Aside from ramen, another food item popular in Yokohama is Chinese porridge (check out my Yokohama 2-day itinerary). Since I had time, I decided to check out one of the more popular restaurants that offer this dish: Shatenki. This Chinese restaurant has two branches and for this meal, I went with the main branch.
Shatenki Yokohama’s Famous Chinese Porridge: A Healthy and Affordable Meal for Everyone
Shatenki is at the corner of a busy intersection on Yokohama’s Chukagai-Odori Main Street and I heard that it typically gets a lot of people. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to find that there wasn’t a long line when I got there. It’s pretty hard to miss with its bright red facade.
Here’s a poster of Shatenki’s specialty. Called Okayu in Japanese, this is a Cantonese congee (rice porridge) made from a recipe that the restaurant boasts has remained unchanged since 1951. Other than the congee, the poster also shows other specialties such as Fresh Shrimp Shu Mai, Sweet and Sour Pork Trotters, and Fried Noodles with Shredded Pork (just to name a few).
Here’s a view of the restaurant’s door which features stickers from review sites as well as the organizations that it’s affiliated with. I actually checked TripAdvisor and the restaurant is surprisingly highly rated. In fact, both this and the other branch average around 4-stars which is honestly impressive. Also, from this view you get to see how busy the inside of the restaurant is.
I finally got inside the restaurant and was immediately drawn to this corner. It features the Xie family who from what I understand, immigrated from Guangdong to Japan sometime in the mid 1900s. The restaurant’s name in Cantonese is actually Xie Tian Ki and the pictures here show the generations of the Xie family who’ve run the restaurant since its establishment.
I finally found a seat and was surprised that the restaurant is still fairly busy outside of its peak hours. Now it wasn’t overflowing with people but there were customers here from a number of demographics who seemed to really enjoy the food. I will say though, the space here does look and feel like it’s cramped.
Case in point, I’m actually an arm’s length away from the fridge that holds the restaurant’s selection of beers. Also, you probably noticed the register is just a meter or two away from where I’m taking the shot. Next to that is the counter where the servers get the completed orders to then deliver to customers’ tables.
For my order, I decided to go with a Shrimp Porridge along with a side of century egg. Let me tell you, this was such a filling and comforting meal. The umami from the shrimps and century egg really elevate the congee to another level. While it’s not as popular as ramen, I do think congee’s flavor profile and price appeals to more people.
Menu
Here’s the restaurant’s physical menu. Nothing fancy about it other than the drawing of Santa which I’m not sure why he’s here. This was probably left over from their holiday celebrations. Either way, the most important thing here is what’s inside.
This was honestly such a surprise. I knew that the restaurant’s specialty was congee but I didn’t really expect that they’d offer a wide selection of other dishes as well. The items that stood out for me on this page were the Fried Chicken with plum sauce, the Liver Stir Fry, and the Mapo Nasu. In terms of pricing, I think these were competitively priced and if we had to go by my order, the servings are probably generous as well.
On this page, the items that stood out were the Stir Fried Crab with Ginger and Green Onions, Stir Fried Abalone, the Yakisoba, and the Eight Treasures Stir Fry. Much like with the previous page, the pricing here is mostly reasonable. I’m not as keen on the 4 spring rolls for JPY990 but these might just look small in the picture.
I’ve finally gotten to the congee section. These are much more affordable than the dishes in the previous two pages. That said, the lower price doesn’t necessarily equate to an inferior flavor. My order here is the lower left-most item and I genuinely enjoyed it. Other than the shrimp congee, I probably would’ve gotten the Kaibashira-gayu/Scallop Congee or maybe even the Beef and Pork Congee.
On this page, you’ll find some side dishes that should go well with your congee. I decided to get the pidan or century eggs but you also won’t go wrong with an order of shu mai. I think abura-age (deep fried tofu) is an underrated side though I’m not sure if a single stick at JPY200 is worth it. If price isn’t a concern then you could also just get the sashimi.
Considering this is a Chinese restaurant, a lot of the drink options here are also Chinese branded wines and beers. The topmost options are Gu Yue Long Shan brand Shaoxing Rice Wines. There are two varieties available here, the Yinlong or Silver Dragon and the pricier Jinlong or Golden Dragon. For beers, you can choose from bottled, draft, as well as Tsingtao beer. For diners who aren’t too keen on alcoholic beverages, there’s also an Asahi Super Dry Zero non-alcoholic beer that also happens to be less pricey. Other alcoholic drinks that you might find interesting are cocktails like Oolong Highball, Lemon Sour, and Black Nikka Highball. For soft drinks, the available options are oolong tea and iced cola.
Shatenki Yokohama is a great place to visit if you ever happen to drop by the city’s ChinaTown district. While it is affordable, I don’t think the restaurant neglects the quality and taste of their food. The congee in particular was well worth what I paid for. It was filling and comforting while not breaking the bank. If there’s one thing I’d like to point out though, the menu isn’t that friendly to foreigners. Menu items didn’t have an English translation and if you’re not familiar with the dishes, you could end up ordering something that you might not like. That said, Google Lens is a thing so you could use that. Other than that, my dining experience at Shatenki Yokohama was more than good though less than stellar.
