Every year, there are four serious meetings held in Osaka. The meeting in December always takes place at a sukiyaki restaurant in Kinshachi. After the meeting, there is a sukiyaki party. It's basically a get-together after the year-end meeting. If you want to enjoy sukiyaki, then Osaka is the place to be.
For events like year-end parties, I usually don’t attend much. But since it’s an event organized by a conference, it would be rude to skip it. It’s also too impolite to ignore it completely. Besides, it’s Osaka… and there’s yakitori.
I wasn't drawn to sukiyaki in the first place, but in the end, I'm acting just like someone who was actually drawn to sukiyaki.
The wines at this restaurant are, to be honest, not very good. But if you think about it differently, they can be considered "reasonable and not excessive to drink." The fact that they only have cheap Chilean wines on the menu might be a reflection of care for both their wallet and your health.
For sukiyaki, we use a Bordeaux-style red wine.
This combination itself is truly outstanding.
The person who took care of my table was a veteran chef named Nakai. He has a reputation for his skills, but this time, it seemed like his skills didn’t match well with the iron plates used in the kitchen. He was struggling a bit. I heard that sometimes there are certain iron plates that simply don’t work well. It’s understandable to think that such plates could be discarded.
Additionally, it is said that my request to reduce the amount of sugar added by half was also a contributing factor.
That is unacceptable. I should have known that every year, I am a "person who consumes half a teaspoon of sugar." And yet, I haven't failed at all.
However, the result was delicious. Thanks to the minimal use of melted eggs, the final egg custard was top-notch. The meat extract was fully integrated into the dish.
I had a very pleasant meeting with people sitting at the same table. It was truly enjoyable.
I am not attending this meeting just because I'm attracted to sukiyaki. As proof, I also attend regular meetings that have no dining sessions.
Even so, there may be people who perceive me as someone who has attended the meeting because of my fondness for sukiyaki. But that's not a problem at all.
What's even more terrifying is the observation that, while they claim not to attend the year-end party, they actually show up there. This is a perfectly valid point of view, but it only provides a superficial understanding of the situation.
Every year at the end of the year, I’m happy to be able to attend the New Year’s party in Kita-mura again. I don’t expect anything special from wine this year. Diablo only has red and white wines available at convenience stores. But that’s okay. After all, I came here to eat meat.
As usual, I enjoy watching Nakai-san prepare the food. The finished meat is simply delicious. I prefer it with less sugar added. After finishing eating the meat, I would like to bake the leftover mashed eggs on a metal plate, but that is prohibited here. So, I eat them with omelette rice. It tastes wonderful with the sukiyaki flavor. I won’t give up. I dream of drinking Bordeaux wine here someday, and I will definitely come back next year.
This is the annual tradition of a meeting that is combined with the New Year’s celebration. I’m eagerly waiting to enjoy the sukiyaki from Kitamuura. From the beginning to the end, it was Nakatani who prepared everything. Customers are not allowed to touch the pot until it’s ready to be served. The meat is placed on a steel plate coated with beef fat, and then sugar, oil, and soy sauce are added to create a sauce. After that, the vegetables are added, allowing the flavor of the meat to be absorbed by the vegetables… Who came up with this cooking method? I think sukiyaki should be done in a Kansai-style way.
That delicious sukiyaki would certainly be complemented by a premium red wine like Merlot, or perhaps a aged Burgundy white wine. However, we don’t have such wines available at our restaurant. The wines listed on the menu simply don’t match the cuisine we serve. Moreover, since last year, the wines we offer have become even cheaper. Before, we had some decent Merlot from Komoro, but now… I prefer not to drink alcohol here. Instead, I settle for relaxing at the wine bar during the after-party. I really want to pair that sukiyaki with a delicious wine. Please do so.
This is the 19th segment of our restaurant-review translation project. We have translated only this segment and kept the wording natural.
**North Mura – Over 10 Years Since I First Visited This Place**
I haven’t eaten any other steak at other restaurants since eating here. The cooking method involves mixing sugar, oil, and soy sauce on a metal plate to coat the meat. Since I don’t like sweet foods, I have requested that the amount of sugar be reduced.
This time, it's a year-end party. I asked those who were with me to be patient and accommodate me by reducing the amount of sugar in the dish. I think it's absurd to enjoy beef through sugar. But when I'm here, I just accept such a way of eating sometimes. I had extra meat served to me. In the end, I wanted to pour the melted eggs over my rice, but since there were other people around, I couldn't do that. So, I ended up having egg rice instead. It was a very delicious ending to the meal. I'm satisfied again today.
I always think that sukiyaki is exclusive to Osaka. Every year, during the work-related New Year’s parties, I come here. But this time, it’s a private occasion. Literally, sukiyaki where the meat is cooked in an iron pot.
No matter how many times I try, I can’t cook it myself. It is Nakai-san who does it for me. I put sugar, oil, and soy sauce into the pot along with the meat, and stir them together. But to me, it’s too sweet. Since I don’t like sweetness, I asked to use less sugar. During the last portion of cooking, I ordered rice, poured it over the mixture, and then added the meat. It looks amazing! The taste is, of course, beyond description. It might seem cloying, but I really think that sukiyaki should be exclusive to Osaka.
