JPN: Champon Museum

4-5 Matsugaemachi, Nagasaki, Japan
Daily: 11.30am - 8.00pm

Have you tried champon before? It's a soupy noodle dish of Chinese origin containing pork, seafood and vegetables that was first served in Nagasaki at Shikairou, a famous restaurant that has stood the test of time since 1899. There's a small museum dedicated to champon housed inside the majestic building where Shikairou is.


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Here's a look at the building during the day as my BFFs and I walked past it on our way to the Chinatown area.


How many dragons are there?

We dropped by after sunset to visit the museum and have dinner at the restaurant.



The museum is located on the second floor. Entrance is free of charge.


That's the facade of the restaurant back in the day.

The dish was invented by Chin Heijun from Fujian, China, who was also the founder of Shikairou.


I found it amusing that the term champon originated from the Hokkien phrase jiak png,
 which typically means 'to have a meal'.

Let's take a look at some old paper-based articles.


The restaurant was featured in an issue of the Nagasaki Harbor Light periodicals
catered to the English-speaking crowd.



It's a list of ingredients and the recommended quantities to make champon for two.
There are a few tableware on display.

Those are some bowls that were previously used in the restaurant.


Why are those chopstick rests shaped like bats?


We only spent about 10 minutes inside the museum.

Somehow that reminds me of my late grandfather's dining room.



A carving of lingzhi mushrooms, I suppose.


Would you like to have such a sink at home?


Look at the elevator buttons!


The restaurant was pretty lively when we were there.


There's a souvenir shop on the first floor, but it's open only from 10.00am to 6.00pm.

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