JPN: Sanshoro (山椒郎)

How about a beautiful box full of vegetables for lunch?

Sanshoro is a famous restaurant in Yufuin, Japan that's blessed with the view of a paddy field and Mount Yufu. It's said that the owner of the restaurant is regarded as the most prominent chef in Yufuin who used to work at a Japanese restaurant in Milan, Italy and supervise the menu served onboard the trains of JR Kyushu.

Don't you think that meal box is too pretty to be eaten?

Bungo Beef Don ¥1,300 (~S$15.90)

Taste: 9/10

The actual name of the dish is 豊後牛しぐれ煮丼. Bungo beef is a specialty of the Oita prefecture of Japan, known for its rich taste and high content of unsaturated fats. It was my virgin experience with the breed, and I daresay that was the best beef bowl I've ever had. True enough, the well-marinated beef cubes were delicious with the expected melt-in-the-mouth characteristic. The onsen tamago (lit. hot spring egg) added to the overall enjoyment of the dish.

Awase Bako (Yama) ¥2,200 (~S$26.90)

Taste: 8.5/10

The Japanese writing on the menu for this dish is 合わせ箱 (山). Inside the box were a myriad of colourful vegetables, which were crisp and bursting with natural juice, sitting on a bed of rice. There wasn't a lot of Bungo beef in the 'mountain' version of the box, but the red meat was adequately juicy. The dark sauce for drizzling on the side was sweet and savoury at the same time.

Awase Bako (Umi) ¥2,200 (~S$26.90)

Taste: 8.5/10

The Japanese writing on the menu for this dish is 合わせ箱 (海). I found the raw fish slices in the 'sea' version of the box to be fresh and springy. They went really well with the pickled purple cabbages that were addictive. Each of the box came with a side of pickled Napa cabbages that were really juicy and miso (Japanese fermented rice, barley and/or soybean) soup.

25° Tsunezou Shochu ¥600 (~S$6.80)

Taste: 8/10

The Japanese writing on the menu for this dessert is 25° 常蔵. As the weather was pretty cold outside, I decided to have a glass of Japanese spirit alcohol distilled from sweet potatoes, which had a rather strong taste and a distinctive smell, mixed with hot water. Pika's advice: Mixing with hot water is usually recommended for sweet potato shochu, but feel free to request for it to be served with room temperature water or on the rocks.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8.5/10

Ambience: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Take note that the lunch boxes are only available for lunch. Due to their popularity, it's better to go to the restaurant early to before they run out.

Sanshoro

(山椒郎)

2850-5 Yufuincho Kawakami

Yufu, Oita

Japan

(Thu-Tue: 11.00am - 3.00pm, 6.00pm - 10.00pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% VAT.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)