Renka

Renka [蓮華] is a homestyle Chinese food family restaurant in Yokogawa that has been a popular addition to their small community for the last 15 years. Popping in for lunch showed me why they have a loyal following;high-quality food at reasonable prices and friendly, welcoming service.

Renka opened fifteen years ago by a family that originally came from Northern China. Their most popular dishes are the Cha-han rice dishes, Ramen noodles, Gyoza meat-filled dumplings steamed and fried, Sweet and Sour meat dishes and Ebi-Chili Shrimp in Chili sauce among others.

Lunch set teishoku are an exceptional bargain at ¥680 for the daily special or yaki-soba set of fried noodles, rice, soup and fruit. I paid a little extra for a lunch set as I wanted to try one of their specialties shrimp in chili sauce. The dish was delicious as the shrimp was served piping hot, the shrimp fried in batter and then dripping in a great sweet, spicy red sauce on a bed of fresh lettuce leaves. The rice in the set is refillable I was told but with the egg drop soup,  bowl of rice, big main dish, apple slice and green tea I was happily stuffed.

When asked about special diets, the staff said it would not be a problem to have dishes made without meat or fish or MSG. The main dishes for dinner start at ¥500 yen for vegetable dishes (some accompanied by slices of meat), fried meats, sweet & sour meat and vegetable dishes, Ramen noodles, Rice dishes as well as Gyoza, salads, desserts and other side dishes. Alcoholic drinks start at ¥400 and sodas, tea from ¥200. Kept bottles of whiskey (Snack bar style) are also available for the regular night-time drinking customers.

Party reservations for groups of 3 or more can be made and courses created to suit you from ¥2,000 per person for the recommended set. Add ¥1,500 yen to have an all-you-can-drink deal attached to the set.  There are no segregated non-smoking areas, there is seating for 23 at tables and along the counter. No credit cards are accepted (cash only).

No English speaker or English menu available, but there are pictures on the menu outside the front door and the staff are easy to communicate with even in broken Japanese.

Opening Hours: 11:00-14:00, 17:30-22:00
Closed: Sundays, National Holidays and 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month.

Address: 2-7-7 Yokogawa-cho, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken, 733-0011
Telephone: 082-232-3987 (Mobile: 090-9413-4365)

Access: Cross over the main road from Yokogawa Station and turn right after the Matsumoto Gakki music store, 1 block down on the right side (opposite an old style kissaten coffee shop) is Renka Homestyle Chinese restaurant.