Kobe Beef Adventures

One of the things I really wanted to do this time in Japan was eat Kobe beef. Since it is impossible to get outside of Japan, and I friggin love steak, I felt like it was one of the things I had to spend a million dollars on at least once. We had read that Mouriya is one of the best known places in Kobe for Kobe beef, and it was my birthday, so we decided to go.

The restaurant was set up so that diners ate at a counter right next to the chefs. This dude grilled some garlic for us to have as seasoning.

The first chef was replaced by another guy when it came time to cook the steaks, for reasons unknown. I asked the first dude if it was okay to take photos, and he said yes but was really awkward about it. I figured out why when I asked the second chef the same thing and it became clear that he thought I was asking if he could take a photo of us, rather than me taking a photo of him with the meat. This is because I had forgotten that when Japanese people say "take a photo", what they mean is "take a photo of me with something in front or behind me". I have never really understood this phenomenon, because surely the thing I am trying to take a photo of is more interesting than my dumb face superimposed in front of or behind whatever I am trying to take a photo of? I don't know, enjoy this photo of my dumb face behind these steaks that we later ate.

First up was the steak Shara ordered. It was slightly less fancy (only marble factor 8 or something), and marginally cheaper (only $130 or so). 

The steaks came with "baked" (grilled) eggplant, baby corns, mushroom, and zucchini. 

The seasonings were grilled garlic flakes, salt, pepper, wasabe, soy sauce and miso sauce. This steak was off the chain. The best steak I have ever had in my life, not close. I found the garlic too overpowering, so I stuck to a combination of sauces and salt and pepper.

Cooking the second steak, which was a bit fancier (marble factor 10-12 I think?) and more expensive.

This was still insane, but Shara and I actually both found that the fattier cut of meat had slightly less flavour, and preferred the less marbled one. 

Shara also got dessert, which came with a weird square spoon. Side note: the butter knives in Japan are super weird. They have very short blades, which is fine for spreading butter, but I'm not sure how you are supposed to use them to cut things. 

All up this was a tremendous meal, and although it ended up costing about $330, add another n=2 to experiences over possessions.