We Ate 9 Courses of Beef at This Japanese Steakhouse

By Betty Richardson

The Place
Hongqiao might seem like the boonies to downtown denizens, but in terms of Japanese restaurants it is a veritable cornucopia, dotted with hidden gems that cater to the sizeable community of Japanese expats who call it home.

Niku Ryori Yamachan is one of these places, though quite unlike any Japanese restaurant we’ve visited in Shanghai. Similar to a high-end sushi restaurant in format, the difference here is that fish is supplanted with nine (!) courses of ultra-premium marbled beef, beef and more beef.

The Food
At the bar there is a simple yet blisteringly hot charcoal grill set up. Manning it is a young Chinese chef who barely looks 19, but cooks with utmost precision and all the seriousness of a civil servant. As a waitress serves us an appetizer comprised almost entirely of beef and pork in various trompe l’oeil disguises, he begins the first course: tongue.

We’ve had grilled tongue at many a Japanese barbecue joint before, but none like this. Typically served in thin cross-section slices that leave it vulnerable to toughness, tongue here is cut lengthways into long, even batons.

One slice is from the outer area of the tongue and the other from the interior, the idea is that you compare the texture of the two, but both are impeccably juicy and bursting with flavor. It is among the best tongue we’ve ever had, with a remarkably steak-like texture.4

The next course is yet more tongue, this time braised in a yohshoku (Japanese-style Western food) bourguignon sauce. Smooth to the point that it looks worryingly akin to barbecue sauce, the surprisingly bright yet subtle flavor of this bourguignon is more refined than the ones at certain French bistros.

Finally, our prodigious baby-faced chef gets to it with the steak, producing two slices of karubi (boneless short ribs). One dressed with fiery Korean pepper and gochujiang, the other slice with a superb salty and sweet soy sauce lightly caramelized from the grill.

Rib-eye, tenderloin and sirloin cuts follow suit, each distinct in texture and flavor but with a profound common denominator of fattiness.

Some, like the tenderloin, are so marbled they cannot be in contact with the grill for more than a few seconds before they combust, cooked for just a few seconds under the gaze of our chef. He changes the grill plate with each course to preserve the flavor of each cut.

By the penultimate course we’re virtually dying from beef overload, and a thick slice of tenderloin all but pushes us over the edge. In one bite it bursts, flooding the mouth with juiciness. We wonder at what point steak this marbled becomes more beef flavored fat.

The last course mercifully comes with some carbs: a bowl of white rice topped with the cuts of beef that we'd just eaten throughout the set.

Food verdict: 2.5/3

The Vibe
While elegant and understated, the interiors are not grand or particularly flashy. This is one of those places where you’re paying for the quality of the ingredients. The set we tried was RMB1,000, but they also offer à la carte for less. Service is impeccably polite (as it is at many Japanese places in Shanghai), but with quite limited English. Vibe verdict: 1/1

Value for Money
Cerebral and deliberate, a meal at Yamachan is a precisely thought-out journey into all that steak can be. It is glorious and a must-try for voracious steak lovers and adventurous eaters. Just do yourself a favor and wear stretchy pants. Value for money: 1/1

TOTAL VERDICT: 4.5/5
Price: RMB600-1,100 per person
Who's going: Japanese expats, locals
Good for: steak lovers, impressing guests, dates, special occasions

Niku Ryori Yamachan, No.4, 3911 Soho, 3911 Hongmei Lu, by Yan'an Xi Lu.

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