Yakiniku (pronounce yah-key-knee-koo) is a popular Japanese meal. You go to a restaurant that has a grill built into the center of the table. The wait staff then brings you meat (and veggies if you'd like) to grill by yourself on the grill. And just if you're wondering the meat you get isn't thick pieces like a steak they are cut really thin and cook quite fast (although you can order a thicker cut steak if you want but it isn't the norm). Different Yakiniku places are different in that some charge you per plate of food ordered while others are one price for all-you-can-eat. It's very good!
And so we begin......
When you sit down there are little sauce trays with 3 different sauces in them.
There was some sort of salt, a lemon sauce, and a beef sauce
For our meal the other night we started out with a little bowl of cooked and cut up beef.
Right after the little bowl of beef they brought out some kimuchi (pronounced kim-chee). It is veggies with a hot/spicy flavorful sauce (sometimes quite spicy, sometimes not too bad. I'm not much of a spicy-liking person but I tend to like this). Somebody said it is a Korean thing, but I have seen it often here in Japan.
This time after the kimuchi they brought out a big plate of veggies with some chicken and pork to get us started. Except for the first little bowl of cut up beef that we were given all the meat and veggies you get are raw and you cook it to your liking. Whether you like your meat a little red or if you a brown-is-cooking-black-is-done kind of person you can grill it how you want).
Then they brought out the big plate of beef, with different kinds/cuts of beef. This is what we were there for.
While we were eating our beef they brought us out little bowls of rice if we wanted them
Then they brought out a big steak. The steak was pre-cut into thick strips. If you have ever heard of Kobe beef you probably think of super tender, marbled, expensive, melt-your-mouth-beef. That's what this was and it was delicious.
We didn't have it this time at our table (I have tried it in the past and it wasn't that bad, just chewy) but the other table that was with us ordered a plate of intestines.
If you are ever in Japan I would highly recommend that you try Yakiniku. Not only is it great food but it is great experience too. I would say it is very popular with the Japanese people and something very common when going out to eat.
If you get the chance to go, let me know how it is and how you like it.
Thank you again for taking us out, it was great!
