Food tour in Yamagata! Exclusive local delicacies with great time efficiency and value

Hatsumi Ito
A gourmet blogger who eats and drinks at more than 400 restaurants a year. She posts gourmet information on various SNS accounts, mainly X (@hatsu823).
Host of the online salon "Tokyo Gourmet Salon" limited to 140 people. "Gourmet is communication" is her life theme.

*Prices include tax.

Dondon Yaki Oyatsuyasan: A locally loved, flour-based soul food

Dondon-yaki is a flour-based gourmet dish that is also called Yamagata's soul food. The name is said to come from the fact that in the past, peddlers would walk around beating drums to attract customers.

It's reasonably priced, has a chewy dough, and is very satisfying to eat. It's a Yamagata specialty that is popular with people of all ages, from children to adults.

Oyatsuya-san is a specialty shop for dondon-yaki, located about a five-minute walk from Yamagata Station. It is a place of relaxation that is constantly packed with customers after opening at 9am, and is so well-known among locals that it is a place of relaxation.

Dondon Yaki is handmade and cooked one by one when an order is placed. A wheat flour batter with dashi stock added is spread on a large iron plate, and ingredients such as spring onions, tempura flakes, and pickled ginger are added and rolled out. Finally, fish sausage and roasted seaweed are topped, rolled up in chopsticks, and it's done!

The finished dondon-yaki is about 20cm long and 7cm wide, so it's very filling! It feels quite heavy. In addition to the standard dondon-yaki with sauce, you can enjoy it with a variety of flavors, such as cheese, pizza, spicy chili oil, and curry. If you want something lighter, we recommend the soy sauce flavor.

The classic "Dondon Yaki (280 yen)" is served with plenty of sweet and spicy sauce. The simple combination of chewy dough and sauce is a nostalgic, rustic taste. Another reason for its popularity is that it is reasonably priced yet has a satisfying size.

If you like cheese, we recommend the "Cheese Dondon (420 yen)" or the "Double Cheese Dondon (500 yen)" which contains twice the amount of cheese. It is popular for its rich taste and mellow flavor using mozzarella and Gouda cheese.

The weekday-only "Tamago Dondon (430 yen)" uses one egg per stick, giving it a moist and smooth texture. This nutritious dondon-yaki has a fluffy dough and the richness of the egg.

There is an eat-in space at the back of the shop, so you can take your time while you eat. It's perfect as a snack when you're hungry, or as a full meal because it's so filling. Please give Yamagata's flour-based gourmet food a try!

Dondon Yaki Snack Shop

Kanazawaya Beef Shop: A specialty store that specializes in the finest Yamagata beef

When talking about Yamagata cuisine, one thing that cannot be forgotten is Yamagata beef.

Kanazawaya Beef Shop, founded in 1893, is a meat specialty store where you can enjoy carefully selected Yamagata beef prepared in a variety of ways, such as steak, sukiyaki, and shabu-shabu.

There is a butcher shop next to the restaurant, which sells marbled Yamagata beef, steaks, bento boxes, and side dishes such as hamburgers and croquettes.

The restaurant is a spacious Japanese-style space, with tatami rooms where you can relax comfortably. The nostalgic atmosphere of a long-established restaurant brings out the deliciousness of the Yamagata beef even more.

The popular weekday-only lunch "Steak Bowl (1,250 yen)" is limited to 20 servings. The most delicious meat of the day is procured from the butcher and used. A generous 80 grams of medium-rare cooked meat is served on top of shiny rice!

The moment you bite into it, you'll smell the mellow demi-glace sauce, which has a rich, elegant flavor, and the meat, which has fine marbling, is meltingly smooth and irresistible. The purple cabbage and mizuna also add a refreshing accent.

Another popular dish is the "Beef Hotpot (1,250 yen)," which is limited to 10 servings on weekdays. It uses 80 grams of fatty meat such as belly meat. It also contains plenty of Chinese cabbage, shimeji mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, tofu, and kuzu-kiri, making it very filling.

The sweetly simmered soup is filled with flavorful Yamagata beef, vegetables, and kuzukiri. It is served with a generous helping of rich raw egg. The refined flavor will have you wanting more! Try it with rice topped with raw egg and enjoy the dish to the last drop.

At Kanazawaya Beef Shop, you can enjoy carefully selected Yamagata beef cooked in a special way. Be sure to visit for the limited-time lunch.

Kanazawaya Beef Shop