Speak of Japanese food, and few would think of a steak to feast on. Yet, the Hamburg Steak is just as much Japanese as other staples in the cuisine. The Hamburg Steak is a popular dish in the yoshoku family; that is, western-style Japanese food. While the dish is a mainstream one in Japan, here, the game is brought by Ishigamaya, a restaurant hailed right from Japan that prides on this signature dish.
The steak is a juicy beef patty, grilled in a stone oven, served with a reduction sauce and veggies. At Ishigamaya, this simple dish is best experienced as an entire set. The meal consists of a tomato soup, a garden salad, the famed steak with a side of bread or rice to choose from. Word of the wise says that the bread is the cunning option to go with: have a bite of the patty followed by the buttered bread, then you’ll wonder why did it take so long for this dish to reach our shores and tummy.
One can pick from a variety of sauces to dress the steak. The go-to is undoubtedly Ishigamaya’s Original sweet wine-reduction. Though all others, such as the Napolitan tomato sauce or the Chef’s Special butter, cream and herbs sauce, pair just as tastefully. If you please, add toppings like melted cheese or a sunny-side up egg to your steak. And should you be wondering, Ishigamaya does carry an indulging selection of two lava cakes for dessert: Belgian chocolate and matcha flavours.
This eponymous restaurant is Ishigamaya’s first ever outlet outside of its home country and housed among its Japanese lifestyle siblings, Lumine shopping retail and Chavaty café, in Plaza Indonesia. Ishigamaya is another addition to the vast repertoire of Japanese restaurants in the city but won’t be another yawn in the list thanks to the aced Hamburg Steak they brought with them.