Yakiniku Ran: For a Very Satisfying and Affordable Steak Lunch

Not all yakiniku, or Korean BBQ restaurants are open for lunch so it's interesting to see what's on the menu for lunches. At Yakiniku Ran there's only one option for menu, teppan grilled steak. You can choose the weight though, 100g (1000 yen), 150g (1500 yen) or 200g (about 2000 yen). For lunch the chef grills it for you and it is brought to your table in a hot skillet along with sides of potato salad, napolitan (Japanese ketchup pasta), and veggies. Being Nagoya, where napolitan is often served in a hot skillet with egg poured underneath, here too, egg was added into the hot cast iron skillet. Lastly, rice and a clear broth soup with wakame seaweed was also included. 

The meat definitely was wagyu (a Japanese breed of cow), and was so soft you wouldn't need a knife. You can use chopsticks and bite into the large thick pieces of meat. Once you sink your teeth in, the juice just succulently bursts out into the mouth. 

Area: West side of Nagoya Station, 3-min walk southeast of Kamejima Station 亀島駅
Restaurant: Yakiniku Ran 焼肉欄
Map and Info: https://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23002384/

Za Don: A Great Japanese Fast Food Chain

This Japanese fast food restaurant can actually be found all over Japan, not just Nagoya, but it’s one of those good and affordable places I’d like to share. Za Don specializes in serving up all kinds of donburi dishes, or rice bowls. From kaisen don (sashimi topped rice bowls) to fried dishes such as katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl) and simmered dishes such as oyakodon (an egg and chicken staple in household cooking).

One of my favourites to order here is the tsukimi-saketoro don (¥630 plus tax). It consists of salmon sashimi that’s been chopped so fine it becomes almost like a paste consistency. I know that doesn’t sound appetizing but when you combine a bite of that with steamed white rice, a bit of seaweed and wasabi dashi soy sauce drizzled over, the combination is perfect! Since the salmon is minced it blends with the rice right when you take a bite and provides a nice texture. Even better, slicing through the runny onsen egg (egg cooked at low temperatures) with chopsticks makes the yolk ooze out and brings the already tasty combination up another notch! I always like to switch the miso soup for the asari or clam miso soup because the flavour of the clams adds another punch to the otherwise ordinary soup.

Tsukimi Sake Toro Don with Asari Jiru

Origami: A Good Place to Try Beef 'Sashimi'

One of the latest trends in Japan is niku zushi. It's basically sushi that is topped with raw meat (usually beef or horse) instead of fish. For many, the sound of eating raw meat may make you apprehensive, but at Origami, a 10 minute walk from Nagoya Station, you can try a version that's not quite raw and will give you an idea of what meat sashimi is like.

The items on the menu here say sashimi fuu. This fuu means "in the syle of". So it may not be exactly sashimi but it is a similar take on it.

Beef, sashimi-style

It looks raw doesn't it? It's actually been passed through a very low temp to get this effect. The restaurant recommends using their slightly sweet soy sauce which goes very well with the red meat. It's just like in Kyushu where they dip their horse sashimi (basashi) in a sweeter than normal soy sauce. Eating this meat 'sashimi', you can enjoy the flavour of the fat and meat as opposed to the juices when you eat warmed, grilled meat. 

Beef liver, sashimi-style

Here, we have liver that is served to look and taste like sashimi. Beef liver is now prohibited by law to be served raw in restaurants, so this is a really good dish mimicking the sashimi version. Sprinkle salt on the slices that have been drizzled with sesame oil for a crunchy texture and to bring out the umami. It was a common way to eat beef liver, and the combination goes so well together.

Uni niku yukke-style

Topping beef with sea urchin is another trend that started a few years ago but is still apparent. Yukke is originally a Korean dish made by mixing strips of raw beef with a gochujang-based sauce. I guess it can be considered a kind of steak tartare. At this restaurant, the seasoning is more of a Japanese style sauce that is sweeter and soy sauce-based, and this meat also although looks raw, is yukke-fuu. From the photo you can tell that it uses a lot of the fatty part of the meat so you get a lot of umami from that. I like uni, however I found that even though the ratio of uni to beef was small, the flavour of the uni overpowered that of the meat. Perhaps is this dish 'sans uni' would be the way to enjoy the beef. 

The restaurant itself was nice to have a quiet, private dinner as all the tables are in separated rooms. You don't even have to call a waitress since ordering can be done on a touch pad. It seems they try to be a little more on the high-end, so you can imagine that it can get pricey. That being said, they do have a good deal on an all-you-can-eat niku zushi course meal. Overall a good place to start if you're new to beef sashimi or beef sushi, but if you want the real thing, you may have to look elsewhere.

Area: a 5-minute walk from Nagoya Station exit 1 名古屋駅出口１, or a 7-minute walk from Kamejima Station 亀島駅

Restaurant: Origami オリガミ

Map: www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000650458/

Hours: Mon-Thurs 5-12pm (LO 11pm), Fri and Sat 5pm-1am (LO 12am), Sun and Holidays 5-11pm (LO 10pm)

If You Say Ramen in Nagoya, They Will Say Sugakiya

Independent ramen shops are trendy and gaining all the attention these days. However, in Nagoya, the most well-known ramen chain shop in the area is still putting out new stores. The newest one just opened on December 6th, on the first floor of a building housing a large pachinko parlour, just a few minutes walk from Kamejima station (Higashiyama city subway line).

Recently opened

Sugakiya has come to be considered a food of Nagoya. The company started cooking up their ramen back in 1948 and its flavours are still loved by the people of the city. The older generations like the simplicity and nostalgia of eating it, and the young ones like the well-seasoned tonkotsu (pork bone) broth that is suited to the Japanese palate. It really does look like a simple soup, a smooth, milky broth with nothing fancy floating around in it, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Extra meat ramen (with bean sprout topping) and takikomi rice combo

One other thing that draws people to Sugakiya is its affordability. The simplest ramen, with a topping of bamboo, green onion and one slice of pork goes for just 320 yen, and that's including tax! The weekday set you see above, extra meat topping (5 slices instead of one) with a bowl of seasoned rice is only 500 yen. The bean sprout topping only added about 60 yen to my bill.

Sugakiya is not Sugakiya without the spork! In an effort to reduce waste from disposable chopsticks, Sugakiya, in co-operation with the ceramics company Noritake came up with the design in 1978 for the spoon-and-fork-in-one. You can eat the noodles and drink the broth all with one utensil!  In 2008, it was even sold in the gift shop of New York's renowned Modern Museum of Art (MoMA). Of course, for those who prefer, Sugakiya also provides re-usable plastic chopsticks.

They are also known for their soft cream desserts, which are also very affordable (the mini soft cream being only 100 yen). You can try not only chocolate and strawberry parfaits, but also Japanese sweets combined with soft cream such as coffee jelly, red bean paste zenzai, hojicha-flavoured jelly...the flavours will change depending on the season, but there is always some traditional flavour available!

Restaurant: Sugakiya すがきや

Area: A 3-minute walk from Kamejima Station 亀島駅, Taiho building, first floor

Website and Map: http://www.sugakico.co.jp/shop/sh_AcNagoya/sh_NgNakamura/entry-1418.html

Hours: 11am-8pm (LO 7:30pm)