TMC_chan
Date: Saturday 18:30
Number of people: 2
Reservation: Made about 2 weeks in advance through Tabelog
Bill: Approximately ¥32,000
During a 2-night, 3-day trip over the weekend, Saturday dinner is the main event of the journey. I usually try to eat local cuisine when traveling, but this time I decided to focus on this restaurant recommended by a friend who lives in Sapporo. I reserved a counter seat for the course priced at ¥13,200 including tax. The restaurant was full, with couples and groups of friends at the counter and tables. The meal started with tataki of front Zawa beef (castrated at 31 months old). The meat was a bit thicker than I prefer, but it was good. The meal continued with grilled masu, ikura chawanmushi, and dishes with strong salt flavors, accompanied by Taketsuru highball which I enjoyed. The open kitchen allowed us to watch the chef's precise cutting and cooking techniques, with the staff working efficiently. Next, there were three grilled dishes, with the harami (skirt steak) in a flavorful sauce being particularly delicious. We also enjoyed wrapping the meat and kazunoko (herring roe) in nori, and eating with umeboshi (honey pickled plum) and shiso. The shabu-shabu was good, but nothing particularly stood out. The main dish was Chateaubriand, incredibly tender and perfectly balanced in fat content. It was so good that we could have kept eating endlessly without feeling heavy. The meat was finished off with yakiniku, where we grilled it with white negi (Welsh onion) and dipped it in rich egg yolk. The truffle rice in a clay pot served as the perfect ending, with a wonderful aroma. Despite planning to order the beef cutlet curry a la carte, we decided to hold off due to feeling satisfied after the meal. The dessert, which was not part of the course, consisted of Kikuchi strawberries from Kumamoto and pistachio ice cream. It was delicious. As someone from Fukuoka, I was delighted to unexpectedly encounter Kyushu's tableware and ingredients, such as Imari ware, Ariake seaweed, and Kikuchi strawberries, which reminded me of my grandmother from Karatsu. It made me want to swim in the Kikuchi Valley for the first time in 8 years.