We started with yakitori, a common type of Japanese bar food involving chicken or some other meat and veggies grilled on skewers, and sashimi, or raw seafood.
yakitori (clockwise from left): fish cake, chicken tendon, chicken & green onion, tiny green peppers, chicken hearts, chicken wings
sashimi: hamachi, scallop, squid, shrimp, tuna
Drinking is also a huge part of the enkai, so an overflowing glass of sake was a necessity.
sake
The sake was followed by what seemed like an unending barrage of delicious foods.
"Have you ever tried (insert food name here)?"
"No."
"Let's get some."
"Have you ever tried (insert food name here)?"
"No."
"Let's get some."
nigiri sushi (from left): tuna, hamachi, salmon, squid, tamago (egg)
breaded & fried baby octopus
breaded & fried baby octopus
shabu-shabu
dunking the shabu-shabuShabu-shabu was a revelation. Very thinly sliced & perfectly marbled beef, cabbage, and mushrooms are quickly dipped in hot broth until gently cooked. Grab some beef, swish for 3-5 seconds, then remove and drag through ponzu (we think) for the most tender and flavorful piece of meat.
Perhaps the most surprising offering at the izakaya was horse-meat sashimi, a specialty of Yamanashi. Matt partook in the chewy raw horse-meat and was glad he tried it, though he says he would not go out of his way to eat it again. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not try it at all.
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