A note on the words: yakiniku is Japanese-style grilled meat, cooked by the diner over a grill set into the table. Tanshio is sliced beef tongue seasoned with salt, kalbi is short rib, harami is outside skirt, mino is the first stomach of the cow and marucho the small intestine — both belong to horumon, the family of offal cuts that yakiniku houses grill. “Premium” here translates jo, a grade marking a cut as the better one on the menu. Tare is the dipping or marinating sauce. Sangchu is the Korean name for the lettuce leaves used to wrap the meat, namul are seasoned vegetable side dishes, oi-kimchi is cucumber kimchi and kkakdugi is cubed radish kimchi. Negi is Japanese long onion.
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Ichibankan on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This time, to “Ichibankan,” a long-standing yakiniku house in Azabu-juban — a fiercely contested yakiniku district, is it? I have the impression it has always been right there, but I wonder how long it has actually been around. I had never once been in, so I decided to pay a visit. I had not booked and simply turned up, but it was quiet and I walked straight in. Nice, ha.
Inside it has that good old feel of a yakiniku place with generously spaced seating.
You can eat at your leisure, and I do like a yakiniku restaurant laid out with roomy seats like this.
There is all sorts on the menu, but my approach was simply to order whatever caught my eye, one after another.
Three kinds: napa cabbage kimchi, oi-kimchi and kkakdugi.
Oh, that is a good-looking tongue!
A quick sear and a bite, and — mm, tender and delicious. It comes already dressed in salt tare, so you can eat it just as it is.
Mm, quite a strongly seasoned one, and it eats substantial. Delicious.
Nice — the flavor of the meat is deep. A delicious loin!
And then, the premium liver! Look at this!
Liver with edges that stand up sharp! Fresh and looking very good.
Liver like this you want to sear briefly on the surface and eat!
Cook it too long and it turns tough. Served alongside are shredded ginger and negi. Delicious!
I am starting to forget what it was I ordered… ha
Another something I could not recall afterward, ha
Premium mino — this one I know! Not one to skip.
So: I ate a fair bit and drank a fair bit, and my memory of the later half grew steadily hazier, but the seasoning is quite strong and as yakiniku eaten as something to drink alongside, it is excellent! And while the prices are on the high side, the quality makes you feel yes, they really are using good meat — which is Azabu-juban for you. Surviving in a district this competitive must be exactly what that means!
That was delicious!
Ichibankan (Yakiniku / Azabu-juban Station, Akabanebashi Station, Roppongi Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
