陳麻家 神田明神下店 at Go Akihabara

Sichuan Chinese chain branch near Kanda Myojin, famed for its numbing Chin-Ma-Don mapo tofu rice bowl and tantanmen.

Chin-Ma-Ya - written 陳麻家, read Chin-asa-ie in Japanese - is a Sichuan Chinese chain founded in March 2002 at Gotanda Station, with the Kanda Myojin-shita branch sitting a five-minute walk from Suehirocho Station and eight from Akihabara, just below Kanda Myojin shrine. The brand was built on a single idea: to take the mapo tofu rice bowl - then considered a luxury - and make it affordable and fast, served from a counter-only five-tsubo shop. The signature Chin-Ma-Don (陳麻飯) is the chain defining dish. The Chin-Ma-Don is a hot bowl of mapo tofu poured over rice, built on four flavour pillars: the numbing of Chinese sansho pepper, the heat of the house chilli oil, the umami of doubanjiang and sweet bean sauce, and the sweetness of the house zhajiang sauce. The menu also runs through tantanmen, mapo ramen and other Sichuan-style set meals, all reasonably priced. Hours run 11:00 to 14:30 and 17:00 to 23:00 Monday to Saturday, with Sundays closed. For a proper, numbing Sichuan lunch within walking distance of both Kanda Myojin and Akihabara, this branch of Chin-Ma-Ya delivers the brand signature heat without fuss. Order the Chin-Ma-Don, brace for the sansho, and let the mapo do its work.