If Your Friend Tells You That She's Dating a Guy From Kobe...

While we were visiting Osaka, Hiroko's friend Yoshiko-chan invited us for a Kobe beef dinner at her small apartment. The city of Kobe is internationally famous for their very particular method for raising cattle and producing a uniquely rich flavored, buttery textured, tender, and expensive style of beef. It has a distinctive "striated" appearance...beef which is well-marbled with fat that practically "melts" into the surrounding meat when it is cooked. It was our good fortune that Yoshiko-chan was dating a guy from Kobe at that time, and as a connoisseur himself, he brought several pounds of Kobe beef from a butcher in Kobe....the same butcher that serves the Japanese Royal Family!!

This butcher, Oi, has 130-year history, has the reputation of being the best Kobe Beef butcher in Kobe. The sirloin steak range from 2100 yen to 5250 yen for 100g. We did the math at the prevailing exchange rate and....it came to $200 per pound!

From his bag he pulled three packages, each a better grade than the one prior. After slicing the meat from the first, we began grilling the meat on a tabletop "hot plate"( yes, that is the Japanese term). It was remarkably tender and tasty...oishii ne (soooo delcious)! He then opened the second package, sliced and grilled it. OMG! It was even better! The third one...yes, you guessed it... was the best....sublime! The meat literally melted in our mouths. It was an unforgettable experience! We still remember the texture of the meat even after three months. It was the most AMAZING meat we've ever tasted! Never before had either of us ever had anything like it. We only wished that we had had the time to go to Kobe after that to eat more Kobe Beef! We have to thank Yoshiko-chan not only inviting us for dinner but moreso for dating a guy from Kobe!

Butcher Information in Japanese
Oi Nikuten