This place is expensive, Wagyu is expensive and Matsuzaka Beef even more so. Fair warning!
If you've read the previous line without flinching even a little bit, you're welcome to read on! It was one of the highlights in terms of food and I've posted the picture of our platter before and will do so again later in the post. It was one of our most expensive meals in Japan because of the nature of the meal - in a restaurant, high grade beef, popular and well-regarded.
If you don't take beef, skip this post. More after the jump!
In my previous post on Sushizanmai, I mentioned we were looking for lunch and turned up not knowing that they didn't serve lunch. But we went up again to book a dinner slot for 7.30pm for a party of 7. They acceded and told us to come back later. So we headed to the Osaka Aquarium, but that is not what this post will be about!
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| As you can see we were along Sennichimae-dori St Matsuzakagyu Yakiniku M is somewhere in the middle. (In the afternoon) |
If you can navigate in Bugis Street, this is a piece of cake because all the lanes are in grids, all these lanes are interconnected as long as you know how many lefts or turns you've went across, you can definitely make your way back. We got back early from the Aquarium so we spent time walking around the entire area as tired and famished as we were. We finally entered the restaurant closer to 8.00pm!
You have to take a really small elevator up to the second floor. I don't know how to describe the elevator but it shudders and is really stuffy. I don't know if it's a standard for Japanese elevators because in our previous Airbnb apartment in Tokyo, it felt the same.
Take off your shoes at the entrance and you will be led to your table, we split into 4 and 3. One of my friends at my table didn't take beef so it was 3 and 3 both tables having meat. We went all out and got this...
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| DX (deluxe) Platter of tasty tasty beef. |
This platter was for 3 persons, per person it was 6900 JPY. About SGD$80 after taxes. It definitely wasn't enough for the boys so they bought another Garlic Fried Rice in a Hot Stone Pot (780 JPY) which was very well-received by everyone who had it.
About Matsuzaka Beef (lifted from Wikipedia, credits)
Matsusaka beef (松阪牛 Matsusaka-ushi?, also "Matsuzaka beef") is black-haired Wagyū (Japanese beef), also known as Kuroge Washu or "Japanese Black", the cattle come from the Matsusaka region of Mie, Japan. It is one of the most famous beef types within Japan and internationally, with a high fat-to-meat ratio. Within Japan, Matsusaka beef is generally considered one of the three top brands (known as Sandai Wagyu, "the three big beefs"), along with Kobe beef and Ōmi beef or Yonezawa beef.
As you can see, the DX Platter includes 6 different cuts of Matsuzaka Beef, we resorted to saying top right top left and we went in a clockwise manner to finish the meat. From far left to the center, the meat cuts are:
- M Rosu - Tender center part of the loin
- Sirloin - Back of the spine (best cut with fine marbling)
- Haneshita Rosu - Part of the loin, considered to be a rare part because only a few kg can be produced from each cow
- Hiuchi - Close to the belly, high in fat, tender, is a rare part (1kg per cow)
- Ohtoro Karubi - fatty piece of the chuck rib, best part of the ribs
- Today's Special - no idea what it was :/
Decoded the Japanese letters for the first three cuts and gave up during our meal. We screwed up because we had Sirloin second and the two boys thought that it tasted the best. If I am not wrong I prefered Haneshita Rosu for it's chewy and less fatty taste.
If you want to have a good look at what they offer, check this out for their BBQ meat (cuts menu) and this out for the Course and set menus!
Also: Side Menu, Drinks Menu.
The DX Platter also comes with a bowl of vegetables and mushrooms, some of it I enjoyed and others not so much. You also get to BBQ your own meat so you can choose what kind of doneness you want. I like my meats somewhere between rare and medium rare so I was pretty okay with the arrangement.
We were settled in a corner of the establishment where it was hard to get attentive service even with the call button, our food also took longer to come and we were seated with boisterous customers having a few drinks. They were pretty loud and we were very tired and hungry so we were quite silent while waiting for our food, it didn't help that the smells in the restaurant were so heavenly we were put through hell.
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| Table setting |
Hot towels are served when you get seated, the waitress who served us can speak some english and recommends you items from the menu. She will tell you that most people go for the platters because they are here to taste the meat. It is true though, but not everyone goes for the DX platters like we do. Take your time to decide because we discussed if we were planning to part with that money before we ate. It is equivalent to an entrance ticket at a Theme Park after all, haha!
Salt, Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce are offered as condiments to the grilled meat. A huge piece of lard and some wasabi is placed there for grilling as with the tongs. Tea is complimentary, warm or iced, you decide!
The beef was really mindblowing for us and we enjoyed our grilling experience. We took our time with the meat because it was expensive. If you have lotsa spare cash you could order ala carte! We left closer to 10pm because we all took turns to use the toilet.
On a side note, the Fatty Pork was recommended as a no-beef option and it was very tender. My friend who didn't take beef enjoyed her meal there. The beef here did not have a strong metallic taste and she did have a bite.
The Garlic Fried Rice in a Hot Stone Pot was recommended and did smell heavenly, the waitresses cook it for you because there are several things to add and they do not want you to injure your hands.
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| The other table! Who ordered Beef Tongue the Salt and Leeks. 1100 JPY |
My friends at the other table who were excited for their meal ahead.
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| Fast-forward an hour. Done and satisfied. |
Details
Website: Click here!Map: Click here!
Japanese Address: 〒542-0076中央区難波1-5-24だるまビル 2F
English Address: 1-5-24 Namba, Chuo-ku | Daruma Bldg. 2F, Osaka 542-0076, Osaka Prefecture
Opening Hours: 5.00pm - 12.00am (Last Order 11.00pm)
Nearest Station:- Namba Station, Midosuji Line Exit 14
- Namba Station, Sennichimae Line Exit 16
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| 'M Hanare' is the one you want! Credits |
xx wj
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