Nakō: One of the best family-run neighborhood Chinese restaurants in Kyoto

Kyoto is home to the flagship stores of renowned Japanese Chinese restaurant chains such as Gyoza no Ohsho and Tenka Ippin, but it also boasts numerous locally rooted, family-run Chinese eateries known as machi-chuka.
Nakō, located near the Eiden railway line just under a fifteen-minute walk from our guesthouse, is my favourite local Chinese restaurant.
The daily lunch special is generously portioned, but the real favourite is the champon.
Chanpon is a word meaning “to mix various things, or the mixture itself”, and also the name of such a dish. While the version from Nagasaki is particularly famous, in Kyoto, chanpon refers to Chinese noodles topped with a thick sauce containing an abundance of seafood.
Kyoto locals adore thick sauces, pouring them over everything from fried rice to udon noodles, so my first visit to Kyoto was one surprise after another.
Do try our smooth and palatable Kyoto-style chanpon.