01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
At Chuka Baru Aoi Kuma, tantanmen takes centre stage, but there are also small plates and dim sum to savour. Settle in for noodles at the end of a meal, or start with a drink and a few dishes to share.
Choose from Aoi Kuma Tantanmen, flavoured with house-made chilli oil fragrant with sansho pepper and scallion oil; soupless tantanmen, coated in a rich sesame sauce and scented with Sichuan pepper; or the classic white sesame tantanmen. One diner reports being able to choose the heat level, including no chilli, which makes it easier to find an option to suit your preference. A regular order for one reviewer is the soupless tantanmen, enjoying its spice and sesame aroma before finishing with extra rice. Rice after the noodles is an option if you want something more than a bowl of noodles alone.
For a meal built around several dishes, consider pan-fried gyoza or steamed mapo tofu. Different diners have praised the gyoza for its juicy filling and the mapo tofu for its balance of heat and savoury flavour. Reviewers also mention being able to try a range of small plates, making the menu easy to adapt whether you are dining alone and adding noodles or sharing dishes with a group. To begin, there is steamed chicken with a house-made scallion sauce, as well as cream cheese marinated in Shaoxing wine, whose mellow richness is paired with cheese. Drinks include the Dragon Highball, made with sparkling water and Shaoxing wine, alongside beer and Asian cocktails.
After spicy noodles or dishes, a mini mango pudding makes a sweet finish. One diner who ordered tantanmen and dim sum remembered it as a highlight after the meal. From small plates to noodles and dessert, the menu lets you choose according to how much you feel like eating.
