Located quietly in a corner of a residential street, Hachikenen is a place where you can enjoy delicious Saroma Wagyu beef. Their takeout bento boxes are also delicious.

On a day off, I decided to take a leisurely walk from Nijuyonken Station towards Nijuuyonjo Station. As I crossed Shimoine Street, I looked for a place to have lunch and chose "Seiniku Oroshi Chokuei Hachikenen" from the BM data. Located a little east of "Miyanomori Kitaniijuyon Line" in the middle of a residential area, the restaurant had a sign saying "Limited company Hokkai Workshop" next to it, indicating that it was a yakiniku restaurant operated directly by the wholesaler. There were no other customers at the time, and I was seated at the counter. I ordered the "Standard Yakiniku Lunch @1,300+tax" from the lunch menu. The lunch options ranged from "Pork Bowl, Ginger Pork Set, etc." starting at 700 yen + tax. The set included beef kalbi, beef tongue, pork hormone, rice, soup, and salad. The beef kalbi was a bit dry as it was served frozen and quickly cooked with sauce. The beef tongue was also served frozen and had a lemon salt flavor. The pork hormone had no unpleasant smell and was tender, but not exceptional. The restaurant seemed to promote "Saroma Wagyu," but the kalbi and tongue I had didn't seem to be the same. Overall, the restaurant offered some good value items on the menu, and I would like to visit again for a more thorough experience if I have the chance. It's a great place for those within walking distance looking for a place to have a drink.

There was a direct-operated Yakenen En located where Shion used to be. The restaurant logo of Shion was posted near the entrance, so it seems that some aspect of the restaurant may still be continuing under that name. Although the seafood menu is no longer available, they are now operating as a yakiniku restaurant. It appears that they also deal in wholesale meat, but according to their website, they have not completely stopped serving seafood as the Shion store in Daimaru sells seafood bento boxes. The logo for N Kitchen was also displayed on the signboard, indicating that they offer takeout meat bento boxes and also hold local product exhibitions. After checking the map for parking locations, I walked a short distance from where I parked my car. I initially parked in the wrong spot... The menu consisted solely of yakiniku dishes, and I decided to go with the restaurant's specialty, the Saroma Wagyu lunch set which includes raw lamb, Wagyu hormone, and Saroma Wagyu yakiniku, along with rice, egg soup, and salad. The Saroma Wagyu cut was described to me as Misuji, and since the explanation was verbal, the Wagyu cut may change daily. I believe this cut should not be cooked too much, as it melted in my mouth when cooked to a medium level. The Wagyu hormone was rich in fat and required constant attention while cooking to prevent burning. The fatty and flavorful Wagyu hormone had a rich and satisfying taste, but it made me miss the crispy and fatty hormone from my hometown. Although thin cuts of hormone are good once in a while, I still prefer the full and fatty cuts like the one I had. The raw lamb was fresh, juicy, tender, and without any distinct taste, making it difficult to decide how long to cook it. However, due to the current pandemic situation, I erred on the side of overcooking it to a medium level before eating. The dipping sauces included soy sauce-based, spicy miso, and lemon, all of which were light and did not overpower the flavor of the meat. The marinade also did not intensify the flavor of the meat, allowing the natural flavor of the three types of meat to shine through. After the rich and fatty yakiniku lunch, I felt like having something refreshing. Although it was a gas grill, the heat was moderate, and the ventilation system was effective. They did not provide aprons or salt and pepper, but they may offer them upon request. The area seemed to have a lot of locals, so I assume it is popular among residents.

I bought some food to go from the Hokkaido food fair at Matsuzakaya. When I ate it at home a few hours later, I was surprised that the meat was still tender. I think it would have been even more delicious if I had eaten it on the spot, like at a yakiniku restaurant.