Roushouki Motomachi

If you come to Kobe Chinatown, one of the must-try gourmet foods you must try is the pork buns from Roushouki. Founded in 1914, this famous store is counted as one of the three best pork buns in Kobe, and there is always a long line of people waiting in front of the Nankin Town Square in the center of Chinatown. The number of customers is not half as large as you would expect.

There is another pork steamed bun specialty store in Motomachi Shopping Arcade with a confusing name that is one letter different from the popular pork steamed bun specialty store Roushouki. The name is Roushouki. The name “Roushouki” is very confusing because of the difference of only one character between “記” and “紀,” or rather, the difference of the word “Gon-ben” and “Ito-hen”. I was unaware of this fact and thought, “Oh, it’s Roushouki! I was not aware of this fact and entered the restaurant on a conditioned reflex. I was curious in a different way…

Roushouki, a pork bun specialty store in Motomachi Shopping Arcade, has the same roots as Roushouki in Nankin Town…

I visited Roushouki around midnight on a weekday. I was walking along the Motomachi shopping street from JR Kobe Station to Sannomiya on that day, and happened to find this store on my right. Roushouki in Nanjing Town is a restaurant with a long line of customers. If both restaurants were the same, it would be very unnatural, right? I mean, it’s like, “You should have noticed that at this point! I thought, “Why didn’t you notice that at this point?

However, when I looked it up on the Internet later, I found that Roushouki in Motomachi Shopping Arcade and Roushouki in Nankin Town were originally the same restaurant. For various reasons, Roushouki was separated from the other and has continued to operate as a branch of the original Roushouki. I heard that local people in Kobe call the difference between the two “Roushouki in a row” and “Roushouki without a row”. Well, now I finally understand what they mean.

The interior of Roushouki without the lineup is simply decorated, with the atmosphere of a cozy traditional Chinese restaurant. There are seven counter seats and three tables for four people, and a lady was sitting in a chair in the kitchen, waiting for customers to come in. The menu offers only one choice of pork buns (order in increments of three), and once you sit down in the chair, three pork buns will be served without saying a word. The price for three pork buns on a plate is 300 yen including tax. Since Roushouki in Nankin Town has a minimum order of 6 pieces, Roushouki in Motomachi shopping street is more convenient when you are in the mood for a “quick bite”.

Pork buns: Roushouki’s pork buns, which became independent from Roushouki’s famous store in Nankin Town… I tested what kind of difference in taste there is between the two.

Let’s start with the Roushouki’s pork buns, which do not have a lineup. See below for the image…

I can’t say for sure since I didn’t compare them directly, but the Roushouki pork buns without the line-up look a bit bigger than the Roushouki pork buns with the line-up. The Roushouki pork buns in line were “the size you can eat in one bite if you try hard,” but these pork buns look a bit more difficult to eat in one bite.

The cross section of the steamed pork bun looks like this. It seems to have a higher ratio of skin than the other Roushouki restaurants in the same line. When you actually try it, you will find that the taste of the filling is very similar to that of the Roushouki steamed buns. Although the pork buns are not as juicy as Roushouki’s pork buns, the pork filling with an edge of soy sauce has a more than adequate flavor, and it definitely has the power to make anyone who takes a bite instantly fall in love with it.

However, due to the high ratio of the skin, it is quite light compared to Roushouki’s pork buns. Also, Roushouki’s steamed pork buns are always freshly made, but Roushouki’s steamed pork buns that are not lined up in a row inevitably have a pre-made feel.

That’s one of the reasons (?) why Roushouki’s pork buns are always freshly made. The Roushouki’s pork buns that are not in line are recommended to be seasoned with table-top condiments. There are five kinds of condiments on the table: soy sauce, sauce, vinegar, pepper, and hot pepper, but I think I preferred the mix of soy sauce and hot pepper… It seems that other customers at Roushouki enjoy their steamed buns by making their own original condiments. If you want to pursue such customization fun, I think it is better to go to this store instead of Nankin Town.

Take-out and mail order are also available… To get to Ganso Pork Buns Roushouki, walk 2 minutes from the nearest station, Minato-Motomachi Station on the Kobe Municipal Subway Wangan Line.

At Ganso Pork Buns Roushoki in the Motomachi Shopping Arcade, such as this, take-out and mail order of pork buns are also available. Take-out is the same as eat-in, with a minimum order of three pork buns. Details about mail-order are unknown, but even if 30 buns were purchased, the price would be 3,000 yen (note: not including shipping costs), which is quite reasonable.

Unfortunately, the taste is slightly different from that of Roushouki, a very popular restaurant in Kobe Chinatown, but it is by no means “bad,” and depending on how many you order and the shipping costs, you may be able to order some at home. If you want to enjoy Kobe Chinatown pork buns easily, why don’t you call the store and inquire?

Now, here are the details of the store. Check here for store data…

It is an 8-minute walk from JR Motomachi Station and a 9-minute walk from Roushoki in Nankin Town.

P.S. If you are looking for delicious Chinese cuisine in Hyogo, please drop by this article below…