A note on the words: jingisukan is Japan’s Hokkaido-born grilled-lamb dish, cooked on a domed iron pan (Matsuo, named in passing below, is one of its best-known houses); this shop does Mongolian lamb-yaki instead, over charcoal. Arkhi and airag are the distilled and fermented forms of Mongolian mare’s milk liquor. Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen is an instant salt-ramen brand every Japanese household knows — which is why the broth here caused such surprise. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Yuboku Lamb Yaki Suyorit on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
This time it is lamb-yaki — not jingisukan! Lamb-yaki.
“Yuboku Lamb Yaki Suyorit”, a Mongolian restaurant in Shinjuku-gyoen!
* The basic course, good value for enjoying lamb * Shoulder loin course (8 dishes) — 3,500 yen
* Good value, thoroughly satisfying, with lamb stew * Chop course (10 dishes) — 5,000 yen (incl. tax)
* Authentic Mongolian style! Rarely available anywhere else * Boiled spare rib course (12 dishes) — 6,600 yen
Stepping inside, the good smell of jingisukan drifts over. There are three courses, and “rarely available anywhere else” is an irresistible phrase — so, the boiled spare rib course!
First, beer!!
I went to photograph it and got distracted by how charming the coaster was.
Tomato marinated in dressing. Clean and refreshing. Delicious.
Icelandic lamb shoulder loin. The flag stuck in it is the Icelandic flag, I take it!
And this one they called shoulder. Wait — shoulder loin, shoulder?
Are they not the same thing? — was my first thought, but no: shoulder loin is the upper part on the back side, where the neck joins the loin. Shoulder is the whole shoulder, and particularly the muscle-heavy portion nearer the foreleg!
And here is a rarity — lamb tongue! Lamb tan!
New Zealand lamb rump. This one has the New Zealand flag in it!
Right — let us grill!
The charcoal runs hot, so things cook quickly. Left unattended it would burn — this needs constant tending!
Mmm, that looks good.
First the “shoulder loin”. Suyorit call it “the best cut”. Evenly marbled and tender, and grilled briefly it becomes something delicate that crumbles in the mouth. A refined sweetness of fat spreads out — genuinely excellent!
Then the “shoulder”. Same shoulder, but this one is the foreleg-side lead player. The fibres stay firm and give real chew, with the lamb character pushed to the front — the substantial type. Fat and lean separate into blocks; a strength that satisfies the serious meat eater.
The “tongue” has a crisp, springy resistance. Prepared simply with salt, its savour seeps out the more you chew. The “rump” is a rare lean cut from towards the tail, with fine-grained flesh and exactly the right proportion of fat! Everything is grilled over a fierce flame, so the savour concentrates. Delicious.
A meatier, more muscular style of jingisukan than the Matsuo version!
And now, the true purpose of this visit to Suyorit…
…fermented mare’s milk liquor!
The soul drink of the nomads, drunk across Mongolia. I had long wanted to try it.
There are two kinds: the clear distilled “arkhi” (38% ABV, no less!) and the cloudy fermented “airag” (1–2%). My mental image of mare’s milk liquor was the cloudy one^^ Asked which I wanted, I of course ordered the 38% arkhi!
Drinking it — 38% indeed. My throat is on fire!!
A yoghurty aroma that does say mare’s milk; a very sharp shot. Sip it slowly or you will be drunk in no time! And then, a shocking fact! This drink is apparently the ancestor of Calpis! Now that you mention it, I can taste it!
The year was 1904. A young man named Kaiun Mishima, from a temple family in Osaka, crossed into Inner Mongolia on a mission to procure army horses, fell ill and nearly died. He was given “sour milk” (a relative of mare’s milk liquor), kept drinking it, recovered, and was moved to write of “feeling I had met the elixir of eternal youth in a foreign land”. Back in Japan he founded a company and launched “Calpis”.
And here it is — the rarely-available-elsewhere boiled spare rib. In Mongolia, boiling and simmering are mainstream cooking methods alongside grilling. Salt-boiled mutton is a traditional nomadic dish called “chansanmakh”. Gnaw the meat off the bone with your hands: juices well out, the fibres come away moist, and the salt draws it all tight. Yes, delicious.
But this flavour… I have met it somewhere before…
“Wait — is this not the soup from Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen?!”
Yes: the flavour is completely Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen soup! Tasted side by side they would probably differ, but the impression is entirely that of instant salt-ramen broth! I never expected to meet Sapporo Ichiban in a Mongolian restaurant!
Lamb heart — another first for me. Far less funky than I imagined.
Lamb and a great deal of napa cabbage simmered with Asian spices. The springy texture of the rib cartilage and the sweetness of the broth-soaked cabbage are delicious. This one was not salt-ramen flavoured^^
And then lamb chops arrive as well! What a lavish course!
Grilled to the right point, in it goes. There is fat, but no heaviness; bite in and the savour around the bone and a measured juiciness of fat spread out at once! Delicious!
Th— this broth!!!
It has noodles and meat in it, but it is the same broth as the boiled spare ribs from earlier! The noodles are thick and firm — this is Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen with thick noodles. Completely.
And finally, yoghurt to close!
A course packed with variety, enjoyable and delicious! I never expected to drink the ancestor of Calpis, and the rare boiled spare ribs tasting of Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen will stay with me as a fine memory. The volume is considerable, and I think the 6,600-yen course lets you enjoy Mongolian lamb grilling in full. The arkhi is a very strong drink, so please take care with it.
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Yuboku Lamb Yaki Suyorit (Chinese / Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station, Shinjuku-sanchome Station, Yotsuya-sanchome 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?
