Yoshihashi, as introduced in my Japan Times column yesterday, is a high class kind of place. You can tell from the architecture, both inside and out, and from the hushed ambiance that pervades the premises.
And from the premium quality sukiyaki that's served within those august wooden walls.
So good it deserves a lingering close-up of the way it is offered for that great-value lunch...
As mentioned, the sukiyaki is prepared in the kitchen – at dinner it's cooked in front of you at the table – so you don't get to see the beef in its raw sliced state. At lunchtime a lean cut of Japanese beef is used. By contrast, in the evening you get richly marbled premium Grade A wagyu, hence the premium on the price.
It's served sizzling hot in its gleaming copper pan...
On the side you are given a single raw egg, simply broken into a shallow saucer. This is your dip.
No need for any further seasoning, since the beef and other ingredients have been cooked in the rich warishita, the savoury-sweet sauce that sukiyaki is simmered down in.
You simply beat the egg roughly, using your chopsticks and swish the beef in it. The residual heat is enough to coat the meat with a fine layer of egg...
Along with this, you get the standard trimmings: miso-shiru; white rice; and tsuemono pickles.
And that, apart from green tea at the end, is it. Nothing else is needed.
Full details on Yoshihashi in my column...
And there's a map link here...
