Lemon Steak @ Jidaiya, Yoshifukucho, Sasebo, Nagasaki

During a previous weekend trip to Nagasaki, I was able to finally have a taste of the legendary lemon steak. It may seem odd to add lemon and steak into one dish but trust me it works. The combination of sweet, salty, and savoury was just something incredible. 

Look what we have here?

The lemon steak like a good chunk of Western-inspired foods, was originally inspired by the American military presence within the area. Despite its name, it is not a hunk of meat. Rather, it is thinly sliced chuck which is then placed on a hot griddle and then slathered with a lemon-based sauce. And after hearing from many local friends, there is no place that does it better than Jidaiya. Getting here took a bit of effort, and fortunately, we have a car for this trip. Otherwise, getting here will be quite challenging. Despite this, the place was somewhat packed. Although I did spot a lot of motorbikes parked by the vicinity. Seems like many also made the effort in coming here. 

Choices oh choices

When you open the front door, it is obvious you know you are going to have something special. The entire restaurant is covered with the smoke from hot grill plates and the scent of beef fat was everywhere. Even the scent made me hungry. And while this place does provide other meals like stews and chicken dishes, it is the lemon steak that is the star. With minimal thought, I got myself the special set which stood at a handsome 2420 yen. In addition to a hefty dish of beef, it comes with rice, a salad, and some soup. 

This was not bad at all!

Despite the full house, our food came relatively quickly. The salad came first to hold the fort. It was quite decent, miles better than just plain and bland shredded cabbage you find in most yoshoku restaurants here in these parts. The dressing was quite tasty as well, probably having the base of the lemon steak sauce which will come later. 

Flaming hot!

And finally, the main event. Long story short, this was an absolute thrill to chow on. The beef slices were grilled on a searing hot plate, covered in a lemon-based sauce. It was a sight to behold indeed. And once I popped it into my mouth, a burst of flavour just followed. The sauce was fruity and zesty. There was a tinge of savouriness as well, probably due to the soy sauce. 

What a close-up.
Don't mind the picture of the head chef at the right corner

Although I feel that lemon may not be the only ingredient in this liquid gold. Seeing that there are jars of pickled yuzu on the premises, I probably suspect that some of that was in this sauce. The beef was also soft and tender. The thin slices made it easy to chow down and were a great compliment to the rice that came together. And if you have extra rice left, it is strongly recommended that you mix it with the remainder sauce from the hot grill. 

This was quite nice too. 

The soup that came to help wash everything down was also quite nice. I am not sure what soup it was, and it was quite mild. But I suspect a lot of vegetables and maybe chicken or port. Still, it was quite soothing and helped everything go down. 

Some of the momento in place. This place has a rich history after all. 

Overall, this is a place that is actually worth the trouble getting to. Granted, you may need a car to get here. it is located in a place surrounded by padi fields. Yeah, it is that rural. But if you are able to make the journey, it will definitely be a meal to remember. So if you are willing to make this journey, then the address to Jidaiya is as follows:

172-1 Yoshifukucho, Sasebo, Nagasaki 859-3162

The customers just kept coming!