Kobe Beef

[Project_gal]

We shall be stopping at Kobe on our Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise next year. Has anyone any recommendations for where we can go for a Kobe Beef lunch on what will be a public holiday in Japan, please?

[greatam]

We shall be stopping at Kobe on our Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise next year. Has anyone any recommendations for where we can go for a Kobe Beef lunch on what will be a public holiday in Japan, please?

 

Kobe Plaisir (sp?) is probably the most famous Kobe restaurant in Kobe City. Whether it is open on a public holiday, I have no idea.

 

Ate there about 5 years ago (just about the time the USDA banned Kobe beef imports to the USA). Bring plenty of money and I mean plenty. 4 oz of Kobe fillet was right about $100 US. And that was just for the meat. The entire teppan yaki dinner for two with miso, pate, seasonal veggies, some other Japanese appetizers and drinks was slightly over $400 US. Lunch will probably be in the $300 range for two.

 

Was it worth it? It was then but now-you can get REAL Tajiima beef at the Wynn in Macau, in the UAE and Dubai, at Wynn Las Vegas and very soon, if there is enough beef, Peter Luger's, NYC will have REAL, directly imported from Japan Kobe/Tajiima (Tajiima is the more expensive, more pure of the two Kobe beefs). The only authorized importer in the USA currently is Fremont Beef in teeny, tiny Fremont, NE (only business in town is the packing house).

 

I only know this stuff because we are in the food hauling business and we move about 200-300,000 pounds of meat every week from packing houses to East Coast markets.

[BruceMuzz]

Most restaurants in Japan are open on most public holidays.

 

But must you have Kobe Beef in Kobe?

There are actually many different companies in Japan producing Kobe-style beef under several different brand names.

 

The most expensive Kobe-style beef you can eat is in Kobe.

They really see the tourists coming.

But in Tokyo or Osaka, you can have the same meal for substantially less money.

[greatam]

Most restaurants in Japan are open on most public holidays.

 

But must you have Kobe Beef in Kobe?

There are actually many different companies in Japan producing Kobe-style beef under several different brand names.

 

The most expensive Kobe-style beef you can eat is in Kobe.

They really see the tourists coming.

But in Tokyo or Osaka, you can have the same meal for substantially less money.

 

While I usually agree with you and love your posts, KOBE STYLE and KOBE/TAJIIMA are two entirely different meats. "Kobe style" does NOT come from a pure Kobe bloodline, dating back generations much like lineage for AKC registered dogs.

 

Wagyu is "Kobe style" which is purebred Kobe (from Japanese lineage stock) mixed with Angus, shorthorns, Herefords or other types of cattle. Wagyu is all over the world and very often sold as "true" Kobe. But the TRUE Kobe has an unsaturated fat content that will actually melt in your hand like ice does. About 70 degrees F will melt the fat in true Kobe/Tajiima meat. Wagyu is NOT the same and even in Japan, there is a lot of FAKE Kobe.

 

Outside of Japan, there are only a very few farmers who raise TRUE Kobe, lineage protected beef. The cattle come with all sorts of certificates and all TRUE Kobe carcasses are stamped with a flower with petals. And there are grade stamps on true Kobe, so if you aren't getting A3-A5, you are paying way too much for poor quality meat. Importers that sell true Kobe have all the paperwork, including the grade stamps and lineage. Now whether you can read it in Japanese is another question. But those very few importers make it available to the restaurants they sell to. I have personally seen it at the Wynn in Macau. Someone translated for me which was very nice.

 

We raise purebred polled Herefords for breeding stock on our farm in Missouri. It is strictly for fun and a little profit (very little) because it was something my Dad did for years and when he passed away, my Mom said the cattle were either going to the slaughterhouse or we could transport them to our farm in MO. She wasn't even messing with selling them at auction-they were GONE if we didn't take them. They were kind of like pets, all with names and I knew my Dad would have been very upset if they were sent to slaughter. They live well in Missouri.

 

We have a bull that can be traced back to the Denver Stock Show championship in 1968 (my father bought the champion bull that year). I really was interested in raising at least Wagyu, if not purebred Kobe. Further research required an investment at a minimum of close to 1 million dollars to start a purebred Kobe herd in the USA. $250-300,000 for a purebred cow with lineage paperwork, plus all the government paperwork-both Japanese and USA (almost $15,000) plus shipping from Japan. So now I had ONE cow that cost me close to $400,000. Then I needed a bull which was another $200-250,000 because most Kobe bulls become steers very rapidly. And I MIGHT get a calf or I might not.

 

Thank you, but I will stick to my Herefords. Even Wagyu is too rich for my blood.

 

REAL Kobe/Tajiima is a special treat. It truly is different. And not something you want to eat a lot-just too rich for most palates. Kobe style is just that-Kobe STYLE. I saw sashimi in Phoenix at a fancy Japanese restaurant a couple of years ago advertised as KOBE. Price was $85 for a very small portion of sashimi. I asked to see the box or label it came from. How about Excel (Cargill) PRIME beef? A LOOOOOONG way from Japanese Kobe.

[Cornishpastyman1]

We shall be stopping at Kobe on our Celebrity Millennium transpacific cruise next year. Has anyone any recommendations for where we can go for a Kobe Beef lunch on what will be a public holiday in Japan, please?

Hi Sue

If you are going to Kyoto on that day I can recommend a place called Hafu. The start of this shows us having dinner, and whether it was Kobe beef or Kobe-style (probably) it was superb.

[YOUTUBE]vOPh4dv1QxM[/YOUTUBE] All the best, Tony

[BruceMuzz]

When I visit my family in Tokyo, we go to some very special restaurants - all of them serve very special delicacies.

 

For very special Japanese Beef, we have 3 choices; Matsusaka beef (松阪牛), Kobe beef (神戸牛), or Yonezawa beef (米沢牛). In Japan, Matsusaka beef is generally considered the best of the top 3 brands "Sandai Wagyuu" (三代和牛). And it is the most expensive of the three brands. The Matsusaka Wagyuu cattle are treated and processed in the original Kobe Beef style that you Westerners have been hearing about for all these years. Matsusaka also only uses a very special breed of female calves from Mie Province for their beef products.

But the restaurant prices for this beef in Tokyo are about half of what you would pay at the tourist restaurants in Kobe.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is very $$$$

[BruceMuzz]

A little background on Japanese beef.

Wagyu is a word often used for this special meat.

Wagyu translates as "Japanese Cow".

Any and every cow in Japan is "Wagyu".

 

I don't eat very much red meat. It is just not very healthy for you, and is not environmentally friendly.

But when I do eat beef, I only eat Japanese Beef.

The difference in taste and quality between Japanese beef and just about any other is shocking.

American and Australian beef taste like paper or cardboard to me, after all these years of eating Japanese beef.

After Visiting some very high-end steakhouses in America and Australia, I left with the feeling that I had just purchased some very expensive aged cardboard and paper.

 

These are many different qualities and styles of Wagyu and Kobe style beef in Japan. Most are very good; all are better quality and taste compared to western beef.

 

The Kobe Beef restaurants - especially those located in Kobe - are tourist traps. You can find great quality beef in some, but at a very high cost. There is no value for money in most of those places.

When my ship calls at Kobe or Osaka, my dining room staff all want to try Kobe beef. So I take them to the local supermarkets to purchase the best Kobe style beef steaks they carry.

Typically we can find nice cuts of good Kobe style beef at reasonable prices.

 

Remember that all that marbled fat in the beef is very rich. A small steak goes a long way.

A standard sized Kobe beef steak is around 300 grams - plenty for 2 people.

The supermarket price for that steak is around US$15.

 

We return to the ship with several dozen Kobe beef steaks and ask the Chef to cook them and join us for dinner.

My staff is thrilled and they didn't have to break the bank to enjoy the steaks.

 

You might want to try the same thing.

It will be helpful if you have a Japanese speaker to read the supermarket labels for you.

Speak to the F&B manager or Chef before you go ashore to ensure they can do it for you.

Edited September 2, 2016 by BruceMuzz