On the top floor of Umeda Sky Building, popular with foreign tourists for its rooftop Sky Garden Observatory, sits a Chinese restaurant called Sangu. While it’s a high-end spot where dinner easily costs over ¥10,000 per person, I recently learned they also serve lunch at prices more accessible to the average person.
Curious about what kind of lunch this high-end restaurant serves, I visited during a weekday lunchtime. So, what was it actually like…?
Dining here includes panoramic views overlooking Osaka City from the 39th floor… Chinese Restaurant Sangu is a place like this…
But first, let me briefly explain the restaurant, Chinese Restaurant Sangu. It’s located on the 39th floor of the Umeda Sky Building. However, since the Umeda Sky Building consists of two towers, east and west, getting there is a bit complicated.
To reach Chinese Restaurant Sangu, enter the building via the east tower, TOWER EAST. While TOWER EAST has dedicated elevators to the rooftop that are always bustling with tourists, making them easy to spot, using the regular elevators is actually faster for getting to the 39th floor.
Once you reach the 39th floor, head to the area beneath the Sky Garden, which sits between the two towers, supported by their legs. The restaurant entrance is located in the northern area between the east and west buildings.
Upon entering the Chinese Restaurant Sangu, the view from the large round window on the north wall immediately captures your attention, offering a vista overlooking northern Osaka City and the Hokusetsu region. Some might find it disappointing compared to the scale of the south side with its towering skyscrapers, but the south side’s large windows let in intense direct sunlight, which might make lunchtime dining uncomfortable (in fact, the south area is a Sky Lounge open only at night). When you dine here, this view comes as part of the package. Doesn’t that alone make it feel like a bargain? Unfortunately, I didn’t get a window seat, but even so, dining while taking in the scenery from the 39th floor was truly special.
At one of Umeda’s top-tier Chinese restaurants, just ¥1,600… How was the lunch menu at Chinese Restaurant Sangu’s Mapo Tofu Set Meal?
So, let me introduce one of the lunch menus I ordered that day at Chinese Restaurant Sangu: the Mapo Tofu Set Meal (price: ¥1,600 including tax). About three minutes after placing my order…
A piping hot soup with a light, creamy texture arrived, followed by…
A tray carrying bubbling mapo tofu in an earthenware pot, steamed white rice, and a small side dish. Isn’t it amazing that all this, plus the view from the high-rise, costs just ¥1,600? Nowadays, even eating lunch at a regular Chinese restaurant would easily cost this much…
Anyway, let’s dive right into this mapo tofu… The rich depth of fermented black beans blends perfectly with the savory juices from the minced pork, creating an incredibly flavorful mapo. It’s not overly salty, spicy, or numbing; instead, it’s intensely savory yet incredibly easy to eat. And the star tofu? It’s silken tofu cut into big chunks—so big you need to open your mouth wide to fit them in. They melt into the richly flavored mapo sauce, sliding smoothly from the mouth to the throat. One word: “Wow, this is a high-end place!”
Putting this mapo tofu on rice and taking a big bite… That’s definitely the ultimate way to enjoy mapo tofu. However, as a mapo tofu dish, the flavor is refined or mild, so it doesn’t have that salty kick that makes you wolf down rice. Personally, I preferred enjoying the mapo tofu on its own rather than on rice.
Alongside this mapo tofu and Chinese soup…
A salad of blanched sea bream…
Bang bang chicken with sesame sauce…
…and pickled mustard greens come as a set. I’ll say it again: the price is just 1,600 yen. Who wouldn’t be satisfied with this? If you’re craving mapo tofu around Umeda, this place is currently my top pick. There are plenty of options nearby, like Fukushima’s Chinese Cuisine Oil or Osaka Sawada Chinese Restaurant in the basement of the Osaka Fukoku Seimei Building, but I especially recommend trying Chinese Cuisine Sangu if you haven’t been yet.
Other Lunch Menu Items at Chinese Restaurant Sangu (Prices include tax)
- Wagyu Beef Fried Rice 4500 yen
- San Lunch (Soup Noodles with Thinly Sliced Green Onions, Minced Pork, Takana Fried Rice) ¥1,600
- Stir-Fried Noodles with Beef Fillet ¥2,800
- Soup Noodles with Assorted Vegetables ¥2,500
- Soup Noodles with Thinly Sliced Green Onions and Stir-Fried Vegetables ¥2,800
- Cantonese-style Mixed Vegetable Fried Rice 2500 yen
- Crab Meat Fried Rice 2500 yen
Lunch time offers great deals on course meals too… Access to Chinese Restaurant Sangu is a 12-minute walk from JR Osaka Station, the nearest station.
At Chinese Restaurant Sangu, course meals are also offered at great prices during lunch time. The course menus are…
- Chunfa Course: ¥7,000
- Fanfan Course: ¥6,000
- Fubi Course: ¥5,000
- Botan Course: ¥4,000
Four varieties. Additionally, higher-grade courses can be selected via the official website. Taxes and service charges are included, so you can relax about the cost. Ordering a course meal requires a party of two or more, so solo diners like me can’t order them. However, it seems like the perfect spot for a leisurely lunch with someone special… Now, here are the restaurant details…
Chinese Restaurant Sangu Out of 5
Total Seating: 120 seats (60 seats on the dining floor, private rooms available)
Address: Umeda Sky Building 39F, 1-1-88 Oyodonaka, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 531-0076
Phone: 06-6440-3889
Hours: 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Closed: Open daily (may close temporarily)
Parking: Available (use Umeda Sky Building’s paid underground parking; discounts available for restaurant patrons)
Credit Cards: Accepted (also accepts PayPay, e-money, and transportation IC cards)
P.S. If you are looking for delicious Chinese dishes in Osaka, please stop by this article below…
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