Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan｜竹鶴別館

Great traditional Japanese food! Staff are amazing and very kind. If you are a foreigner, unless you can converse and read Japanese, should go with a Japanese friend because there are no English menu's.

While there are many counters, there are also comfortable seats for four people. This is a valuable restaurant where young women and elderly people can enjoy a leisurely meal alone. I wanted to have a Japanese lunch, but I was tired of tempura and sashimi, so I jumped at the boiled fish set meal. I think it's rare to find a restaurant that serves boiled fish for lunch. Today's boiled fish was rockfish. The food is made to order, so it takes a while, but it's so delicious that it's well worth the wait. Not only was the fish fresh and the broth had an elegant sweetness, but the meat had a perfect balance of firmness and tenderness. It was easy to eat because it was crumbly and could be removed from the bone. The small bowl consisted of boiled hijiki, boiled eggplant, okara, and pickled vegetables, and the miso soup was delicious with a strong fish stock. It even comes with persimmons and oranges, so I'm happy! It took a while for the boiled fish to be finished, but it was fun to watch the fish swimming energetically in the fish tank inside the U-shaped counter. The price for the set meal in the photo is 1,375 yen (tax included). The daily set meal consisted of boiled vegetables and a hamburger steak, and it cost less than 1,000 yen including tax, so I think it was quite cheap. Other set meals start at just over 1,000 yen, and even though they are carefully prepared in this day and age, I was really grateful.

There is a large fish tank in the center of the store where squid are swimming leisurely. I came here for lunch. The daily set meal is absolutely delicious! There are so many side dishes that I'm full. The daily set meal is 880 yen.