamed bun is soft and minced pork filling is juicy and tasty. It’s delicious! Get one at “Roushouki” before exploring Chinatown.

If you want to sit down to eat, tables are available inside. If you feel little hungry in Chinatown, make sure you visit here!

2. ROUGH RARE

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“ROUGH RARE” is located eight minutes away from Motomachi station. Since it’s Chinatown, most of restaurants are Chinese restaurants, but “ROUGH RARE” is a non-Chinese restaurant.

The popular dish here is a roasted chicken baked freshly every morning. The price is reasonably set at 1,383yen for quarter size.

If you are a big eater, half size or whole size is available. Besides, lunch is served until 5pm! If you are looking for a light meal in Chinatown, this is the place to go.

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3. Rokumeiso

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“Rokumeiso” is two-minutes walk from Motomachi station. It’s a typical Chinese restaurant you see in Japan, and a variety of Chinese menus, like shark fin and stir-fried shrimp in sweet and chili sauce, is available.

The Dim Sum combo meal that includes 12 kinds of Dim Sum will make everyone happy for sure. However, what we want to recommend here is “Panda-man & Butachan-man”.

“Panda-man & Butachan-man” is a set of two kinds of animal shaped steamed buns. “Panda-man” is a panda shaped steamed bun filled with bean paste and “Butachan-man” is a pig (buta in Japanese) shaped steamed pork bun.

They look so cute that kids would love them. Maybe these are too cute to eat them.

4. Etsuki

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“Etsuki” is 3-minute walk from Motomachi station. This is a buffet style Chinese restaurant that you can eat as much as you want without worrying about the bill.

There are more than 35 kinds of dishes for the lunch buffet and the weekday price is only 1,280yen! It’s reasonable, isn’t it?

The weekend is 1,480yen, and you can add the all-you-can-drink for 250yen extra. Their buffet is a good value for money. If you want to have Chinese until you’re completely full, this is the place to go.

5. ASSIETTE

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“ASSIETTE” is only three-minute walk from Motomachi station. You might think there is only Chinese cuisine in Chinatown. However, Kobe has also been a port city and welcomed foreign culture from early times.

“ASSIETTE” is a western food restaurant in an exotic atmosphere. The recommended menu here is the Salisbury steak using only Japanese black beef. It’s very juicy and delicious.

This restaurant is a sister restaurant of “Ito-grill”, which is a long established restaurant since 1923, so the taste is assured. A warm relaxed atmosphere is waiting for you.

 
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6. Ryuho

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When it comes to walk and eat in Chinatown, many people think of a steamed pork bun. However, that’s not it. Located three minutes away from Motomachi station, “Ryuho” is a specialty “chuka chimaki” shop.

“Chuka chimaki” is a Chinese sticky rice dumpling and easy to walk and eat just like steamed buns. One of popular menus here is “chukka niku-chimaki”, a Chinese sticky rice dumpling with meat. The sticky rice used for dumplings is high quality rice from Shiga prefecture.

Their dumplings can be purchased online, and they explain the best ways to eat as well. When you walk and eat in Kobe Chinatown, don’t forget to take Ryuho’s dumpling with you!

7. Hong Kong Tenshin-nakan

The first impression you have about “Hong Kong Tenshin-nakan”, located three minutes from Motomachi station, would be how reasonable they are. For example, Schuan style fried rice is only 300yen and wonton noodles are 400yen. The shop is a stall stand, so you can casually enjoy reasonable dishes.

The recommendation is shark fin noodles (400yen). It’s so reasonable yet tasty and delicious. The service is very fast, too. You should try it when visiting Chinatown.

8. EVIAN COFFEE

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When you want to take a break in Chinatown, “EVIAN COFFEE” is a good place to go. Located a couple minutes from Motomachi station, it’s a good-old fashioned coffee shop.

There is a variety of food on the menu, and the breakfast combo is 500yen. You can enjoy a cup of coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.

A cup of coffee at “EVIAN COFFEE” is brewed in a vacuum coffee maker (also known as a siphon coffee maker). This shop is the first in the Kansai region to start using a vacuum coffee maker. Enjoy special moment by watching coffee being brewed in a unique machine.

9. Kannonya

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If you like a stylish restaurant, “Kannonya”, three-minute away from Motomachi station, is a perfect place to go.

The shop is already famous for their homemade Denmark cheesecake that is served hot after heated up in a toaster. The cheesecake is so popular that you can also find it in a shop at Osaka station.

However, what we want to recommend here is cheese fondue instead of unique cheesecake. Their cheese fondue is made with several kinds of cheese, and it goes well with wine.

How about sitting around the table with your family, friends, or lover, and enjoy delicious cheese fondue for lunch?

10. Minsei Canton Ryori-ten

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“Minsei Canton Ryori-ten” is located three-minute walk from Motomachi station. If you prefer to sit at a table and enjoy traditional sophisticated Chinese cuisine, this is the place to go.

A wide variety of unique menus is offered, and popular menus are tofu cooked with crab butter of Shanghai hairy crab, stir-fried Kobe beef and seasonal vegetables, and pork and Kobe figs tempura that can be served only ten dishes a day.

Among these unique menus, what we want to recommend here is squid tempura. The squid tempura is one of typical dishes in Chinese cuisine and available at many Chinese restaurants.

However, their squid tempura is a signature dish since they opened the restaurant. The inside is mildly chewy and outside is crispy. It’s simple yet delicious! You must try it for yourself.

Let’s Enjoy Kobe Chinatown!

Did you find interesting places to eat in Chinatown? Kobe Chinatown is a popular tourist spot for authentic Chinese food. If you don’t know which restaurant is the one for you among so many kinds of restaurants, this article may be useful. Let’s go find your favorite shop in Chinatown. Enjoy your stay in Kobe.