Karubi Dojo @ Akasaka

Real Japanese wagyu beef from USD 4 a plate? This is what you get at Karubi Dojo, a yakiniku place in Akasaka for the salaryman.

Located near the food alley in Akasaka, this place offers one of the best value for yakiniku anywhere in Tokyo. There were 10 of us, and with all the meat and drinks, we only spent an average of USD50 per person.

Appetisers

We started the dinner with a couple of standard appetisers – Japanese potato salad, and an assortment of Korean-style kimchi.

Hitachi Wagyu Oyster Blade

The Hitachi wagyu beef 常陸牛 from Ibaraki Prefecture 茨城県 are taken only from the Japanese Black cattle raised for over 30 months and have a quality grading of 4 or 5 (marbling) of the A or B class (quality) according to the scales of the Japan Meat Grading Association. The oyster blade is a very marbled muscle found in the shoulder or blade section of the cattle. This is considered one of the better cut for yakiniku.

One of their specialty was this very thinly sliced beef, the thickness that you would usually sliced for shabu-shabu. It only took a couple of second to cook and you rolled it with spring onions and ate it with the special sauce with spicy radish mash.

Because the meat from Wagyu cattle is so different from regular cows’, butchery for Wagyu is slightly different compared to the more common U.S. cuts. Most of the cuts are made along fat caps or the layer of fats surrounding muscles as Wagyu fat is particularly soft and easily separated. Because of this, butchering and portioning Wagyu also requires a fair amount of skill as you have to be both accurate and fast – the fat of the beef begins melting as soon as it gets into contact with body heat. 

Beef Tongue

My favourite item in yakiniku, they were good but not enough chopped scallions.

Boneless Short Ribs – Karubi

Their namesake cut was one of their most popular. This cut is rich in flavour and is characterised by a slight sweetness.

Sirloin

One of the most popular cuts for steak for both steaks and yakiniku, and for good reason — the meat is cut from the back of a cow, and is a balance of tender, juicy and flavourful.

Karubi Dojo カルビ道場 赤坂店 
東京都港区赤坂3-13-2 上野産業赤坂第1ビル 1F

Date Visited : Jun 2017

Closed 28 Sep 2018, replaced by a lamb BBQ specialty restaurant Hitsuji 8ban.