Offering delicious Japanese hot pot and sukiyaki dishes all across Japan, I had the privilege of trying Shabu-Shabu Tajimaya in Kyoto city.
Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish consisting of thin slices of tender beef cooked in a sweet and savory broth and typically with vegetables such as mushrooms, cabbage, and tofu. Honestly, sukiyaki has to be one of my favorite Japanese dishes because of how delicious the broth is and how it amplifies the experience of eating meat and vegetables with unmatched flavors.
All-You-Can-Eat
Shabu-Shabu Tajimaya offers all-you-can-eat courses for both shabu-shabu (Japanese hotpot) and sukiyaki. Personally, I have a strong preference for sukiyaki as shabu-shabu typically uses a more plain, mild broth. As such, we opted for the sukiyaki all-you-can-eat lunch menu (which is significantly cheaper than the dinner course) and loved everything about it!
High-Quality Meat
The meat quality at Shabu-Shabu Tajimaya is extremely high-quality which is quite a surprise given how affordable this restaurant is.
The marbling is truly on another level and resembles A5 wagyu beef with its intricate patterns of white and red colors.
Once you cook these bad boys in the piping hot pot of sweet sukiyaki broth, you’re left with aromatic and tender meat that is bursting with flavor.
Amazing Condiments
While there are plenty of soy sauces and seasoning salts to choose from, the best condiment for sukiyaki is simply a raw egg whipped to perfection.
The combination of the golden egg yolk and the cooked beef is truly a match made in heaven.
In some ways, the egg kind of “tames” the intense flavors of the sukiyaki beef and creates a smooth coating to balance the leathery meat.
Fresh Vegetables
It’s not a complete sukiyaki experience without the accompanying classic vegetables.
At the food bar, you can grab as much tofu, mushrooms, and cabbage among other vegetables as you like.
All of these vegetables soften up after being soaked in the delicious sukiyaki broth, becoming easily edible and full of flavor.
Room for Dessert?
Not the most pleasant photo in this article, but I promise the dessert here is quite good!
As part of the all-you-can-eat menu, you also get access to unlimited drinks and ice cream to satisfy that sweet tooth.
The ice cream varieties are surprisingly vast. Instead of just offering vanilla flavor as most buffets do, this restaurant provides plenty of flavors including matcha green tea, chocolate mint, and even coffee!
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