Dear readers, a Wandering Eats post! We took our little girl to Tokyo this summer, her first time. What a city, a city amongst cities, a queen bee for sure! The Blade Runner energy of it all was something to feel and see!
And the eats. Omgosh, we ate and ate and then ate some more. Everything was so frick'in-liciously good. One of the highlights was the grilled wagyu beef restaurant that we found one late night. Oh my, oh my, seriously AMAZING just melt in the mouth beef-y feast of the ages!
We were wandering, as one does, in Shimokitazawa, a part of Setagaya. Lots of bookstores and vintage shops, a great area for a leisurely wander and wonderful finds.
By and by we were pretty hungry and thus found this restaurant. You see the word on the shopfront? Yazawa. While it is the name of this particular restaurant it also has another meaning. There is a Japanese company called "Yazawa Meat" that specializes in supplying high quality wagyu beef. So, apparently, restaurants that serve this kind of beef will all have "Yazawa" in the restaurant name to indicate that meat from the Yazawa company is served there. So you can look for any restaurant with 'Yazawa' in the name to try out this delicious beef!
This particular 'Yazawa' restaurant that we stumbled upon was a Yakiniku Yazawa type, with 'yakiniku' meaning that the meats are grilled at the table by the diners themselves. Fun, amirite?!
The atmosphere of the restaurant was pretty laid back with a fun retro vibe of wood furniture, old movie posters and memorabilia. The Japanese are so appreciative of vintage, very cool! It also rocked a late night beer kinda vibe, with most of the patrons drinking from icy cold mugs of beer. It's the prefect drink to go with grilled meats.
We had no idea what kind of restaurant this was, just that the aromas floating out the door were wonderful. So after ordering a set course, which we weren't too sure about cuz it was all in Japanese and our translate app was giving us weird translations, we waited, ravenous and a bit anxious, for the food.
The appetizers soon came out. Let's see, pickled cabbage and cucumber along with a few pieces of cooked meat on the left. And a sesame oil infused cucumber and bean sprout salad on the left. Nice refreshing start to a very meaty feast.
Here is how the cast iron grill was set in the middle of each of the diner's table with a pan below for the catching of the dripping fat and its own ventilation system above the grill. So you can grill comfortably at your own table with all the smoke and grease removed right away, leaving just a warm glow from the grill to toast your fingers over.
Ta-dum...the meat plates started coming. And coming. Four gorgeous plates of top quality wagyu beef served in different ways, all ready for grilling on the BBQ grill at our table. Each piece of meat showed the exquisitely even marbling of the fat that is the signature of wagyu beef.
The first plate landing on our table was Beef Tongue and Meatballs, all lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and sesame seeds. These went onto our grill and quickly started to drip fat. It so fun to cook food like this! The meatballs were so tender and delicious. And the tongue was so good, flavorsome and a really nice texture! I could not believe it was tongue. I don't even like tongue but I loved this!
The next plate was gorgeous just to look at! This was the Five Piece Premium Wagyu Beef Platter with wasabi sauce. The immaculate Japanese presentation shows thru in the simple but elegant plating of the raw beef slices and their respective wood labels. Each neatly printed label indicates the cut of the beef.
Let's see. From top right clockwise there is Top Blade, Premium Kaldi Short Ribs, Core of Chuck Flap, Chuck and finally Chuck Flap. Salt, pepper and sesame seeds are lightly sprinkled over the raw meat. You can try each different beef cut and experience the differences of texture and flavor between them. What a super cool food tasting experience for sure!
Look at the beef cooking on our grill! A gorgeously hot, hot, hot flame heats up the cast iron grill. The meat cooks quickly and evenly, the set-up allowing for a beautiful sear and a tender medium rare finish. And each diner gets to control their own meat which is really fun! And, let me tell you, each different cut of the wagyu beef was AMAZING, seriously some of the best beef we have had, anywhere and ever!
Third plate of wagyu! This one showcased thin delicate slices from the 'ichibo' cut, a prized cut of beef also known as 'premium beef rump' or 'top sirloin cap'. Nom, nom, nom, the rich marbling, so tender and flavorful! This plate of raw beef and the next one came lightly marinated in a soy sauce marinade and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
The last plate of wagyu came and, oh my, look at the lacy edging of luscious fat and that gorgeous marbling! I think this cut is the 'rib roast ' cut but I'm not totally sure. Had problems with the translation for this one. Omgosh, but this one was my personal favorite I think, it just literally melted in my mouth!
For those who want to know more, here is the restaurant's chart that shows the different cuts of the meat that are on offer and a cutie cow that illustrates where the different cuts are located. Mooo!
Throughout this wagyu feast we had been wondering about, you know, the carbs. Where were the carbs? We were, after a while, missing that bit of rice or noodles. After all there was a noodle dish included in our set meal.
When we asked after our noodles the waitress gestured to indicate noodles later only. Strange, but when in Rome, amirite? When we had grilled our final slices of meat the noodles finally came. And what a wonderful surprise! To finish off our meaty feast were small bowls of chilled vinegary soup noodles. Oh wow, just the perfect finish to our meal, the cool and vinegary balancing out the hot and meaty. This bowl of noodles was a surprising standout finish to a most excellent wagyu feast!
Back in HK: We (all of us) long to go back to Yazawa and feast on wagyu again. We talk about it sometimes. It's kinda sad really, lol.
Wandering Eats at The Hong Kong Cookery:
Thank you for this beautiful post. It takes me back to my times in Tokyo wandering the streets and choosing a restaurant solely by a daring instinct and being pleasantly surprised at trying something new.
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