Nagoya, Japan｜The century-old restaurant Penglaixuan

With a history of over 140 years, Horaiken is the originator of the three ways to eat eel rice in Nagoya. It even owns the registered trademark rights for "three ways to eat eel rice". There are many well-known restaurants serving eel rice in Nagoya, but the most popular one is the centuries-old Horaiken. When searching for eel rice in Nagoya, Horaiken's name will definitely appear. First of all, I need to explain the queuing strategy. I arrived at the main store of Penglaixuan at 11:00 that day (opened at 11:30), but the estimated seating time was 13:00. I left a signature to wait for a seat, and then walked about 10 minutes to the Jingumae branch. The estimated seating time was even more exaggerated, at 14:00. As both stores have nearly 150 seats, it was a bit unexpected that I still had to wait for more than 2 hours even if I arrived early, and I deeply felt the popularity of Penglaixuan. Fortunately, my itinerary included a visit to Atsuta Jingu Shrine, which is located next to the Jingu-mae branch. I could be seated almost immediately after visiting the shrine. Therefore, if you want to enjoy the eel rice at Horaiken, I highly recommend that you include Atsuta Jingu Shrine and Shiratori Garden in your itinerary. If you need to wait, you can take a walk first. If you don’t have to wait too long, you can eat and then visit the attractions. The estimated seating time was actually accurate, so you can just come back 15 minutes earlier. The first thing I want to praise is the service. The staff will patiently explain how to eat eel rice in three ways. They are also very attentive when serving tea and dishes. This is what makes a century-old store special. Let me briefly introduce the three ways to eat eel rice. The first way is to taste it in its original flavor. The second way is to add green onions, seaweed, mustard and other condiments to make the taste richer. The third way is to add soup stock to make it tea-soaked rice. The last way is to finish it with your favorite way of eating. The eel grilled over Bichinaga charcoal was slightly charred, and was more traditionally plump and tender, very different from the crispy texture of the Maruya Honten that I had eaten at the airport before. Penglaixuan claims to use a secret sauce that has been passed down from generation to generation for 140 years. Although it is not very outstanding, it has the right salty and sweet taste and a certain strong aroma. It is also worth mentioning that the container for the broth is very heat-resistant, so the broth remains boiling hot after a long time, and the aroma of the soaked condiments is also more prominent. Simply adding broth and chopped green onions became one of my favorite ways to finish the meal this time. P.S. If you don’t have a big appetite, don’t order the Extra size. Although the menu says the eel and rice portion is 1.5 times, I think it’s basically double the portion 😂 🥢Eel rice three-course meal Extra size ¥5850 /Credit card accepted /Shoes must be removed in Japanese-style room 📍Azuta Penglaixuan Main Store Food Log 3.78 〒456-0043 Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City Atsuta District Kobecho 503 #Japan and Korea City Attractions #Japan Travel #Japanese Food