目白ネーゼ
I went to dinner at Shinjuku Teppanyaki YOKOTA. The restaurant is located on the 5th floor of a building in Shinjuku Nishiguchi, where AOKI men's clothing is located. This is a teppanyaki restaurant in Shinjuku opened by the famous tempura restaurant Yokota in Azabu-Juban, which I had been curious about for a while. The interior of the restaurant has counter seats and private rooms, and on this day, we were seated at the counter. By 7 p.m. on a weekday, the counter seats were full, showing that the restaurant is popular. On this day, I chose the Spring-Snow Course for 17,000 yen, which allows you to compare the taste of black beef sirloin and fillet, and also includes eating lobster. First, we toasted with champagne. The Henriot champagne had fine bubbles and a rich, powerful taste. For appetizers, we had seasonal vegetables and black beef shabu-shabu with snapping turtle soup. The tenderness of the black beef was outstanding. The rich flavor of the snapping turtle combined with the bitterness of seasonal vegetables like shepherd's purse and butterbur gave depth to the dish. It was luxurious with gold leaf on top! Then, the main ingredients for the day were shown: black beef fillet from Iwate Prefecture, black beef sirloin from Iwate Prefecture, and lobster. It's luxurious to be able to compare different meats! We started with seared saury sashimi, which was thick and fatty. It had a refreshing taste with accents of myoga and shiso leaves. We finished the champagne and switched to beer. The Asahi Super Dry beer served was high-quality and had a cold, delicious foam. Next, we had steamed firefly squid and whitebait chawanmushi. This combination is often eaten with pasta but also goes well with chawanmushi. The chewy firefly squid with yuzu flavor was delightful. Then, we had the teppanyaki lobster, which turned red right in front of us. The highlight of teppanyaki! The half-body portion of the lobster was incredibly fresh, and the uni and lobster miso sauce was full of umami. The flesh was sweet and rich, and the essence of seafood was concentrated. I asked if they just throw away such a splendid lobster shell, and I was told that they used to serve the last soup course with it, but due to the influence of COVID, they now discard it (laughs). Then, we started grilling vegetables and meat. The recommended doneness was medium-rare. We then had black beef braised in sukiyaki style, which was tender and melt-in-your-mouth. The addition of grilled tofu and the refined taste of the sauce brought out the flavor of the meat. Before the meat arrived, we changed to red wine. We then witnessed the chef flambeing the meat, which was exciting. The black beef sirloin and wagyu fillet comparison teppanyaki was served with a sauce of raw soy sauce, wasabi, ponzu, and garlic soy sauce marinade. The wagyu fillet had a strong umami flavor, while the sirloin was sweet and fatty. The beautiful marbling, combined with wasabi, was delicious. All the meats were tender and delightful. For the finishing touch, we opted for garlic rice for an additional fee. I was mesmerized by the chef's skillful preparation right in front of me. The simple garlic rice had a tantalizing aroma of garlic. It was cooked perfectly, not greasy, and tasted delicious. For dessert, we had homemade lemon sherbet with burnt black honey. The warm tea served with it was delightful. The chef who took care of us that day was young and friendly. The young staff members were attentive and provided excellent service. The restaurant was lively, likely due to the demand from foreign visitors in the area. The brand power of the famous tempura restaurant is indeed remarkable.