Japanese

High Yaki

High Yaki is one of my favourite restaurants in town and is often my choice for special occasions. It's not a traditional Japanese restaurant, but they do offer many Japanese dishes including Yakitori skewers, Sashimi-based dishes and a big focus on Yakiniku - barbecued dry aged beef - with many different cuts available to choose from. My son loves the thinly cut A5 Wagyu ribeye beef, which is barely cooked for more than a few seconds and melts in the mouth, but a slice will set you back around 158 RMB, so go easy on this if you're not a high roller. But don't worry, the menu contains many other more affordable dishes and as long as you order a healthy mix of the premium cuts and more modest choices, you will not be summoned for a stern word from your bank manager the next morning. The white facade prevents you from looking inside, but don't be intimidated by this, trust me, once inside, you're in for a great experience. I highly recommend you book seats at the counter where you will be able to observe everything going on rather than being tucked away in a dark corner table, unless of course, you're with someone you shouldn't be with!

I wrote a blog post on High Yaki here in April 2025 if you'd like to read more on this venue.

Address:
481 Jianguo Xi Lu, near Yueyang Lu, Xuhui District
建国西路481号, 近岳阳路

Ochiyo

Ochiyo is a more traditional Japanese dining experience but equally, if not more pricey than High Yaki. The focus here is more on raw fish and the food is served Omakase style, meaning "I'll leave it up to you" in Japanese. You pay a fixed price and the chef will select the dishes for you based on what's fresh and in season. It is expensive but there is no doubting the quality or freshness of the fish or the knife skills of the chefs for that matter. They have recently moved to a new location so be careful not to use outdated location details from some of the platforms.

Address:
2nd Floor, 1398 Kaixuan Road, Changning District
长宁区凯旋路1398号2楼