Fanciest beef EVER

My sister and brother-in-law visited Japan for vacation this week, and they stopped by Osaka for about a day to visit me and say hello. Even though they were only in town for about 24 hours, we squeezed in a ton of shopping (100 yen stores!) and strolling about. However, it's not a Yuen sibling reunion unless there's lots and lots of food involved. We knew we wanted to have a special experience, and so we went ahead and splurged on something luxurious and unique for dinner.

Wagyu beef (和牛) is internationally known, referring to a special breed of cattle from Japan. These cows are pampered with special food, fed beer to stimulate their appetites, and sometimes massaged to promote muscle/fat distribution. Wagyu beef is known for its delicate veins of marbled fat and extremely tender meat. Different names are given to where the cattle are raised, the most popular one being from Kobe (神戸).

But while it's most well known (probably because it is exported to other countries), Kobe isn't necessarily considered the best in Japan. Another type of wagyu beef is called Matsusaka (松阪牛), and some consider it even better than Kobe. From a HK website introducing Japanese food:

Matsuzaka beef is more popular in Japan than internationally, the prime difference between Matsuzaka (from Mie prefecture) and Kobe beef is that the meat from Matsuzaka comes from female cows only, while Kobe meat comes from bullock or bulls. Whether it is that or because these heifers are not slaughtered until they are three years old (most other cattle is killed at two years or younger), beef connoisseurs say that Matsuzaka beef has a more complex and developed flavour, compared to beef from Kobe. Only 25,000 cows are killed a year, making the meat both rare and expensive.

Through this narrow entryway, the beef awaits! (Had to poach this pic
from another online blog... so sorry!)

With this kind of introduction, we were definitely salivating a little as dinnertime rolled around! But prior to eating, we were presented with some very difficult choices. Twelve different cuts of meat were offered, each one with a different fat distribution and ratio.

12 different cuts of beef! Each one has its unique traits and texture... which made deciding very difficult!

In the end, we decided to order two set menus, and supplemented that with a separate a la carte order of one of the richer cuts of beef.

We ordered the circled cuts of beef.

Before the main event though, we were presented with some lovely appetizers as part of the two set dinners we ordered. There was plenty of food to share and taste.

Assorted appetizer plate. Braised mushrooms, spinach, tamago (sweet-ish
egg), and okra. 

Lightly seared beef sushi. It was as tender as a piece of good tuna,
with a rich beefy flavor. 

Grilled Matsusaka Medium Toro Kalbi Short Rib
with Scallion and Salt. Cooked until nicely charred,
this beef never got tough, but remained juicy
with a tender texture.

After this, the main even appeared. Beautifully-cut beef was presented to us, each mound looking like a delicate (and delicious) flower. The server very nicely showed us how much time to grill for a rare piece of meat, and we were on our way!

Beautifully presented meat, along with some veggies we could add to
the grill. I thought it was great that each piece was clearly marked.

The special Marboroshi no Misuji cut that we ordered a la carte. This
picture really doesn't do it justice; the marbling was so pretty, no wonder
that it's sometimes called 霜降, or 'falling frost'.

Grilling. While it only took a few seconds for the meat to be ready,
it really didn't matter if we left it on a little longer; it beef remained
velvety in texture.

Close-up of one beef slice.

We started off with the leanest cut, and moved our way down the list. I was actually really glad that we got some of the lean beef to try, as it provided excellent contrast with the fattier cuts. Even though it was 'lean' and technically inferior, it was still incredibly tender (think about a good piece of filet mignon). The description said that this cut was often used in steak tartare... oh boy, I wish I had a chance to try that!

The remaining cuts were all very different than any beef I've ever had before. Up to this point, I still had felt like I was chewing on meat. But these other pieces were amazingly different. My taste buds recognized the intense beef flavor and richness from the fat, but the texture was unlike any meat I've had before. It's soft, but not unpleasantly so. I barely had to chew, as the meat practically melted in my mouth.

Rice and some cold noodles also accompanied the beef. The noodles were surprisingly refreshing, and were a great palate cleanser in between bites of the delicious beef.

Cold noodles. The slight tartness from the soup base
and tomatoes provided a nice contrast to the meal.

Even though it doesn't look like we ate a ton of meat (portion-wise, this was far less than having a steak), we found ourselves fairly full and satiated by the time we polished everything off. I couldn't imagine having this every day (or even once a week) though... the richness of the beef made this quite a heavy meal.

The set dinners also included dessert, which was green tea ice cream. But we ate all of it before a picture could be taken!

For such a special meal, this ended up very reasonably priced (maybe because I'm still basing out of New York standards). But beyond that, I was glad to have shared such a unique experience with my sister and brother in law! May many more interesting, unique, and delicious meals be in our future!

Sakagura

For my birthday last week, I celebrated by having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in NYC. It's in an unusual location, tucked away in the basement of a really stuffy-looking business building. I've been going to this place for probably close to a decade now, and it has amazingly held up in quality. 

Does this door look like the entrance to culinary pleasures? No?

The only signal that there is a restaurant
at the location.

Going down to the basement, via some
horror-movie-worthy stairs.

Apparently, the stairs are a secret passageway straight to Japan!
(not my picture... just wanted to show what the place looks like)

Walking into Sakagura makes me feel as if they shot a portal straight into Japan; as soon as you walk in, you forget that you're in a basement of a boring office building. The dim lighting, wooden counters, and cherry blossoms all work together to create the illusion that you have stepped into another country. Popularly known as a sake bar, Sakagura has over 200 selections to choose from. But naturally, I wasn't there for the alcohol... let's take a look at the food!

Hirame Ponzu. Thinly sliced fluke, topped with grated daikon radish and
dressed in a citrus vinaigrette. The fluke was amazingly fresh and sweet,
while the grated daikon added an appetizing acidity.

Kamo Roast. Slices of chilled roast duck wrapped around scallion and
accented with basil sauce. This little bite is amazing. The roast duck is
tender, slightly smoky and salty. The scallion adds a little bit of textural
contrast as well as a teeny bit of a bite. The lemon, plus a dab of
basil sauce deepens the complexity of the dish, adding a fresh aroma.

Gindara Yuan Yaki. Grilled cod fillets steeped in sweet soy sauce.

The cod was perfectly cooked and flaky. The soy marinade lends a
subtle caramelization to the dish, which suited the fatty cod perfectly. A
whisper of some sort of cooking wine rounded out the flavor.

Kani Donabe Gohan, one of the special dishes of the day. We had to wait
over a half hour for it to arrive. Steamed rice, cooked with snow crab and
crab butter.

This was a surprisingly subtle dish; none of the flavors knocked me
over the head. Instead, the gentle sweetness of the crab worked in
conjunction with the soft sticky rice. I would have been disappointed if
I was expecting this to take center stage, but it worked really well with
the other strongly-flavored dishes.

Chawanmushi. Steamed egg custard served with chicken, shrimp, and
ginko nuts topped with a thickened ponzu sauce.

The egg custard was unbelievably smooth, it pretty much melted in my
mouth. The ponzu sauce was interesting but not necessary in my
opinion... the slight tartness detracted from the true eggy flavor.

We were disappointingly too full to even glance at their (excellent) dessert menu, which featured intriguing items such as a black sesame creme brulee. I left satisfied and full, ready to take on whatever surprises that this new year in my life will bring.

Restaurant Week Lunch

I was in a mood to splurge, so my friend Janet and I went for a leisurely lunch for Restaurant Week ('week' being a suggestion more than anything else, as it lasts practically a whole month). This is an event where dozens of restaurants in New York offer up a special menu at a special price. And although many of the menus are hit or miss (smaller portions, boring choices, etc), this is still an opportunity to visit a fancy pants place at a fraction of the cost. After some deliberation, we decided to make reservations for the Maze restaurant at the London Hotel.

The restaurant is located just off the main lobby of the hotel. Brightly lit with modern furniture, this was a comfortable (but rather touristy) room. We were presented with the special menu, which offered a nice selection of dishes for the 3 courses.

After a consultation with the waiter, I decided to get the beet salad to start and the risotto as my main.

The beet salad was beautifully presented, and accompanied by deep fried nuggets of sweetbread. The sweetness of the beet worked well against the fattiness of the sweetbread. A tiny, thin sliver of lemon on top of the beet added a much-welcomed acidity to the dish. A lovely start to the meal.

Close-up of the dish (the overhead shot ended up fuzzy).

The risotto was done well... not mindblowingly delicious, but a solid entrée. The grains of rice were cooked to a perfect al dente, but most of the mushrooms were of the unexciting variety (crimini?). The mushrooms sprinkled on top though were amazing; earthy and very flavorful.

Oops; took a tiny bite before I remembered to take a picture.  

Since there were only two dessert options, Janet and I decided to split them. They were interesting choices because they were so very different: one a standard chocolate dessert, and the other with a tropical flavor profile. Both were well constructed with distinct flavors; I will have to give the edge to the chocolate one, as all the flavors blended together better.

From left to right: Mango sorbet on a bed of crumbles, pineapple chip,
and coconut mousse filled with pineapple compote. The mousse
component confused me a bit; there was too much gelatin in it (probably
so it could be molded more easily) and so didn't feel 'mousse-y'
enough on my tongue.

Good chocolate tart. The ganache was quite soft, and the dollop
of caramel on top was a nice addition. I also liked the peanut butter
ice cream more than I anticipated. It added an interesting saltiness to
the dessert that helped elevate it from being just blandly sweet.

Since I've been on a budget lately, I really haven't been able to eat fancy meals very often. Today was a nice little splurge, and I'm glad to have gotten a chance to try a restaurant that I haven't been to before.