Japanese sukiyaki (すき焼き) has always been a meal that I love, something that’s just a great classic flavored dish that goes down well – I would call it a comfort dish. When I was in Tokyo I wanted to maximize the quality of food I could eat with my budget. So I did a lot of research and took my time to decided which restaurants to eat at, carefully. One day I really wanted to eat sukiyaki (すき焼き), and in an article in the Japan Times, I came across the suggestion for a restaurant known as Yoshihashi (よしはし). They mentioned this restaurant was extremely classy with prices to go with it – however, during the lunchtime, at one of the 12 bar seats, they offered an awesome lunch special a very affordable price.
You can be sure I was the first in line at Yoshihashi (よしはし), and my mind and tongue were thrilled to sample their high class sukiyaki (すき焼き). As soon as we arrive to the restaurant I could see just how prestigious it was – there wasn’t even a sign on the restaurant. It was just straight clean wood and minimal design. There was nobody waiting in line like at many other restaurants in Tokyo, but rather it just had a feeling of elegance and prestige. So as soon as the clock struck their open hour, we headed in, and then took our seats at the bar to eat sukiyaki (すき焼き). There was no menu in English, but I did my best to just order the normal version of the dish, nothing extra and no other requests. The waitress in a kimono served us a cup of green to begin with, without a hint of a smile, not in an unfriendly way but more in an elegant way.
I wasn’t sure if photos or videos were allowed inside Yoshihashi (よしはし) as at many Japanese restaurants they are concerned about such things. So I started off very calmly and tried to keep my voice extremely quiet despite my thrill of eating the awesome food. Our sukiyaki (すき焼き) came in about 10 minutes, and rather than being served in a hot pot style, it was served all assembled in a piping hot copper bowl. The main dish came with an egg and few small garnishes on the side. I whirled up my egg first and then started grabbing bites of the sukiyaki (すき焼き) and dipping them into the raw egg before eating. The beef, though not even their most high quality version, was outstanding. It was tender and literally just fell apart in my mouth leaving a flavor that was accented by soy sauce and rice wine. The flavors were delicate, but extremely smooth and I could taste the definite quality in their ingredients. We did manage to get enough of a video, but like I suspected, after a few minutes, the waitress did ask us not to take any more photos, so we stopped. Hopefully I captured enough of this awesome sukiyaki (すき焼き) meal at Yoshihashi (よしはし) to show a little picture of this awesome restaurant, the elegance, and the quality of the atmosphere and food.
Dining at Yoshihashi (よしはし) was really an amazing experience, and for just $20 it was well worth it. By the way, dinner can cost around $200 or more.
Yoshihashi (よしはし) Sukiyaki, Tokyo, Japan
Address: 1-5-25 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
How to get there: Take the Tokyo Metro (Ginza Line) to Asakasa-mitsuke station, take exit B, and walk straight out of the exit until you come to your first street. Make a right and walk down the road until you come to a Honda store. Turn left and walk almost to the end of the road, but just before that, on your left hand side you’ll see a little side street (it almost looks like an alley). Turn left and you’ll see Yoshihashi on your right hand side at the end of the alley.
Open hours: 11:30 am — 2 pm for lunch, Monday — Saturday
Price: 2,100 JPY ($20), a well spent $20 for a marvelous sukiyaki lunch and an elegant Japanese dining experience
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