AND IT'S SUKIYAKI TIME!!!!!!
Imahan always comes up when I google "best sukiyaki in Tokyo." Therefore, here I am.
I've been to Seryna before but had shabu-shabu. Wrong decision. See post here.
After walking around Shinjuku Gyoen for 2 hours and another 20 minutes to get to Imahan,
I deserved nothing but High Quality Beef
I ordered the Sukiyaki Lunch Teishoku which came with:
Appetizers of eggplant-tofu in soy and ginger, and dried tuna with mizuna leaves
Three slices of High Quality Beef. LOOK AT THAT MARBLING!!!
Vegetable plate which includes a rice cake stamped with the restaurant name.
It was soft and bouncy.
My server gave me the best service. He cooked, he explained,
he charged my phone, covered my bag, took my photo, waited patiently
for me to take my photos. And he did everything with a smile.
He was also a little bit obsessive-compulsive, moving each plate back
to its original location after I pull them closer to me one by one for pictorial.
Unlike other sukiyaki places where they dump everything altogether into the pot, here at Imahan, they do things slowly but surely, and ever so gently.
My server waited for me to finish my first piece of meat before he started cooking the next. He also gave me a fresh bowl of raw egg with each generous piece.
The first slice was served simply in raw egg. I don't care if you have great fears of salmonella,
this is the ONLY way you should eat sukiyaki.
It was as tender as a newborn baby, only 100,000x more delicious
The second piece came with noodles and leeks. The noodles were cooked al dente,
and the leeks delightfully soft. I don't know how it's possible, but this beef was even
more delicious than the last.
Third slice came with tofu, okra, mushrooms, and ohmygod that smokey, meaty eggplant!!!
It was like nothing I've ever had before.
And then, the last bowl, which had no meat. Sniff.
(You can always order additional slices at ¥1296 each)
The set came with the usual suspects - rice, pickles and miso soup
When I thought the meal was already over, my server came back with a bowl of eggs
He whisked it lightly and poured it all into the pot
Imagine the fluffiest egg mixed with sukiyaki sauce and all that High Quality Beef essence!
He gave me this bowl and took away the rest. Grrrrrrrr. I could have finished it all!
He brought me something healthier to end of meal. Peach sorbet, peach jelly,
and a fresh cup of green tea. Very refreshing.
Look how obsessive-compulsive he is! My change was arranged so neatly!
He hesitated a bit when I asked him to take this photo. He was in the middle of cooking
but couldn't say no. I think he will remember me for a very, very long time as the
most difficult customer he's ever served. Lol.
Ningyocho Imahan: Odakyu Daiichi Life Building 1F, 2-7-1 Nishishinju-ku, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Tel: +81-3-3345-1470
Ningyocho Imahan has 12 branches in and around Tokyo.