Kobe Beef

Kobe cattle originates from herds in the Kobe area of Japan. It is a type of Wagyu cattle but if it originates from the town of Kobe, then the meat will be called Kobe Beef instead of Wagyu beef. According to Wikipedia, here are the conditions for a meat to be called Kobe Beef:

"Kobe beef in Japan is a registered trademark of the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association .It must fulfill all the following conditions:

Tajima cattle born in Hyōgo Prefecture

Farm feeding in Hyōgo Prefecture

Bullock (steer) or castrated bull, to purify the beef

Processed at slaughterhouses in Kobe, Nishinomiya, Sanda, Kakogawa and Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture.

Marbling ratio, called BMS, of level 6 and above.[10]

Meat quality Score of 4 or 5[10]

Gross weight of beef from one animal is 470 kg or less."

This goes without saying that you have to try out Kobe Beef in Japan. Prices on these meat can be insane - a good quality can cost up to USD$500 for a 100 gram meat. Fear not, you will not regret the amount you are paying for this extremely high quality meat. 

We did not visit the town of Kobe, but managed to find a restaurant that specialize in Kobe Beef. In fact, this is my third time eating at this restaurant. I've got to try out different kobe beef restaurants. So here it is:

Restaurant Name: Gyu An 

Location: 6-13-6 Ginza | B1F Kakyoshokokai Bldg., Chuo 104-0061, Tokyo Prefecture (walking distance from Ginza station)

Telephone: +81 3335420226 (reservation is recommended and they can speak english)

Opening hours: 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm

We decided on 2 course meals:
- 200 grams Kobe Beef Sirloin Steak Course Meals (11,800YEN/USD$100)&
-  Kobe Beef - 3 large strips- Sukiyaki Course Meal (8,900YEN/USD$75)

Both course meals include: 
- Soy sauce seasoned beef
- That day's appetizer
- your choice of beef appetizer (grilled beef sushi, smoked beef or roast beef)
- Assorted vegetables,
- Dessert & Coffee

Soy sauce seasoned beef - this tasted okay. I guess the starter is to get us prepare for what's coming up ahead..

One of that day's appetizer - I believe this is grilled octopus/squid

Another one of that day's appetizer - swordfidh

Grilled beef sushi - the type of beef that literally melts in your mouth. But is not Kobe beef yet. 

The hostess recommended that we should eat the steak before sukiyaki since the steak will have a stronger flavor. 

This is our 200g Premium Sirloin Kobe Steak. We asked for medium rare since it's still gonna be cooking in the hot pan. 200 grams is a good enough portion for us as the Kobe beef flavor is so rich and fatty that you can get sick from eating those. This is the BEEF that melts in your mouth because the meat contain mostly fats = oil. hahah. Consuming such unhealthy goodness can be justified if you eat it once a year. :P 

Doesn't this make you want to eat it?

Our next course is the sukiyaki style kobe beef. We ordered 2 sukiyaki and it came only with 6 strips. So this meant that per order is only 3 large strips. Thankfully the steak got us feeling half full. We were excited in trying out this sukiyaki style. Look at how marbled the meats are. To top it up, the hostess first smeared the pan with Kobe fats before making the sukiyaki. Can you believe it?! 

Kobe Fats

Once half cooked, you dip the beef into raw egg as a source of sauce and you eat it with the cooked onions. The taste is out of this world. THIS IS THE BEST SUKIYAKI I'VE EVER TASTED. Again, the beef melts in your mouth and the sweetness of the sukiyaki and raw egg complements it so well. I am positively certain that I prefer the sukiyaki than the steak kobe beef. Less flavorful that makes you less 'sick' of eating it. 

They served us vegertables in sukiyaki as well

Even though the portion seems little. We were extremely full from it. Our final dessert is strawberries. However, it was not strawberry season and the strawberries weren't as sweet and as big as it could have been. But still, refreshing to eat after the flavorful kobe meal. 

This is our final bill .. 23,473Yen is equivalent to USD$200  for two. Worth the price for such good quality meat.

To sum it up, everyone who goes to Japan have to try eating Kobe Beef. It will be once in a lifetime experience. My brother even said that he could no longer eat any type of beef unless it's Kobe because it is that good. No other type of beef can beat such high quality. 

With Lots of Love,
Claraaaa <3