Soup Plus

Japanese traditional medicine in delicious soup

I was feeling a little down, plodding along the Harajuku shopping street off Omotesando when I spied Soup Plus. Soup Plus is a tiny shop that serves soup based on Japanese traditional medicine, called kanpo. The cuisine derived from the use of kanpo is called yakuzen, medicinal food. I had a bowl of sanratan, or Chinese hot and sour soup with a side of rice. When I ordered, I was presented with a clip board just like you get at a doctor's clinic. I circled the soup I preferred, and a side of rice (small, medium or large, and the small is generous), and what is ailing me. In my case, I specified stress. The servers prepared my soup with a topping, and a generous portion of herbs based on kanpo principles. It was a filling meal for the price. And the medicine went down well along with the slightly spicy and herb-flavored soup. Soup Plus has a bilingual menu on the clip board. The dishes are gluten-free, if that's what you are after. Take out and delivery are available. You can read more about yakuzen, medicinal food, on their website - http://soup-plus.tokyo/