The Solitary Gourmet | 中国家庭料理 楊 2号店, Ikebukuro — The Numbing Noodles

Season 1 episode 3 of 孤独のグルメ, broadcast on 18 January 2012, takes Goro to Ikebukuro for Sichuan food. TV Tokyo identifies the featured restaurant as 中華料理 楊 and centers the meal on its 汁なし担々麺, alongside its distinctive dumplings and tofu-skin dish. Location references identify the filmed branch as 中国家庭料理 楊 2号店 at 3-25-5 Nishi-Ikebukuro, and current restaurant listings show the same branch operating there in 2026. The stop is one of the early series’ most recognizable meals: the peppery heat and numbing Sichuan spice give Goro a food experience dramatically different from the quieter Japanese dishes around it, helping establish that the series would roam widely across cuisines as well as neighborhoods. Pilgrimage note: this is an active, compact restaurant. The famous dry tantanmen remains strongly associated with the shop, but menus, prices and seating conditions can change; visit as a normal customer rather than expecting a fixed 2012 set.