Piao Er really loves hot pot, and it’s the kind of thing she has to eat every week. This time, she stayed in Shinjuku and specially came to the Shinjuku East District, next to Matsumoto Kiyoshi in Shinjuku San-chome, to try the “Kisoji-Shinjuku” and make up for the regret of not being able to eat it in Ueno before.
It’s super convenient to eat in Shinjuku: 【Shinjuku Accommodation Guide】10 Popular Tokyo Hotels Near JR Shinjuku Station Recommended
How to Get to Kisoji-Shinjuku?
- Address: Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-17-5 Shinjuku Shin-Fuji Building 4-6F
- Business hours: 11:30~15:00&17:00~22:30 (Monday to Friday), 11:30~15:00&17:00~22:00 (Saturday, Sunday and holidays), last order time is half an hour before business hours
- Reservation phone: (03)3226-0667
- Store information & menu
Kisoji-Shinjuku has over 100 branches throughout Japan, with 50 stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area alone. There are also branches in Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, and Fukuoka. The Shinjuku Sanchome store is located near Isetan department store and Bicqlo. It is within walking distance from the east exit of Shinjuku Station, so you can go shopping at the department store and then come here to eat.
Shinjuku East Shopping Guide: Introduction to must-visit attractions, drugstores, and department stores near Shinjuku Station East Exit
Dining Environment of Kisoji-Shinjuku
The seating at Kisoji-Shinjuku is Japanese-style with holes for your feet, making it easier for foreign visitors who are not used to sitting cross-legged to enjoy their meal. The restaurant welcomes many tourists from Europe, America, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
For dinner, we went to Piao Er on a regular weekday evening. We didn’t make a reservation, but we were still able to get a table. The staff at the entrance of the restaurant were fluent in both English and Chinese, so communication was not a problem. However, we recommend making a reservation if you plan to visit on a weekend.
Introduction to the Menu
Kisoji-Shinjuku offers shabu-shabu or sukiyaki. Following the Japanese way of ordering, a table can only order either shabu-shabu or sukiyaki, and cannot order both.
Whether it’s hot pot or sukiyaki, there are domestic beef (A3 wagyu) and wagyu sirloin (A4 wagyu), wagyu special sirloin (A5 wagyu), and Matsusaka beef of five grades to choose from, with prices ranging from 3,200 yen to 9,000 yen. In Japan, these prices are considered normal for the quality of the meat and dining environment. For detailed Chinese menu content and prices, please refer to the restaurant menu.
Kisoji-Shinjuku Shabu-Shabu
This time we ordered the hot pot set, with small V ordering the Wagyu sirloin (A4 grade) and Piao Er ordering the Wagyu special sirloin (A5 grade) to share. The set includes a pre-payment, shabu-shabu (meat and vegetable platter), kishimen (wide noodles), mochi (Japanese rice cake), rice, pickles, dessert, and more. You can also add sashimi or other Japanese cuisine dishes if you like.
▼ As a tradition, when dining in Japan, you should try the restaurant’s plum wine to know its level. Hmm~ the plum wine is very fragrant and not diluted, indicating that it is a restaurant with standards.
There is a relatively big problem with Minojiro, which may not be very acceptable to Chinese people, but it’s okay if the travel itinerary is not tight. The problem is that their service is very slow, only slightly faster than dining in France. After the initial dishes of pre-payment, shabu-shabu, Gomadare, and orange vinegar soy sauce were served, the waitress took quite some time to appear again. For those who were originally very hungry, it may be a bit unbearable, but many customers on site are groups of friends who come to eat and chat, and they don’t seem to mind too much. Just a small reminder for everyone here.
Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hot pot soup base, which is basically just the taste of kelp. In Japan, shabu-shabu is usually eaten with the original flavor of the ingredients and dipping sauce, without drinking the soup.
After the sauce is applied, the female staff will introduce each one individually. Although there are many foreigners on the Kisoji-Shinjuku, the staff can speak some English (compared to other Japanese restaurants), but the sauce introduction is not very good. However, at least the female staff are very sincere towards customers.
▼ The sauce can be paired with scallions, mentaiko, chives, and garlic below.
After the hot pot soup boiled for a while, the dishes finally arrived! As there will be a waitress serving at the table in Kisoji-Shinjuku, yes, not only shabu-shabu has table service, but also hot pot will help you cook…so you don’t have to worry about the meat being too old or uncooked.
The dining order at Kisoji-Shinjuku is that the female owner will first serve you the sliced meat to taste, while chatting with the guests to avoid boredom. Then, she will add the vegetables and tell you when it’s ready to be picked up and eaten. After that, she will disappear to attend to her other tasks.
The A5 Wagyu beef selected with frost drop that I ordered this time is a favorite meat product among Japanese people. It has “plenty of fat and large slices”. Actually, it is really tender and delicious to eat, but it is indeed more greasy than the meat slices in Taiwan. However, the greasier it is, the more tender and rare it is, and it is considered a noble meat in Japan. But I believe that meat lovers are not afraid of grease, so just order the A5 Wagyu beef selected with frost drop directly, and you will definitely not be disappointed.
The A4 wagyu and wagyu sirloin are actually very delicious, but they are not as tender as A5 black-haired wagyu, with a little more chewiness, and not as oily as A5 black-haired wagyu. If you are afraid of oil, the wagyu sirloin (A4 wagyu) is already very delicious.
The female server asked us if we wanted rice before leaving after we finished our hot pot, but after ten minutes, the rice still hadn’t arrived. We pressed the bell and another server came to receive our request. Two minutes later, our original server came back to ask if we wanted rice before finally bringing it to us. It felt like there was a lack of communication between the servers regarding our service needs.
Vegetable platter.
Because Bong Bong had already eaten, but later remembered that there were kishimen (wide noodles) and Japanese mochi, although they didn’t come until later, but Piaor specially said that one portion was enough. As a result, she regretted it a bit later because kishimen (wide noodles) were super delicious. It is recommended that everyone not fill up on rice and try the kishimen (wide noodles) and mochi, which are even more delicious!
After chatting for a while, the waiter came to ask about our dessert choice. Because the table next to us insisted on swapping their free ice cream for fruit, and we heard they had Melon, we followed suit and ordered Melon. Later, when we paid the bill, we found out that we had to pay an extra 900 yen, but at least it was juicy and sweet.
The free ice cream that comes with the package includes matcha, vanilla, and cherry blossom flavors to choose from, which is pretty good.
The Mukoujima Shabu-Shabu is not the best shabu-shabu that Piao’er has ever tasted in Japan. In terms of quality of meat, no meat can surpass the Mishimatei in Kyoto. However, the Mukoujima Shabu-Shabu is considered a mid-to-high-end shabu-shabu and sukiyaki restaurant in Japan, and is a good choice if you want to eat shabu-shabu or sukiyaki. The value for money is higher than what you can get in Taiwan, and the dining environment is comfortable. If you have a limited budget and want to eat decent shabu-shabu, Mukoujima Shabu-Shabu is a good choice, but it is not the absolute best, as the price is quite affordable.
More Shinjuku East Exit Food
- Special rice balls and ramen with rich seafood broth: Menya Kaijin
- 24-hour cafe for breakfast and late-night snacks in Shinjuku: Coffee Aristocracy Edinburgh
- Delicious crab dishes of all kinds: Kani Doraku Shinjuku Honten: Crab hot pot and treasure set menu
Shinjuku Shopping Guide
- Shinjuku Station Attractions: 【Shinjuku Attractions】Recommended Shopping Spots for a One-Day Trip in Shinjuku
- Shinjuku Shopping Malls: 【Shinjuku Shopping Guide】Recommended Shopping Spots in Shinjuku, including Department Stores and Four Popular Shopping Malls for Young People