One day in April, I was taking early morning bird photos at a certain place in Chitose, and around 10:00 a.m., when the sun was rising and I was getting settled, I suddenly felt like eating some meat.
(No birds came).
So I visited Shimizu Drive-in. It is now called “Tokachi-tei” (restaurant with a view).
What I always order here is a “mini korabo-don”.
Although they are called “mini,” there is more than a serving of rice on each side, and I would like to ask for an hour with a highlighter in my Japanese dictionary what exactly a “mini” was.
Gyutama-don is a bowl of rice topped with a fluffy egg and a cut steak made from Tokachi young beef seasoned with a sweet and sour miso-based sauce.
Of course, it is different from the molded meat dice steaks sold at the supermarket. That is delicious in its own way, but this is meat of meat. It is the king of meat. If you bite into it, you will be hit with a body blow from the meaty elasticity of the red meat and the taste of the sauce.
The beef tenderloin on a bowl of rice was so bright that it looked as if it was made from tuna flakes. The fat of the beef fat was completely different from that of fish, with a combination of animal flavor and sweetness.
It melted with the warmth of the hot rice, causing the rice to crumble moderately. In the mouth, the umami of the carbohydrates and the umami of the beef all came together, but the green onions and nori (seaweed) refreshed my palate, and I finished the dish at the same pace until the end.
The menu that combines these two in one set is cunning, and although I visited by car this time because of the cold weather, I would definitely like to try this dish when I come by motorcycle as well.
Tokachi wakagyu” is beef cattle that have been fattened for 14 months after birth, and is characterized by its ‘tasty lean meat’ and ‘low fat’. (From an in-store pop-up)
Tokachi Tei is located on the left side of the Tokachi side downhill of the Nissho Pass, and the parking space overlooks the Tokachi Plain. If you are passing over the pass, please stop by for a bite to eat.
The round trip from the filming location in Chitose to here is 250 km.
