Eat like a sumo wrestler at Terunotani

In Japan, if you want to be a sumo wrestler, there’s only one food on the menu: chanko nabe. This staple of the sumo wrestler's diet is a hot pot of meat, fish, vegetables and just about anything else you can find in the fridge, and is responsible for much of the bulk they put on (mainly because they eat several bowls of the stuff at each sitting). And now you can sample it here in Shanghai. 

Terunotani restaurant in Gubei, the area home to much of Shanghai's Japanese community, is packed daily with Japanese expats enjoying the chanko nabe -- just in non-sumo wrestler-size portions. 

Terunotani's owner Sasaki is a former sumo wrestler, and trained to cook chanko nabe when he was a junior wrestler. "Despite their appearance, sumo wrestlers actually have less fat than you’d think. Chanko nabe is quite healthy when eaten in moderation." says Sasaki. "At Sumo House, we eat more than 10 bowls of it for lunch and then take a nap afterwards." 

The most authentic and traditional chanko nabe is Sop with a chicken broth soup-base. There are also chanko nabe hot pots with sesami miso paste and Korean kimuchi bases (all in RMB 78). Order the Newcomer Set (RMB 165) and enjoy chanko nabe, noodles (ramen or udon), rice and dessert if you want to get a sense for the bloated sumo wrestler feel. 

The three-story restaurant has 60 seats and four private rooms with Japanese-style tatami mat. Reservation is recommended. 

getting there

Sumo Chaya Terunoya
3717 Hongmei Lu, 1/F, Pearl City, near Yan’an Xi Lu
上海市虹梅路3717弄16号真珠城1楼, 近延安西路
Hours: Lunch 11:30am-2pm, Dinner 5:30-midnight
+86 21 6401 0138