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- My chef for tonight
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- The chef showing me the steak before cooking it
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- Entree of smoked salmon – even this tasted superb
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- Kobe beef medium rare
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- Kobe Beef
Every meat lover dreams of a succulent marbled steak melting in their mouths. As I planned my trip to Japan, one of my top destinations was to try the renowned and highly sought after cut of Kobe Beef from its hometown – Kobe.
I did a bit of research and this place called Wakkoqu came up, so I decided to take a blindside to my wallet and give this joint a try. This store has two shopfronts: one at Kobe City (Kitane) and one in Shin-Kobe at Oriental Avenue 3F just next to the JR station. For convenience sake, I ended up going to the Shin-Kobe location on the way home from Hiroshima.
Wakkoqu is an upmarket Kobe Beef restaurant, so don’t expect a cheap feed. I ordered the Wakkoqu special course which included an appetizer (smoked salmon or sliced beef), 250g steak (sirloin or tenderloin – the chef advised the sirloin is a lot better), sides and rice or bread.
One thing that stuck out for me was the amazing skills of the teppenyaki chef. Watching him slice and dice and cook and multitask the meat and the sides was an awe to witness. Everything came out just right, and the chef was also very helpful in advising what mix of condiments to use.
The beef, undoubtedly the most important part of the meal, simply blew me away. The marbling was extraordinary. It was cooked exactly the way I wanted. The mix of condiments (salt, pepper, mustard, grilled garlic, and two other sauces) supplemented the meat well. I was afraid that 250g was not enough, but by the end, I was truly satisfied and happy with the steak. Each bite simply melted in my mouth and was simply heavenly food.
If you are just looking for a meat hit in Kobe without worrying about the hit to the pocket, then I would seriously recommend this place. If you’re just visiting and willing to fork out one expensive meal to try this impeccably marbled steak, I would suggest to give it a go. However, if you’re not too particular about your meat, I would suggest to find a cheap teppenyaki joint. This place is only for the serious meat lovers. I loved the steak, but I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near this place again, knowing that I can barbecue a pretty good steak for about 1/20 of the price.
Heavenly Food 