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Why is most Chinese food in Tokyo so bad?
Seriously, it's super expensive and has small portions. Yokohama has some decent places, but it's so bad in Tokyo. Why?
you're comparing to nyc chinatown which is its own beast, tbh. tokyo's chinese food scene split into two camps: the cheap japanese-chinese stuff (think ebi chili, mapo tofu that tastes like miso) and the high-end regional stuff from real sifu chefs that costs 10,000 yen minimum. the middle ground barely exists here. try the gyoza and hiryōri (fried rice) at a random japanese-ized spot and you'll be disappointed, but places like chinese restaurant iimura in kagurazaki do real sichuan work for around 5,000 yen a person. it's not nyc but it's not nothing either
one thing nobody mentioned yet is that a lot of the chinese places in tokyo are actually run by japanese people who trained in china for a year then came back and opened shop. the japanese-chinese fusion thing is so dominant that even the "authentic" spots sometimes have a backup menu with ebi chili for the locals. if you want the real stuff, go to jujo station on the keihin tohoku line, there's a whole street of shanghainese restaurants that cater to the chinese tech workers from the nearby factories. the xiaolongbao at a place called shanghai gyozabo is 500 yen for 6 and they're so juicy the wrapper dissolves if you wait too long. also the area around tabata station has a few sichuan joints that do proper la zi ji with actual dried chiles, not the sweetened version. it's scattered but it exists, you just gotta ignore anything within 3 blocks of a train station that has a sign in japanese first
i think the issue is that most places in tokyo are doing either japanese-chinese or high-end banquet stuff, and neither maps to what nyc chinatown does well (cheap, greasy, quick, regional). try the area around okachimachi station, there's a cluster of actual shanghainese spots tucked behind the ameyoko market that serve proper shengjianbao and cold noodles for under 1000 yen. also, the chinese food in tokyo's immigrant neighborhoods like shin-okubo or nishi-kasai is way different from the stuff in touristy areas, you just have to know which buildings to walk into. it's not as consistent as nyc but the good stuff is there if you dig
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.