Cavalock and The Wagyu Beef Set Dilemma

The original plan when we got to Tokyo was to head to Kagurazaka and look for Michelin Award soba joint Kyourakutei. First thing you'll notice bout Kagurazaka is it's all uphill, well, downhill if you facing the other way. Like one long 45 degrees road with lots of interesting shops lined up on both sides. At least it felt like 45 degrees to me! If you wander off through the side roads, you'll find some quaint restaurants too. It's away from the hustle and bustle of places like Shibuya and rather nice.

Unfortunately the soba place was closed that day and we had to look for somewhere else for lunch. Desperate and hungry, we scouted the neighbourhood. Walked past a random, non-descript grilled meat restaurant and a little voice said "why not?". And that's how we ended up at award-winning Kagurazaka Shinsen.

We were ushered to our counter seats. Nice classy decor. Click on the link above to have a better look at the restaurant's interiors and menu. The wagyu lunch sets looked very tempting and while the Baker-at-Home ordered the beef bowl set, I had the grill beef set. That prompted the chef (I assumed the head chef cos he's dressed like a company CEO under that apron coat) to suddenly appear, pop behind the counter, smile at us and begin slicing the beef. Thirty seconds later, he's done. One final smile and he's gone. Kinda like how a comic book hero would show up, save the day and then disappear. Hmmm.... I can't help it, once a geek, always a geek.

This is the kinda place where you grill your own beef slices. Once they got the counter-long charcoal grill set up, you are set to go. The meat is so tender and juicy, you'll find yourself caught in this dilemma as whether to take your time to grill and savour the beef or grill them all and wolf them down. Know what I mean? Wish they had an English lunch menu on their website. Lunch sets were definitely more affordable than dinner.