Forget about Pablo, try Kobe Kannonya Cheesecake instead

I guess many have heard about Pablo cheesetarts, the rare cheesetarts are my fav and I would always get one when I visit Japan, but in my recent trip to Japan this year. I found something better and it seems it is not as hyped or known like Pablo.

I ordered the Denmark Cheesecake set (just realised I didn't take photos of the cake properly, took vids instead) and I can't remember the price but it should be 1,200 yen-ish? 

I bought it back for my friend and here's the photos. So what is special about this cheesecake is that there is two layers, a baked cheesecake as the base and the gooey cheese (which is so melty and stringy and yummy when heated). 

 Must eat for any cheesecake lovers

You get them take-out or eat-in. It is probably about 500 yen for one cheesecake if you buy in those take-out stores. I went to the outlet at motomachi shopping street and got the cheesecake from the store at Osaka station to bring back home. 

While Pablo is nice, this is a whole new different taste~ try this!

More info here

There is an outlet at Harbourland Mosaic Shopping mall as well. 

Shop name: 観音屋

Address: 3 Chome-9-23 Motomachidori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture 650-0022, Japan

Opening Hours : 11am- 10pm

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Kobe Beef in Tokyo

I have always heard about the magical beef in Japan, and how the farmers play music and feed chocolate to them and how tender their meat is, and the one always (mostly) talked about was Kobe beef.  Hence, when I visited Kansai region for the first time in 2014, I made it a point to travel out to Kobe to try their famed Kobe beef & boy, was it good. More about that here. Then I blogged about the cheap kobe beef in Osaka (which was good too!) here. Then this year I went to Kobe again and tried another restaurant. More about that here.

The thing is, I have tried Kobe beef in Tokyo last year as well (seems like Japan is the only place I ever travel to now, since I only travel overseas once a year anyway :x) and it certainly tastes as good as the ones they have in Kobe, the restaurant I visited in Tokyo served it steak style though while the ones in Kobe & Osaka that i visited were served teppenyaki style.   So, when I went to Tokyo with my friends last year, we went to eat Kobe beef in Tokyo as one of my friends wanted to try it. 

We went to Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511 located at Akasaka.
More info here.
They serve cheap Kobe beef hamburger - 1,500 yen. People who are familiar with Japan hamburger will know that it is thick beef hamburger patty served with rice and sauce etc (not actually served with buns and all).



We ordered the 12,000 yen 150g lunch set instead of the lunch set which start at 3,800 yen as the staff told us that it was rump meat (less oil) which means it might not be as tender. The set came with tea (not pictured), rice, pickles, side dishes, soup etc.



See that thing on top of the beef? That is solidified shouyu, which will melt when it comes in contact with the beef. It COMPLEMENTS the beef so damn well. This is obviously very different from teppenyaki style Kobe beef, I must say I love this a lot because you get to eat, like a whole big piece of beef and it is just so satisfying.

This is a definite must-try if you are in Tokyo and love beef. You can try the hamburger set or the lunch special Kobe beef, but whatever it is, just go try Kobe beef or Japan beef in general. Totally life changing beef for us. My mum who does not like to eat beef loves Kobe beef, so you can imagine how good it is.

Anyway, when dining in Japan, it is a point to note that while restaurants may serve the same food for lunch and dinner, it is usually more expensive during dinner. For example, a 150g kobe beef steak might set you back at 7,000 yen during lunch, but it will be 15,000 yen or more during dinner. Hence, it is best to eat expensive food (eg sushi, Kobe beef etc) during lunch and food with fixed prices all day  (eg. ramen/ udon/ soba/ gyudon) for dinner instead.

As usual, reservation is recommended.

Kobe Beef Kaiseki 511
Website: here
Address:  B1, Dear Plaza Akasaka, Akasaka 4-3-28,
Minato Ward, Tokyo 107-0052
Tel: 03-6685-0511 Fax: 03-6893-0511
Opening hours: Lunch 11:30～14:30 (L.O. 14:00)
Dinner: 18:00～23:00 (L.O. 22:00)
Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays

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Kobe Plaisir : Good Kobe Beef in Kobe

In my trip this year, I went to Kobe for Kobe beef again, but at a different restaurant. I think the restaurants in Kobe tend to serve Kobe beef teppenyaki style (the restaurant I ate 2 years ago in Kobe also served it Teppenyaki style) while the one in Tokyo that I went last year served it steak style. Both are delicious with the difference being that you get to see it being cooked in front of you if it is Teppenyaki-style and it tends to be cut into small cubes. Kobe beef in Kobe are actually cheap, they have courses starting from 3,000 yen in most restaurants although the cuts are not the ones with nicest marbling but if you are on a budget and still want to try Kobe beef, you can try that course.

This time, I went to Kobe Plaisir, located at the first floor of the B' Hotel Kobe. They have an English website and they serve Kobe beef in different style (steamed, shabu shabu, teppenyaki). I chose teppenyaki style of course.

This is the menu.


We ordered Course B Kobe Beef Sirloin. As mentioned earlier, 3,000 yen course tend to be rump meat etc (less fats, not as beautiful marbling). I will recommend going for sirloin or fillet.


This is my appetizer (I chose vinegar cos it is good for the skin). The appetizer was good.


Pumpkin soup (I love pumpkin so i was very happy when they served this)



Kobe beef + veggie (sirloin steak. this is the portion for 2 btw)


Salad


Kobe beef


Fried rice (you can choose normal & fried rice but I chose fried rice cos I love fried rice + they actually use kobe beef chips in your fried rice)



I ordered the sparkling drink. The green juice is for you to wash your palate (very healthy btw).


After your meal, you will be brought to another area for dessert. The yogurt mousse is so good omg. I wish they sell take-away for that (+ the vinegar drink).


The bill. the additional 850 yen was for drink that we ordered. if you didn't order drink then it will be just your meal + tax.

I highly recommend this shop for people who want to try Kobe Beef. The portion might seem little (100g) but the beef is really good and the other side dishes are good as well. Very satisfying meal.

Reservations are highly recommended. I made my reservation 2 weeks earlier and some slots were already fully booked. Click here for reservations. They will send you an email after you submit the reservation form on their web. Just reply to confirm & they will send another email nearer to the date of reservation. Similarly, just reply to confirm.

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