I Can’t Stop Thinking About the Transportive Kuroge Wagyu Sukiyaki at Ginza Midai

Recently I went to Japan. Well, sort of. I went to a meal so transformative that with just one little white lie, I had people on Instagram convinced that I was in Japan when, in fact, I was at Ginza Nana Alley in the Perth CBD.

It felt almost as good as a holiday. I was having one of those rare evenings that reminded me just how romantic hospitality can be – and I had consumed the perfect amount of saké.

Was I prepared to stumble into Perth’s only yokocho-style Japanese dining precinct on a random murky Monday? No. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for Ginza Midai: a chic, intimate, kappo-style counter where each dish is assembled in front of you before it’s placed gently within reach.

From the moment the team brought out the collection of saké cups for us to choose from to the post-dessert Polaroid, it felt as though I had entered another world. One centred around kuroge Wagyu sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki dates back to the end of Japan’s Edo period in the mid-1800s and is closely associated with family gatherings, celebrations and special occasions. Ginza Midai prepares it in the Kanto style, meaning the beef and vegetables are cooked in a simmering sweet-savoury broth called warishita.

Thin slices of heavily marbled A4-grade kuroge Wagyu rib-eye arrive beside the warishita, ready to be briefly dunked until the fat begins to soften. The Wagyu is sourced from different regions of Japan throughout the year. On the night we dined, it came from Tochigi Prefecture.

Traditionally, sukiyaki involves dipping your pieces of cooked meat and vegetables into raw beaten egg (at Ginza Midai the egg is seasoned with dashi) before eating them. After its broth dip, you’re encouraged to drag the gently cooked beef through the glossy, rich sauce. “It allows us to keep the richness and character of the traditional egg accompaniment while presenting it in our own way,” says chef Midai Hatakeyama.

Alongside the sukiyaki, we drank Hakutsuru Nishiki Junmai Daiginjo, a floral, full-bodied saké with notes of pear, jasmine and a gentle sweetness from rice.

When I asked Hatakeyama how he wants guests to feel in the space, he told me, “I want our guests to experience the flavours and culture of Japan without having to travel to Japan.”

And for a few hours, somewhere between the bubbling warishita, melting Wagyu and many small acts of humble hospitality, I felt just like that.

@ginza.midai