When you eat out, do you always go for lavish meals, high-calorie meals, or stylish meals?
It’s fine to eat out once in a while, but if you do it often, you inevitably get tired of it, don’t you?
At times like that, wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where you can enjoy home-style cooking?
That’s why we recommend Obanzaiya Yorimichi, located in Kawanishi-cho, Kurashiki City.
Yorimichi is a restaurant where you can enjoy home-style obanzai.
What’s more, the main obanzai dishes change every day.
The interior has a relaxing atmosphere, just like being at home.
Introducing Yorimichi, a place that makes you want to “take a little detour”!
The information provided was accurate when this article was published in January 2020. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Yorimichi is a small, homey restaurant
Yorimichi is located about 500 meters southwest of JR Kurashiki Station and about 500 meters west of the Bikan Historical Area.
It is run by a young owner on their own.
The cozy restaurant has a total of 11 seats.
▼There are seven counter seats.
▼There is also one table that seats four.
Though it is a small restaurant, one of Yorimichi’s defining features is the close connection between the customers and the owner.
It’s easy for the owner and customers, as well as customers among themselves, to strike up conversations, making it a very lively place.
Yorimichi offers a relaxing space that feels just like home, and is loved by its customers as a place for the local community to unwind.
Yorimichi’s appeal is its home-style obanzai!
Yorimichi’s signature dish is obanzai.
The regular menu also has plenty of dishes that look delicious.
They’re all appealing for their handmade, home-style flavors.
Around six varieties of “Today’s Obanzai,” changing daily
The menu for “Today’s Obanzai” changes every day.
There are usually about six varieties each day.
It’s fun to visit and wonder, “What will today’s obanzai be?”
The obanzai available when we visited included the following:
- Potato salad
- Broccoli
- Yakisoba-style rice vermicelli
- Nikujaga (meat and potatoes)
- Simmered flounder
- Hamburger steak simmered in sauce
All the obanzai are home-style dishes, like something you’d have for dinner at home, and are relaxing to eat.
You can also order rice, so I think they’d make a good accompaniment.
Potato salad
A popular dish with everyone from children to older adults: potato salad.
The potatoes, the star ingredient, are incredibly smooth and creamy.
You can also taste their gentle sweetness.
▼The ingredients included sliced sausage.
The sausage’s crisp texture, savory aroma, and saltiness add a delicious accent that keeps you coming back for more.
Broccoli
Simply boiled broccoli.
It’s perfect when you’re in the mood for something refreshing.
Yaki bihun
Yaki bihun looks delicious, too.
The fragrant aroma of sesame oil is irresistible.
▼The shrimp in it are impressively large.
The shrimp’s firm, springy texture adds a nice accent.
Nikujaga
Nikujaga is a quintessential Japanese home-cooked dish!
The moment I saw it on the menu, I thought, “I absolutely have to try the nikujaga.”
▼ Yorimichi’s nikujaga comes with large chunks of potato.
That makes them wonderfully fluffy.
▼ The flavor had also soaked right into the center of the potatoes.
▼ The carrots, onions, and beef were equally well-seasoned.
The sweet-and-savory seasoning is just right as a snack with drinks, but it also goes perfectly with rice.
I wanted to order an extra serving of rice.
Simmered flounder
The “simmered flounder” was very tender and thoroughly cooked.
▼ The flesh was so tender it practically melted in my mouth.
▼ The skin was soft and gelatinous.
It also had a sweet flavor with a pronounced ginger kick.
It’s the kind of dish that makes you want rice.
I used to cook simmered fish from time to time, and although it’s a simple dish, it’s difficult to get right.
It was hard to make simmered fish that was tender but not too soft, with the flavor well absorbed.
Yorimichi’s simmered flounder is delicious, and I’d love to use it as a model.
Hamburger steak simmered in sauce
“Hamburger steak simmered in sauce” is another popular dish with everyone from children to adults.
▼ The hamburger steaks are on the small side, and two come in one serving.
Even though they’re small, they’re thicker than I expected.
▼ They were very juicy inside.
They were delicious, with the rich flavor of the meat coming through.
▼ The hamburger steaks are topped with homemade demi-glace sauce.
The sauce is rich, slightly sweet, and delicious.
It also comes with ingredients such as shimeji mushrooms and onions, which is another nice touch.
The hamburger steaks were so delicious that I ordered another serving and ended up eating four in total.
Like the nikujaga and simmered flounder, the hamburger steaks have a flavor that makes you want rice.
Check out the official Instagram for the obanzai!
The obanzai dishes change every day, so you’re probably curious about what’s on the menu today.
▼ When that happens, check out Yorimichi’s official Instagram.
They don’t post every day, but they introduce some of the obanzai dishes.
Some customers come to the restaurant after seeing dishes on Instagram that catch their eye!
Be sure to check it out.
The regular menu also has plenty of appealing dishes
In addition to its daily obanzai, Yorimichi has plenty of regular menu items.
▼There is also a “small hot pot” menu recommended for cold weather.
Now, let’s introduce some recommended menu items.
The recommended dashimaki tamago comes in three varieties
Among the regular menu items, the owner, Mr. Mizoguchi, most recommends the dashimaki tamago (Japanese rolled omelet seasoned with dashi).
A distinctive feature of Yorimichi’s dashimaki tamago is that you can choose from three varieties.
The varieties of dashimaki tamago are as follows:
- Plain (no filling)
- Yellow chives
- Spicy cod roe
▼In particular, he recommends the dashimaki tamago with yellow chives, a specialty of Okayama Prefecture.
The gentle flavor of the dashi is complemented by the distinctive flavor of the yellow chives.
▼The yellow chives dashimaki tamago is interesting: the fluffy texture of the egg contrasts with the crisp texture of the yellow chives.
I thought it was delicious even without soy sauce.
I’m also curious about the plain and spicy cod roe versions of the dashimaki tamago.
Next time I visit, I’d definitely like to try those too.
“Yorimichi’s chef’s choice salad,” which changes depending on the mood when you order
For salad, I recommend the Yorimichi’s chef’s choice salad.
▼The “Yorimichi’s chef’s choice salad” is distinctive because its ingredients change with each order.
When we visited, it came with broccoli, leaf lettuce, and ham, dressed with sesame dressing.
The ingredients change depending on the owner’s mood at the time!
Daily specials are common, but it’s unusual for the ingredients to change with each order, so it’s fun to see what kind of salad you’ll get.
Freshly fried, crispy “fried chicken”
Beer and fried food are a perfect match.
Yorimichi serves fried dishes such as fried chicken, fried chicken cartilage, and French fries.
▼During our visit, we tried the fried chicken.
▼The fried chicken is freshly cooked, so the coating is wonderfully crispy.
The meat inside the crispy coating was very juicy and had a pleasantly springy texture.
The seasoning seemed mild, but the aroma of garlic and ginger came through, and I thought it was delicious.
A cold-weather staple: “oden” infused with dashi
“Oden” is what you crave when it’s cold.
▼Yorimichi serves oden too.
▼There are eight varieties of oden in total (as of January 2020).
▼During our visit, we tried the following five varieties.
- Daikon radish
- Grilled tofu
- Chikuwa fish cake
- Beef tendon
- Quail egg tempura
▼Daikon radish is one of the most popular ingredients in oden.
▼Yorimichi’s daikon is large and thick, and very tender.
▼And the dashi had thoroughly soaked all the way to the center.
It’s hearty, and the oden broth’s flavor has soaked in thoroughly, so its gentle taste warms you to your very core.
▼Next is one of my favorite foods, beef tendon.
▼The beef tendon is simmered until tender and falls apart easily.
You can also savor the beef tendon’s deep, rich flavor.
▼The chikuwa has absorbed plenty of broth and is soft.
▼The piping-hot grilled tofu.
▼The quail egg tempura is a type of fried fish cake wrapped around a boiled quail egg.
▼When I cut it open, a quail egg appeared inside.
The fried fish cake around it is thick and satisfying to eat.
Of course, it had absorbed plenty of broth.
Kurashiki local sake: “Ishichi Kurashiki Ginjo”
There is also a wide selection of drinks.
The selection includes the following types.
- Beer
- Sour cocktails
- Highballs
- Japanese sake
- Shochu
- Plum wine
- Soft drinks
▼What caught my eye was “Ishichi,” a local sake from Kurashiki.
It is a brand from Kumaya Shuzo, a sake brewery in the Kojima area of the city.
▼Yorimichi carries “Kurashiki Ginjo,” one of the varieties of Ishichi.
Ishichi Kurashiki Ginjo is a junmai ginjo sake made with Yamada Nishiki, a famous sake rice.
I had it chilled and enjoyed its very fruity, refreshing aroma.
Seasonal drinks, too
In addition to the regular drink menu, there are also seasonal drinks.
At the time of our visit, there were two types of drinks:
- Mannenyuki Arabashiri
- Kobashi tea shochu
▼“Mannenyuki Arabashiri” is a sake from Morita Shuzo, a brewery located at the south approach entrance to Achi Shrine in Kurashiki.
▼During our visit, we tried the “Kobashi tea shochu.”
▼Kobashi tea shochu is made by putting a tea bag containing Shizuoka-grown green tea, domestic genmaicha, and domestic matcha leaves into a glass, then adding shochu (barley) and water.
It was lovely to enjoy a drink while savoring the tea’s pleasant aroma.
It also pairs well with food.
Care is taken with the dishes used to serve the obanzai, too!
At Yorimichi, care is taken with the dishes used to serve the daily “obanzai of the day.”
The dishes used for the obanzai are traditional pottery from various parts of Japan.
We have a variety of types, including Bizen ware and Arita ware!
Why not enjoy the dishes along with the obanzai?
Yorimichi is an obanzai restaurant serving home-style dishes in a relaxing atmosphere that feels just like home.
We interviewed Asuka Mizoguchi, the owner of Sonna Yorimichi.
Obanzai-ya Yorimichi details
| Name | Obanzai-ya Yorimichi |
|---|---|
| Address | 15-6 Kawanishicho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, Umeda Corpo, 1st floor |
| Contact | 086-427-4178 |
| Parking | None |
| Hours | Sunday, Monday, Wednesday–Thursday: 6:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. Friday–Saturday: 6:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m. the following day (Last orders are taken one hour before closing.) |
| Closed | Tuesday Other closures are announced on the official Instagram |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Accepted ・Reservations by phone only (reservations via Instagram are not accepted) ・Private bookings available |
| Seating | 11 seats ・Counter: 7 stools ・One table seating four |
| Smoking | Smoking permitted |
| Children | Because the restaurant is small, children below elementary school age are not admitted |
| Website | Obanzai-ya Yorimichi Official Instagram |
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We prepare the dishes with a balance of vegetables, meat, and fish.
We also make sure there’s a choice of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes!