Fukurin, Imabari: A Local Chinese Diner with Three Daily Lunch Sets and a Favourite Yurinchi (Fried Chicken in Tangy Sauce)
Fukurin is a neighbourhood Chinese restaurant in Kitatorio-cho, Imabari, of the kind the Japanese call machi-chuka: a local diner serving Japanese-style Chinese food.
It is where the author of this site, who runs an acupuncture and judo-therapy clinic in Imabari, goes for lunch more often than anywhere else.
There are three daily lunch sets, fried chicken that comes out of the fryer hot every time, and a yurinchi, fried chicken in a tangy sauce, that he recommends to anyone who asks.
It is also open in the evening until 23:00 and has no regular closing day, which makes it useful if you are staying in town.
Why it is worth knowing about
Imabari visitors usually hear about yakibuta tamago meshi and the three old shops that serve it.
Fukurin is a different kind of place: an everyday lunch stop where local people eat, with a board of daily sets at the door and portions that leave you full.
The daily sets are served until late in the lunch session.
If your morning has run long, you can still arrive at about half past two and order the day’s set.
It is not on the Shimanami Kaido cycling route.
It sits on the southern side of the city, a little under 2 kilometres south-east of JR Imabari Station in a straight line, while Sunrise Itoyama, where the bridge route starts, is about 7 kilometres to the north.
Finding it, and when to go
Fukurin stands directly opposite the DIREX discount store.
Look for the red pillars and the large sign reading 福臨, with banners for the daily lunch set outside.
The car park is in front of the restaurant and is a good size.
There are also spaces marked for kei cars, the small yellow-plated cars common in Japan.
At midday it is always busy.
The tables and the car park are often both full.
If you want a quieter meal, go after two in the afternoon.
By then the dining room is much emptier, and the daily sets are still available at around half past two.
Three daily lunch sets
The first thing to do at Fukurin is read the daily lunch board by the entrance.
There used to be two daily sets, and now there are three.
The board is in Japanese, so it helps to know the two kinds of set that usually appear.
One kind pairs a bowl of ramen with a rice dish.
The rice dish changes from day to day: fried rice, tenshinhan (a soft omelette over rice in a thick sauce), mapo rice bowl and others.
These days the author most often orders the ramen and fried rice set, shown at the top of this page.
Both halves are generous, and he admits it is carbohydrates on carbohydrates.
Some days the fried rice is plain, some days it is kimchi fried rice or takana fried rice, made with pickled mustard greens.
The kimchi version has only a gentle heat, and the rice stays separate and dry despite the kimchi, which is not easy to do.
The takana version has a pleasant crunch and aroma.
The ramen is light, and he drinks it almost like a soup alongside the rice.
On other days the rice dish is tenshinhan.
Fluffy egg under plenty of thick sauce.
Even on a hot day, hot sauce like this is its own kind of pleasure.
The other kind of set is a main dish with fried chicken, rice, soup and pickles.
The main dish rotates between sweet and sour pork, stir-fried vegetables, mapo tofu, egg with garlic chives and bean sprouts, and more.
The sweet and sour pork has a slightly sweet sauce.
The fried chicken is properly crisp and always arrives freshly fried and hot.
The mapo tofu fills the plate almost to overflowing, with just the right amount of heat.
It warms you up as you eat.
The stir-fried vegetables come with wood-ear mushrooms and a good helping of vegetables in a savoury sauce that goes well with rice.
The egg, garlic chive and bean sprout version is exactly as good as those ingredients promise.
Because you choose according to your mood on the day, the author has worked his way through a great many different sets.
The dish he recommends: yurinchi
Of everything he has eaten here, the author’s favourite is the yurinchi.
Yurinchi is a Chinese dish of freshly fried chicken with a tangy, vinegar-based sauce and spring onion poured over it.
At Fukurin the portion of chicken is large, and it is a filling plate.
The vinegar is what makes it: fried chicken that still eats lightly.
He suggests it for days when your appetite is not at its best.
Yurinchi sometimes appears as one of the daily sets, and on other days you can order it as a set meal from the regular menu.
There have been days when he had decided on it before even looking at the board, and ordered the moment he sat down.
When his own patients ask what to eat at Fukurin, this is the answer he gives.
If you go once, this is the one to try.
Beyond the daily sets
There are plenty of regular set meals as well.
One he orders often is reba-nira, liver stir-fried with garlic chives and plenty of vegetables.
Imabari’s local dish, yakibuta tamago meshi, is also available here as a set meal.
The sauce is not too sweet, and it goes very well with the ramen that comes alongside.
If you want to compare it with the three shops best known for the dish, see Imabari’s Yakibuta Tamago Meshi: 3 Long-Established Shops Compared.
Fukurin also has a bento menu, and food can be taken away.
The staff are friendly and always look after the author well.
What other diners say
Reading through reviews from other customers, the thing mentioned most often is the fried chicken.
Large pieces, crisp skin, juicy inside.
That matches the author’s own experience exactly, so it is fair to call it a feature of the restaurant rather than one person’s taste.
Many reviewers also mention generous portions and reasonable prices.
Plenty of them note that it is crowded at lunchtime with the car park full, which is what the author sees too.
Questions people ask
What are the opening hours? 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 23:00, according to the restaurant’s Instagram.
Which day is it closed? There is normally no closing day.
When is it least crowded? After 14:00.
The daily sets are still available at around 14:30.
Is there parking? Yes, a good-sized car park in front, including spaces for kei cars.
How can I pay? PayPay is accepted.
We could not confirm card payment, so bring cash.
Can I take food away? Yes, there is a bento menu.
Is there an English menu? We could not confirm one.
The names in this article (ramen, chahan for fried rice, tenshinhan, yurinchi, karaage for fried chicken) will help with the board.
Is it near the Shimanami Kaido? No.
It is on the southern side of the city, away from the bridge, so it suits a lunch or dinner while you are staying in town.
Other Chinese restaurants in Imabari
If you want somewhere open every day in the city centre, Ryugu is in the basement of the Imabari Kokusai Hotel.
Near the castle there is Kinkairou, another unpretentious Chinese restaurant that local people keep going back to.
For everything else on the Imabari side of the bridge, see The complete Imabari guide for Shimanami Kaido cyclists.
Restaurant information
Fukurin（中華料理 福臨）
Address: 愛媛県今治市北鳥生町4-3-26 (opposite DIREX)
Telephone: 0898-55-8780
Open 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 23:00, normally no closing day.
Parking in front of the restaurant, PayPay accepted and takeaway available.
Hours can change, so please check before you go.
Original article in Japanese: 中華料理 福臨｜今治市北鳥生町の中華ランチは日替わりが3種類・おすすめは油淋鶏
