The hot topic of Yokohama Chinatown, char siu melon bread. A new Hong Kong dim sum staple with "Journey to the West"

Hong Kong cuisine is becoming increasingly popular in Japan

The restaurant is located along Chinatown Boulevard, about a 4-minute walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Station. The restaurant's theme is Hong Kong dim sum, which has become increasingly popular in Japan in recent years, just as it has in Taiwan.

The spark that started it all is said to be a Michelin-starred restaurant from Hong Kong that arrived in Japan in 2018. Dim sum is popular because many of the dishes are small and perfect for takeout.

In recent years, there has been a lot of buzz around Hong Kong, with a popular restaurant group in Tokyo opening a Hong Kong dim sum restaurant and a craft beer brand from Hong Kong opening its world's first taproom (craft beer bar) in Tokyo.

With the business's popularity booming, Journey to the West opened in October 2020. With its signature dish, Char Siu Melon Bun, it has become one of the most popular new restaurants in Yokohama Chinatown.

The restaurant they worked on was Wangfujing, a famous baked xiaolongbao restaurant in Yokohama Chinatown. Baked xiaolongbao is a local Shanghai food, but when they opened Journey to the West, they brought in a skilled chef from Hong Kong to create an authentic Hong Kong dim sum restaurant.

What is the secret behind the deliciousness of Char Siu Melon Bread?

So what kind of dish is char siu melon bread? It is slightly different from the familiar melon bread in Japan, with a crispy texture like a thin pastry coating on the surface of freshly baked fluffy bread.

The bread, rich with the aroma of butter, is filled with thick, sweet and salty cubes of char siu, and although it is small in size, it is very filling. The rich aroma and rich flavor combine to create a new dining experience.

They showed us how it's made. They use pork shoulder loin, which has a good balance of flavor and sweetness of fat, and roast it slowly for an hour in a special oven. Most char siu served at ramen shops in Japan is actually not roasted, but boiled pork, but this shop roasts it in the authentic hanging style. It's a strong style of char siu that concentrates the original flavor of the meat.

The secret of the dough lies in its unique ingredients. The surface is topped with a sabayon-like cream made partly from flour and partly lard, which is then baked, resulting in a crispy texture reminiscent of pie crust. This contrast is what makes the Char Siu Melon Bread so appealing.

The price is 650 yen including tax for 3 pieces. Take-out packs of 5 pieces (1,350 yen including tax) and 10 pieces (2,160 yen including tax) are also available, making them a great souvenir.

A wide selection of other dim sum and sweets also available

There are many other items on the menu besides char siu melon bread. For example, a must-try Hong Kong dim sum staple is the "shrimp crepe" (700 yen including tax), a dish of steamed shrimp wrapped in rice flour dough. The contrast between the soft dough and plump shrimp is amazing. When enjoyed with the sweet soy sauce, a variety of delicious flavors fill your mouth.

You can't miss the mango-based sweets either. Their original product is the "Mango Melon Bread" (3 pieces for 650 yen including tax), which uses the same techniques as the char siu melon bread. The crispy crust is filled with rich mango sauce and mango fruit, making it a new and unique dessert.

The other is a tropical-flavored drink called "Yangji Gan Lu" (780 yen including tax). This is a mango juice made with fruit mango, pomelo (a citrus fruit native to the Malay Peninsula), and small tapioca pearls, with the popping texture of the pomelo and the chewy texture of the tapioca pearls adding a nice accent. It would make a great after-meal dessert or a great companion for a stroll around town.

The restaurant is spread over two floors, and the eat-in menu has an even more diverse selection of dishes. You can also enjoy authentic dim sum, where you can leisurely sip tea with your meal, so it's recommended for lunch or dinner.

Hong Kong Dim Sum Specialty Store Journey to the West

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