Tokyo Eats Part 3: Matsuzaka Beef at Steakhouse Satou in Kochijoji
A5 Matsuzaka Beef Steak 270g 12,800 Yen
Up till last month, my gastronomic holy grail had been to partake of the legendary Matsuzaka beef in Japan. I alluded to this when I was interviewed by Teo Pao Lin in the Straits Times last year when she asked me what my last meal would be. Now, in my post-Matsuzaka state, I have to reset my culinary sights on my next holy grail which is to have a meal at El Bulli.
When I found out that I had the opportunity to visit Tokyo last month, the very first thought that came to mind was to find the best place to eat Matsuzaka beef. This was actually the main goal of the whole trip. The rest of the food were secondary as were the sightseeing around Tokyo.
Nowadays, (or Nowsadays as some Singaporeans might say) thanks to this wonderful thing called "Blogs", you don't really need to know anyone personally to ask pertinent questions like "Eh, where can I eat reasonably priced Matsuzaka Beef in Tokyo" anymore. A quick search on the internet and I found this guy called Paul who blogged about his experience at Steak House Satou.
Steak House Satou sounds like the kind of place I'd like to visit since it was situated in a sort of non-touristy suburb of Tokyo and most importantly, it was supposed to sell Matsuzaka beef at really reasonable prices. The fact that he said "Not everyone knows about the steak house upstairs, but everyone in Kichijoji knows about the meat shop downstairs" only added to the mystery of the place. It's like someone sharing a secret "Lobang" with you that no one else knows, right?
Anyway, as per the instructions on the blog, we took the train to Shinjuku and changed to the westbound chuo line heading towards Takao. Kochijoji is the 8th station from Shinjuku. Now when you get off the train, head for the North exit and when you get out, cross the road and take the street at the 10 o'clock position and walk down the alley. Walk for 5 minutes and soon you will smell a really nice beefy aroma wafting from your left and you're there. Huh, who needs GPS when you've got great olfactory lobes? The photo above shows the scene after you walked past it on your left. I hope this set of directions will help other travellers find the place, 'cos boy were we lost.
When we got there the first thing was to quickly join the queue that was tailing down this really narrow and steep staircase......
And after 20 minutes, we finally made it to the front of the queue! The picture shows the whole dining area of the restaurant. It is really that tiny! The chefs were busy frying the meat just in front of the row of diners on the right side of the photo.
While still in the queue, we were shown the English menu and the waiter pointed out to us the Premium Beef Steak Set Menu that (according to him) most of the foreigners ordered. So we ordered the Tokusan Sirloin Steak Set 270g ($195) and a Matsu (High grade Japanese Beef) ($80) 270g set. The uncle promptly scooted downstairs and came up with.....
...the Holy Grail! Mmm..... somehow I thought it should be on a gilded plate or something. There was no certificate or anything like that, so I had to take his word for it that it was indeed A5 Matsuzaka Beef.
Matsu Beef Set 5355 yen (high grade Japanese beef)
The moment I have been waiting for had come and we had before us both the Matsu set as well as the Tokusan set. Being the type of guy who usually eats the noodles first and saves the Charsiew for last, I started off by eating the Tau Gay (Bean Sprouts) first, followed by the Matsu Beef. Mind you, at around $80 for the Matsu Beef set, it was already quite an expensive steak. But what a great steak it was. Tender, beefy... yum yum...... but now the moment of truth...
OK, quite honestly, it was not quite what I expected it to be. Yes, it was the juiciest and most tender steak I ever had, but the taste did not quite blow me away as I expected that it would. I think I have come to the conclusion that Wagyu (Japanese) and Angus (US) beef are really two Cattle sic of fish, like if you were to compare Tuna with Salmon. I was expecting to be hit by a robust beefy flavour of US beef but instead I was carassed by a sweet delicate meat. In fact, unless I had them side by side, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this Matsuzaka beef and the Australian Grade 11 Wagyu I had before. The texture, now that is a whole different story. Matsuzaka beef really does have that burst of juices when you bite into it that is second to none. It is certainly the most juicy, melt in your mouth piece of meat I have ever had.
Conclusion
Well, been there, done that. Although Matsuzaka was not as mind blowing as I have expected it to be, I still wouldn't have done anything differently. However, if I were to do it again, I would certainly consider just ordering the Matsu Set. Then again........maybe not.
33 comments:
You kanna tetok liao. Just like if you go to newton, and someone shows you a slab of stingray and tell you it's A grade and normally wht tourist order. Will you order? LOL....
For all your mazaka or wagyu or what kobe ..they are all beef la...how much more beefy you want it to be?? how much more fragrant you want it to be??? $80, and you expect it to be 10 times more meh??
Clearly all this kind of terms are there to con tourist and non japanese....you clearly had been had......your exdpectation will never be met my friend....just like durian they call what mao shan wang, what 24 what sultan.....also durian.
My fellow anonymous - why, jealous ah? LOL!
Wow, anonymous retards out from the caves. These people think ingredients are all the same. Taking your analogy, you and say, Einstein are both humans are thus should be the same. But really, I think that's like comparing cockroaches with Jesus.
80 is quite reasonable I think, but I can't afford it lol. Someday, someday. The raw beef looks immense, like a work of art. The marbling is just fantastic.
When I saw your photo of the raw slab of meat, I almost cursed, and I am a nice girl who never curses.
May such beautiful meat fill my dreams tonight.
come on lah, leslie himself said it is no big deal...he is not stupid. After paying $80, he said BULLSHIT!. so what gives my dear friends?
Sorry, it is not clear in the post. $80 is for the lower grade Matsu Set. The A5 Matsuzaka costs 12,900 yen which is almost $200.
According the my research, this place is where the locals go to buy Matsuzaka beef. As I said, I can't read Japanese, so there was no way I could verify that this is Matsuzaka or some other brand of Japanese beef. Either way, it was an extremely well marbled steak and there was a big difference between the $80 Matsu set and the $193 Tokusan set.
cowards out to make trouble again...
tj han, dun need to bother abt these trolls lar.. they got nothing better to do than talking nonsense..
we see so many anonymous comments, it could be 1 bo liao troll, supporting its claims..
e raw beef really look soooo good! =) (esp e fats.. wahahahah)
anyway, leslie.. i realised tat raising our expectation for something we haven't tried before isn't really a good idea lor..
cos it happened to me before when i was reading ur posts!! u described until it's so heavenly & e pictures were making me drool all over e keyboard.. but after i tried it, (can't recall wat was it already!) i tot tat it's only better than average.. din meet my expectations at all
e reason - i raised my expectations of wat i'm supposed to try way too high based on looks, descriptions & hearsay.. i expect it to be really fantastic & heavenly!!
thus nowadays, i dun have high expectations of things i haven't try before.. in case i’m disappointed again!
the flavour of wagyu, especially the high grades from Kobe and Matsuzaka are too tender, and rich tasting...not enough beefy taste or bite. For me, they are best served tepan yaki style, with soy sauce, and some Japanese rice.
For a steak, I still prefer the American style steaks...exemplified by the superior steaks served at Peter Lugers in Brooklyn. I haven't tried Argentinian beef yet...but my Argentinian friend tells me they are even more superb...but I do take it with a pinch of salt, um, perhaps he is slightly biased.
I read from the recentrunes blog that Tommy at Cafe des Amis at Funan has actually brought in Argentinian beef...these are totally grass fed, and will have more flavour. And may be tough, unless it is dry aged properly. Sorry, I am ranting again...this entry I made on my blog expresses the laments.
http://shiokhochiak.blogspot.com/2008/10/lamentitions-no-good-steaks-in.html
BTW, most Japanese supermarket food halls do carry high grade wagyu. The Isetan food hall in Shinjuku is better than most, and they offer air dried beef as well, as my Japanese colleagues tell me. Very expensive, though.
No wonder most of the wagyu we get in Singapore is from the US, and Australia.
wah...that piece sure looks good....look at that marbling !!??
How much does a grade 7 or 9(270G) wagyu at Astons cost ? $70 ?
can we even compare like this ?
wahcow: I paid $89.90 for 250gm Wagyu Ribeye Grade 9 @ Astons.
Indeed the sad thing about good Wagyu is that although it is very tender, it lacks the beefy taste due to the feed the cows eat.
So far, the most well-balanced beef (between tenderness and beefiness) I have tasted is the USA Premium Black Angus Ribeye @ Fine Cuts, located at The Central. It cost $7.00/100gm.
I suppose, it really does depend how you like your meat to be...
It is either robust, very beefy flavoured and juicy with lots of punch..
Or tender, delicate, pleasant, melt-in-your-mouth texture and fatty.
Kinda hard to strike a balance in between :D!
But I would still prefer my wagyu over angus anytime though!
Btw HFB, you said the most well balanced beef (Between tenderness and beefiness) is at Fine Cuts? You had me there, but just wanna ask if it is one of the better beef you've tasted?
Anyone ever tried the beef at Izakaya at Orchard Parade Hotel? They charge $30 per stick and it's great but wonder where that fits in the grand scheme of things?
You can't bring in beef from Japan even as a tourist. I was just looking at the AVA notice in today's TODAY paper. So any beef from Japan has to be smuggled in. There is one restaurant which I have blogged before which had A5 Black Hair beef. The owner brought it in everytime he came back from japan. I don't know if he still does it.
So the closest you can get is a grade 9 Wagyu from Aust or US because it is rare to find a Grade 12 in Singapore since they all get siphoned off to Japan. Grade 12 is comparable to A5 in terms of marbling.
It is interesting to note that even the non-branded beef in Japan is quite marbled. Kobe, Matsuzaka and several other brands are more well known. But they sell "normal" beef for shabu shabu in the supermarket which will beat any of our beef here hands down. (Except for the best restaurants of course).
The Japanese really know how to enjoy their beef. That's all I can say.
Hi Leslie,
any rating for the experience? 4.75/5 perhaps?
it is really an eye opening for my mind and stomnach reading this post!
leslie.....when japanese tourists come here...they were also told that newton is where singaporean find their local delight....LOL!....
Leslie, I must say it's quite funny to see you using some professional or expert terms like $80, $120, $200, A1, A5 A10, Matsuzaka, Marble, Matsu, Tokusan.....like...EEHHH AHHHH OOOHHH UHHH WAAAAAA....OOH AHHH AHHH!!!!!! MUST TRY AH!!!!!!
Then?
See you complaining, lack of beef taste lah, lack of flavour lah, lack of this lah, lack of that lah.
I ask you one thing. What is the difference between a $5 tie and a $500 tie.
There is no difference if you're a poor man yeah. A poor man will never see a $500 tie making any sense. A $500 tie has only value to a rich man where he is looking at beyond a tie. Maybe it is the brand, the hip, or whatever self satisfaction he derives from spending 100 x more expensive for something he can get 100 times cheaper.
My friend, go hawker spend $8 for a steak lah. Why pay $80 or $800 then complain it is no good? It is good, the fact you're paying $80 for it means it is good already.
Poor man's food is forever delicious for a poor man. Lets face it guys, You go restoran eat those what french or italian 3 course meal. Then the whole plate come, only 1 small piece of meat and 1 asparagus, then some sauce to color the whole plate only. That may cost 100 x more than my home cooked teochew muey, simply chai poh egg, chai buay, steam sotong etc. But i don't think it taste 100 x more delicious.
For me this poor man, i rather stick to poor man's food. I am used to eating poor man's food. Even i become rich tomorrow i will still prefer poor man's food. Simply because i have already get used to eating it. No insult to those high class or high grade food but even if i can afford I also don't eat. It may be something you get used to eating but not me. I get the same nutrition and shiokness from my $1 teo chew muey.
For those who don't know, Matsusaka beef is actually virgin female cow beef.
Hi,
We tried out the Tokusan Sirloin Steak at Satou last month. The marbling of the fats was good and it kinda melt in your mouth. However, I got a bit quesy towards the end of the meal. I guess it's too much fats for me in a meal.
Anyway, if you are into steaks, try the Black angus steak at Harbour Grill and oyster bar in Hilton. It is heavenly.
Yeah, you can't really take too much of it. Did you also find out about Satou through Paul's travel blog?
anonymous, i tot u r a poor man who prefer ur "$1 teo chew muey" instead of trying these "high class or high grade food"?
how come u changed ur mind lei?
btw, since u've got urself a pen name (i would suggest poor man since u emphasised it so many times), instead of commenting as anonymous, choose "name/url" under "comment as" and enter ur pen name..
I think this Anonymous is not the same person as the "Poor Man". The "Poor Man" always likes to be a little more abrasive.
Definitely there are differences for different prices you pay for beef, durians, etc. Chinese has a saying 'yi fen qian yi fen huo' (you get what you pay for). For the anon who enjoys the porridge, that's good. Simply enjoy what you eat and be contented with what you have.
Khim, there are many 'anonymous' posters here. I'm not related to the other two in this thread.
You should really just give yourself a penname as it will give you more credibility when you comment.
PChong, your friend is not overly biased. Argentinian beef indeed has a stronger but nice beefy taste.
Wah, Matsuzaka beef...oh my goodness. I wish some place in SG serve that. I tried some Wagyu beef slices at a Gyu-Kaku @ UE Shopping mall before. it was a small serving dunno wat grade but it was indeed yummy. but i dunno if me and my friend grilled it the right way or overdid it.
I am also on a hunt for good beef steaks being a steak lover.
Tried the Stuart Anderson's @ Fullerton once, before they closed tat is.
It was nice but not really the kind that makes you "cant forget the taste" type.
In fact the wagyu slices at Gyu-Kaku was more memorable.
Tried Prime Rib @ lawry's twice a bit over-rated.
Thinking of trying Morton's of Chicago when i get a more more "rich" ha ha.
Any good jap place to recommend in Singapore to try beef?
(i am ashamed to say I'm 31 and havent sat on a plane yet. so never been to japan. furtherest only KL once..)
Hi Wilson,
The cheapest place to try Wagyu beef is probably Astons where you can get a 200g steak for less than $40. It is not Japanese style, but when you are eating beef steak the only difference is the sauce and sides that comes with it.
I had a grade 11 Wagyu there last year (this is not the $40 one which is Grade 6) and the texture is quite similar to that in Japan.
http://ieatishootipost.sg/2007/03/stop-press-wagyu-grade-11-astons.html
Hey,
I think there is some confusion regarding the "Anonymous" identity. I am the one posted on 5/12/08 09:25. I guess I should name myself "Vic" from now.
Yeah, I read Paul's blog and also the restaurant name came up in a travel forum and so i decided to give a try.
I read Paul's blog& went to Satou Steak House, even before this blog. All I can say is that my father & my uncle thoroughly enjoyed the beef. It's worth every penny.
if you had gone during the day time, they even sell fried ground beef balls. Sinful & Yummy! There are long queues for it!!
Nice introduction....really want to eat this.
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