Located just a few minutes' walk from Nishinakajima-Minamigata Station and Minamigata Station, this place is a corner of a shabu-shabu restaurant that operates with standing space only. I used a casual dining guide called "Choi-nomi Techou" this time (similar to the night version of the Ramen Pass). The menu included in the guide consisted of draft sparkling wine, draft beer (other options available), potato salad with diced meat, and stone-grilled choi-shabu with self-grown vegetables and Japanese beef belly. Let's talk about the food! First, the potato salad was not your typical one, it had a rich and delicious flavor which went well with the sparkling wine. Next, the main dish, stone-grilled choi-shabu. It came with 2 slices of beef belly, shirataki noodles, and vegetables, a decent amount that left me satisfied. You could choose between ponzu sauce and sesame sauce, I chose sesame which was relatively light and easy to eat. Overall, it was a satisfying meal! The seating arrangement may make it a bit challenging for solo diners to visit, but the prices are quite cheap overall, making it worth a visit for groups.

Today's theme is "restaurants that are difficult to enter alone." After finishing work on Tuesday, I decided to visit one of these restaurants in Nishinakajima with the help of a colleague (laughs). First, we went to a standing bar called "Shabu Tsubo Restand." I had heard rumors that there is "no counter, only three tables" at this place, so I decided to check it out. My colleague and I arrived in front of the restaurant around 6:30 pm. It seems like a place where you can enjoy standing drinks at a terrace seat (standing space) in front of a shabu-shabu (and sukiyaki) restaurant. Quite innovative, right? Inside the main shabu-shabu restaurant, the staff member told us that we could enjoy standing drinks at the terrace seat. We were guided to the table at the back. There were no other customers in the standing space. Oh, there are chairs available (laughs). Lucky us. Foldable chairs were provided. Since we were planning to have a light meal, we ordered "Grilled Sukiyaki x2/280 yen x2," "Octopus Kimchi/280 yen," and "Beef Tendon Ponzu/580 yen." For drinks, we ordered "Ichiban Shibori Draft Beer Medium x2/420 yen x2." A beautiful young female staff member turned on the fan for us. At this time of year and time of day, it wasn't too hot, so outdoor drinking was quite comfortable. As we enjoyed our draft beer, the octopus kimchi, beef tendon ponzu, and grilled sukiyaki were served in that order. The highlight was the meat. The beef tendon and sukiyaki meat were delicious, as expected from a sukiyaki restaurant. The "Grilled Sukiyaki" was particularly impressive, as the raw meat was grilled in front of us. The sight of the young female staff member grilling the meat with a burner, especially in an outdoor setting, was quite spectacular. Eating the "Grilled Sukiyaki Meat" dipped in raw egg was delicious. My colleague had "Ichiban Shibori Draft Beer Medium/420 yen" and I added "Smirnoff Lemonade/400 yen" to finish off the meal. It's nice to find a great standing bar near my house. However, I don't have the courage to visit alone (laughs).