"Human Gourmet Entry: Surprisingly Delicious Restaurants" (Chukyo TV/Nippon TV Network, Tuesdays at 7 PM) is a variety show that introduces "surprisingly delicious restaurants" that exceed expectations. On June 2nd, the show will feature a restaurant in Hitachinaka City, which will be the 24th restaurant featured in Ibaraki Prefecture, the prefecture with the most featured restaurants on the show.
The restaurant's pride and joy is its block of Hitachi beef (uchimomo), a brand of beef from the prefecture, which is of the highest A5 grade. For its signature dish, the "Hitachi Beef Yakiniku Set Meal," the block of meat is cut only after an order is placed, then mixed with homemade garlic soy sauce, and finally grilled rare on one side for about 30 seconds to bring out the flavor of the meat.
Customers rave about the meat, saying it's "seriously delicious," as it melts in your mouth, and you can add natural rock salt from Pakistan to taste. The price is also reasonable at 1650 yen, which includes three homemade side dishes such as napa cabbage kimchi, simmered daikon radish in broth, and blanched spinach. The "Hitachi Beef Steak Set Meal," which uses the same A5-grade Hitachi beef (inner thigh) and is cooked medium-rare for only about 30 seconds on each side, comes with three side dishes and is an exceptionally low price of 2420 yen.
The "Hitachi Beef Yakiniku Meal Set" (3410 yen), available only at night, includes five kinds of vegetables, soup, three small side dishes, and approximately 180 grams of Hitachi beef, all grilled by the customer themselves. Other options include "Motsuni" (offal stew) (495 yen) and "Hitachi Beef Jumbo Curry" (1300 yen) which contains 100 grams of Hitachi beef scraps.
The restaurant, which sources its high-quality Hitachi beef from a designated Hitachi beef retailer, was founded five years ago by a male owner who used to run a construction company, at the age of 77. He said he wanted to "create a place where anyone can eat Hitachi beef," and he converted his former construction company office into the restaurant himself.
"Doesn't this meat look great?" says the shop owner, who is particular about the appearance of the Hitachi beef. The beef is fresh and not frozen, sourced from a butcher he knows, and he sold out 14 kilograms in 10 days. In order to provide meat at an affordable price, the shop owner single-handedly manages the 600-tsubo (approximately 2,000 square meters) field used for small dishes and cleans the shop. Even when busy, he doesn't hire anyone because, as the shop owner says, "It would cost an extra 10,000 yen (in labor costs). It's better to pass that money on to the customers." We delve into the shop owner's daily life and philosophy of life.
The show's MC is entertainer Hiromi, and the host is Eiji Kotoge of the comedy trio "Viking". Guests include freelance announcer Aika Kanda, entertainer Akina Minami, and comedy duo Batteries.
