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| Best Kobe Beef in Kobe 2016. ishida steak teppanyaki restaurant. A5 BMS 10-12 grade Steak |
- To read about my other Kobe Beef in Kobe experiences, visit: Kobe Beef in Kobe, My Kobe Beef Experiences
- To read about my Wagyu Japanese Beef Experiences, visit: Wagyu Japanese Beef
- To read about my recommendations of affordable, Reasonable, Convenient hotels in Tokyo, visit: Affordable Cheap Reasonable Hotels in Tokyo
- To read about my recommendations of affordable and reasonable hotels in OSAKA, visit: Osaka Reasonable Affordable Hotels
- To read about my recommendations of best food in Tokyo, visit Best food in Tokyo Japan
Certified Kobe Beef Plaque at the entrance indicates this restaurant serves REAL Kobe Beef.
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| Many of the well established authentic Kobe Beef restaurants have Kobe Beef certification plaques. |
Without a prior reservation, I was told that they can not take anymore customers for lunch at this particular location. One of their staff took us to their newly opened branch restaurant that was about 2 minutes away by foot.
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| Google map was helpful in searching for the location of the ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Recently opened franchise ishida Kobe Beef restaurant was located on the second floor of this building.
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| The ishida Kobe Beef restaurant was located on the second floor |
The decor of this teppanyaki 鉄板焼 steak restaurant was very modern and upscale. Even without prior reservation, we were fortunate to be seated without any wait in line.
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| Interior of ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
High quality Kobe Beef needs no excessive seasoning. I believe the pot contains mustard sauce, which was an option to go with the meat.
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| Chef's seasoning at ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Visiting Kobe for Kobe Beef, we were interested trying the highest grade of Kobe Beef. We ordered the highest grade from the menu at ishida, A5/BMS 10-12. One hundred gram (3.5 oz) of "roast" (sirloin) and one hundred gram (3.5 oz) of fillet (fillet mignon) were presented to us for picture taking soon after we placed the orders. In order to be qualified for Kobe Beef, BMS score must be above 6, meat quality score must be 4 or 5.
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| ishida Kobe Beef restaurant sirloin cut on the left, fillet mignon on the right |
A5/BMS 10-12 grade fillet mignon cut of Kobe Beef has very even marbling
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| Kobe Beef fillet mignon cut showcases the tenderness of the A5 grade meat. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Side by side comparison of the two different cuts of A5/BMS10-12 Kobe Beef. It is easy to tell that the fillet mignon cut has much less fat content/marbling than the sirloin cut.
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| Higher marbling fat content in the Sirloin Kobe Beef cut. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Teppanyaki is one of the most exquisite way to enjoy Kobe Beef, yet it is always a pleasant
experience to watch the skillful chef prepare your expensive piece of meat at the counter. We decided to go with his recommendation of having the steak cuts cooked at medium rare.
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| Skillful chef cooking the highest grade Kobe Beef Teppanyaki style. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
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| Each piece of the highest grade Kobe Beef was cooked to perfection by the chef. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Fried garlic chips, mustard, regular salt, seaweed seasoned salt, and black pepper were given to us on the plate. I highly recommend eating the first bites with only regular salt in order to sample the most natural flavors of the highest grade Kobe Beef.
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| Fried garlic chips, mustard, different types of salt and black pepper were the simple condiments to go with Kobe Beef. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
One of the perks of dining at a nice teppanyaki Kobe Beef restaurant is that the chef will cook at your own pace of eating. The chef first cooked half of each cut, then completed cooking the rest after you finish eating the slices he initially served.
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| Highest grade Kobe Beef served on the plate. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Watching the skillful chef making special fried rice for other guests was also enjoyable. The special fried rice was made with Kobe Beef butter/fat, which made the aroma very irresistible.
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| Special garlic fried rice was irresistible. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Paying great attention to detail, our chef made stir fried bean sprouts with Kobe Beef butter/fat. This dish was included as part of our steak a la carte orders.
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| Kobe Beef fat flavored bean sprout side dish. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
One of the biggest reason for me to recommend Kobe Beef ishida was that the menu is very well labeled for the grades of the the beef they are serving. The staff/manager was also very knowledgeable and informative about the definition of Kobe Beef and its grading system while he was explaining. Under the Beef Marble Score (BMS) system, Kobe Beef qualifies when BMS is above the score of 6. Under the Japanese Meat Grading system (ie. A5) the letter A stands for the percentage of consumable meat in cattles, while the numbering stands for the quality of the meat. At letter A grade, the consumable meat percentage is usually above 72%; at number 5 grade, the quality of meat is usually equivalent to BMS 8-12. This indicates that even when the meat qualifies for Kobe Beef grading, there could be a huge quality difference between BMS 6 and BMS 12.
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| Menu were in both English and Japanese at ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
The staff was very patiently explaining to me that Japanese Black Beef is not Kobe Beef by qualification. Yes he explained in English that was easy to understand.
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| Grading of beef on the menu was clearly labeled. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
The same staff also explained to me the differences between the A5 (BMS8-12) and A4 (BMS6-7) selections on this page of the restaurant menu.
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| A4 vs. A5 grading Kobe Beef were clearly labeled on the special lunch menu. ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
Specially Selected A5 (BMS8-12) Kobe Beef lunch course meal is of great value in my opinion. Many Kobe Beef steak restaurants in Kobe offers great lunch time deals.
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| A5 grade special lunch menu is of great value at ishida Kobe Beef restaurant |
After finishing the meal, I took a stroll down the "Kobe Beef Road" nearby JR Sannomiya station. The area has evolved to be more non-Japanese friendly as I saw more English labels on the advertisements above my head. Restaurants such as Kobe Beef Steak Land did not put up any English in their advertisement in 2012 when I first visited.
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| "Kobe Beef Road" were packed with foreign visitors lining up for Steak Land Kobe Beef restaurant near Sannomiya train station |
Outside of prestigious restaurants such as Moriya (Mouriya) was a display of their English menu. I noticed that they were also very clear on the A4 vs. A5 Kobe Beef grading on the menu. The high prices on this menu reminded me that high ranking Kobe Beef is expensive everywhere.
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| Wide price range among different grading of Kobe Beef at Mouriya Kobe Beef restaurant |
Popularity of Kobe Beef in Kobe exploded with recent increase in tourism in Japan. Kobe Beef Steak Land remains one of the most popular Kobe Beef restaurants in Kobe. The long line of people reminded me of the popular Sushi Dai restaurant in Tokyo Tsukiji fish market.
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| Expect to wait in line for Steak Land Kobe Beef restaurant near Sannomiya train station |
TIPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR KOBE BEEF
1. Kobe Beef is never meant to be cheap or affordable or reasonable. They could be very expensive. The total cost of our lunch was about USD $200. Yes $200 for about 200 grams or 7 ounces of highest grade Kobe Beef at ishida. There were plenty of less expensive options on the menu.
2. Teppanyaki style of dining offers great value because of the beef is cooked to perfection by skillful chef in front you.
3. The value of Kobe Beef or Wagyu is in its steak form. Croquette and grounded Kobe Beef hamburger offers little chance to showcase the melt-in-your-mouth appeal of Kobe Beef or Wagyu.
4. The price for Kobe Beef in Tokyo is likely to be 1.2 to 1.5 times higher. I have written a list of some of my recommended Kobe Beef restaurants in Tokyo for those who do not get a chance to visit Kobe. Visit my article: Wagyu Japanese Beef for the list of Kobe Beef restaurants in Tokyo.
5. Both fillet mignon and sirloin cuts were delicious. Fillet mignon cut showcases the tenderness of the muscular tissue of the meat. Sirloin cut showcases the charm of the unique beef butter/fat aroma that is characteristic of Japanese Kobe/Wagyu Beef.
6. If you want to stay in Kobe near "Kobe Beef Road" I recommend comparing hotel prices on Hotelscombined for hotels near JR Sannomiya station.
ACCESS
Most of the popular Kobe Beef restaurants are located between JR Sannomiya 三ノ宮 and JR Motomachi 元町 stations. If you are coming from Osaka area, I would recommend taking the JR train from JR Osaka to JR Sannomiya station (~22 minutes)
After arriving at JR Sannomiya station, it is only a brisk 5-minute walk to ishida Kobe Beef Steak restaurant.
If you are taking the bullet train and you have arrived at Shin-Kobe 新神戸 Shinkansen Bullet Train station, I would recommend either take the subway from Shin-Kobe station to subway Sannomiya station (2-3 minutes by subway), or just take the downhill walk (~20 minutes) to the bustling Sannomiya "Kobe Beef Road" area.
INFORMATION (Tripadvisor page)
Kobe Beef Steak ishida franchise restaurants
4-7-11 Kanocho Chuo-Ku | Palais Kitanozaka 1F, Kobe 650-0001, Hyogo Prefecture
TEL: 078-599-5029
神戸牛すてーき Ishida 北野坂店
〒650-0001中央区加納町4-7-11パレ北野坂1F
Hours: Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00(last order 14:30), Dinner: 17:00 - 22:00(last order 21:00)
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