[Shanghai Girl Eats] Ri He 日和
Ri He 日和 | Dianping
Address: 130 Ziyun Xi Lu near Xianxia Lu / 紫云西路130号4楼(近仙霞路)
Date visited: 2016.01 for dinner
Price: RMB588 sukiyaki set for 2 people
Will return: Yes
Hotpot is one of the pillars of Asian food with variations in many regions. But I don’t like hotpot so I don’t have too many suggestions to share. However, the one style of hotpot I do like is sukiyaki. Ri He (日和) is a great Japanese restaurant in Gubei specializing in sukiyaki and shabu shabu with melt-in-your-mouth beef. I thought about keeping this place to myself but I want them to have good business to stay open forever.
Most of the staff can speak both Mandarin and Japanese and the menu is written in Chinese and Japanese. Whenever I visit, I bring a Chinese-reading or Japanese-reading person to order additional items beyond sukiyaki. I always get the RMB588 sukiyaki set for 2 people because that is the only thing I can read on the menu. There is also shabu shabu (but I don’t like that) and some typical Japanese small dishes like cold tofu, grilled fish, and sashimi (but I can’t tell you how much they are because I am useless except for ordering sukiyaki at this restaurant). Very help, I am.
The 2-person sukiyaki set for RMB588 includes a platter of A2, A3, A4, A5, and A6 Wagyu beef, vegetables, tofu, and udon noodles (which I usually swap out for rice). You can order individual plates of Wagyu beef but the set is good for the first visit to try all degrees of fattiness. There is also a 1-person sukiyaki set for RMB388 that includes the beef platter, vegetables, and some additional small dishes in between but I’m not about fluff dishes.
The friendly staff cooks and serves the beef slices from the most fatty to lean. I have heard varying opinions from friends about which marbling they like the best — it just depends on your personal preference for fatty vs. lean beef. I think A4 and A5 are quite nice. A2 is too lean for me but there is always someone at the table who prefers less fat. Additional beef can be ordered a la carte.
After some of the beef is cooked and consumed, the veggies, tofu, and remaining beef go in. The meal is a good balance of meat and vegetables and great for battling the cold weather.
Aside from Ri He, my other place of choice for sukiyaki in Shanghai is Maison Asano 浅野府 (on paydays) for RMB488 per person + 10% service charge.
