Chuka Taro’s sign and words beside the dishes

Scenes recorded in the photographs.

The shopfront’s yellow awning and red sign show “Chuka Taro,” “Kugahara branch” and “Neighbourhood Chinese restaurant.” A separate view across a counter records shelves, dishes, a rice cooker, a blue tray and menus.

Individual food photographs carry notes naming fried rice, Taro-chan noodles, chūkadon and gyoza. The images show a rice-grain dish, a bowl with broth and leaf-like pieces, a plate with glossy toppings, and crescent-shaped food on a white plate.

Notes also mention plenty of Chinese cabbage, describe the gyoza as ordinary, and comment on the meat in the fried rice. The photographs preserve these written impressions alongside the plates’ appearance.

A yellow Japanese restaurant frontage with signs, posters and a delivery scooter outside.

A small counter kitchen with pots, shelves and wall menus.

A heaped plate of fried rice in front of a wall menu, with Japanese text over the photograph.

A bowl of noodles with golden fried pieces, greens and an egg, with a menu behind it.

A plated meal covered with glossy pale vegetables, carrot slices and mushrooms.

A plate covered with vegetables and meat in glossy sauce, with Japanese text over the photograph.

A row of browned pan-fried dumplings on a white plate, with Japanese text over the photograph.

A small counter kitchen with pots, wall menus and notices, with Japanese text over the photograph.

Photographs by Haruru (@haruru.1002)

Sources for this account

A notebook based on visible scenes and text in the photographs.