Where to eat in Japan - Kobe Beef in Steakland Kobe!

For the Meat-Eating Foodie, few foods evoke as much emotion as the words Kobe Beef. The meat from this prized heifer has been elevated to heavenly heights thanks to rumours that the cows listen to music, feast on sake and beer and receive hand massages. Unfortunately for the romantics among us these rumours are largely inaccurate. What is accurate though is that the strict criteria for use of the Kobe Beef trade mark means that you know you're gonna be in for one heck of a meal.

There are a myriad of restaurants in the town of Kobe serving Kobe beef, but the darling and I settle on what is probably the most popular joint - Steakland Kobe (ステーキランド神戸館). Located on that strip just north of the Non-JR Sannomiya station (三宮駅). The doors in the restaurant open up to reveal a decor not unlike the classic American steakhouse (with dark wood paneling everywhere) - except that there are multiple Teppanyaki stations peppered throughout the dining area. No points for guessing how our meat is going to be cooked, then.


Between the two of us we split one order of Special Kobe Beef Sirloin Set (¥5,480 for 200gm) and one order of Special Kobe Beef Tenderloin Set (¥5,980 for 160gm). The raw Sirloin soon arrives table-side looking more marbled than anything I've ever eaten - though naturally the tenderloin isn't as richly fatty. You might notice that some of the marbling strands do seem a little thick - which is a reason why some connoisseurs prefer the other two more finely-marbled wagyu heavy hitters - matsusaka and yonezawa beef.


No matter; onward to the cooking! As is pretty standard with teppanyaki places we also get a number of side ingredients - shimeji mushrooms, garlic, cucumber and konnyaku jelly. The meat is then also seared on the hot plate (seasoned only with salt and pepper and nothing else as to not ruin such top quality beef) and sliced up into bite-sized pieces. At this stage the entire restaurant does get a pretty strong beefy aroma in the air.


And then we finally get to eat. The fats in the Tajima cattle melt at a much lower temperature point than normal cows, so our medium rare chunks simply burst with a mixture of fatty and meaty juices and flavor as we chew. We're also served a bowl of rice to go with the meal but we find ourselves pairing rice with vegetables and eating the beef on its' own just to savour the unadulterated flavour.

For me the flavour, texture and juiciness of the meat is unparalleled by anything I've eaten in the past; however I do find myself wishing that it was cooked as a steak in the Western sense - i.e. seared at 1000++ degrees to get that slightly charred crust on the outside.


To finish off the meal you get a choice of hot or cold coffee or an orange juice. Coffee was adequate.


We feel that the price we paid was very value for money considering the quality of the meat on offer. Having said that, 200gm (or 160gm) is a nicely-sized portion for lunch, but perhaps might be a tad insufficient for a dinner meal. Or for those among you with bigger appetites. If you're ever on holiday in the Kansai region (Osaka or Kyoto, for example), it really is worth your time to take the 30-minute train ride to Kobe just to eat at Steakland. Note that if you're arriving via JR, the JR Sannomiya station is a 5-minute walk away.

At time of writing, ¥1,000 = SGD 12.60.

Where to Eat in Osaka - Kamakura Soup with Noodles (Ramen) in Dotonbori

On our first night in Osaka, we ventured forth to Dotonbori, one of the most popular shopping, entertainment and most importantly, food areas in town. The initial plan was to have ourselves some crab goodness at the venerable Kani Doraku Honten with its imposing mechanical crab, but since it was raining our stomachs grumbled for something more ... soupy.


So after wandering around the dozens of different restaurants and stalls along the streets we settled for Kamakura soup with noodles (Ramen). I'm not sure why we chose Kamakura - maybe it was some subconscious linkage to Bleach's Karakura Town; or maybe it was just the all-glass facade being an inviting change from the other closed-off shops.


Whatever the case, we order our noodles via the 'vending machine' outside the restaurant (If you don't read Japanese it's simple - just insert money and press whichever button looks tastiest), step inside and take our seats in the two dozen (or so) seat counter.


My Medium size Cha Shu Ramen (¥900) is remarkable value for money, consisting of lots of slices of three different varieties of pork served on a generous helping of yellow ramen noodles. The soup is a clear, light-tasting lightly-shoyu'ed broth - which may not be your cup of tea if you prefer the stronger tasting varieties (like miso or tonkotsu broths).


If you prefer a less carnivorous meal, you lose a few pork slices but gain an egg with the small Cha Shu Ramen with Egg (¥850). Noodles are nicely cooked without being too soggy or too hard, although pasta lovers might prefer it a little more al dente.

Kamakura Soup with Noodles is in Dotonbori, Osaka. To get here, walk down the main 'street' with Kani Doraku on your left (see first pic) and take the second turning on your right (it should be a covered side-street). Kamakura should be a couple minutes walk on your right. At time of writing, 1000¥ = SGD 12.26. Non halal.

Pretty Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) at Kema Sakuranomiya Park, Osaka, Japan!

The darling and I have always wanted to visit Japan for some Sakura (Cherry Blossom) viewing, so almost a year ago we planned this trip for the second week of April which has historically been the peak Sakura viewing season. Some unseasonably warm weather in March this year, however, accelerated the flowers' full bloom by over a week. So when we got off the plane we dumped our bags at the hotel and immediately headed over to one of Osaka (and Japan's) favorite viewing spots - Kema Sakuranomiya Park!


We reach the park and are delighted to see that although some trees have started to shed some petals thanks to the rain and strong winds, most trees are still blooming strong! The park has something like 5,000 trees lining both banks of the river and make for an extremely scenic and enjoying leisurely stroll.


We're somewhat surprised to find out that there are actually close to twenty different varieties of Sakura / Cherry Blossoms all over Japan - with different colors, blooming periods and even number of petals and flower shape. The trees in Kema Sakuranomiya Park are mostly of the Somei Yoshino variety.


We also encounter a lot of multiple petaled, darker pink variety which we believe is the Yoshino variety. These are very obviously a later-blooming variety as the flowers look strong and sturdy and show no sign of giving up their petals to the wind ... yet.


Although we may have been a day or two late with the "peak" season for Osaka, we actually very much liked the conditions at the park - thanks to the hanafubuki (flower/petal blizzard) of "snowing" petals whenever the wind blowed. You can check out what it looks and feels like in the video below:


Of course we have to admit that it's a shame that the season came and ended earlier than usual this year (blame global warming, perhaps?) as we would have loved to personally experience the entire lifecycle of the sakura opening, blooming and the petals dropping. Maybe next year? :)

Kema Sakuranomiya Park has no admission fee and is just off the JR (Japan Railways) Sakuranomiya station in Osaka.

Click here for our blog page Our Travels, bits & pieces of our life... come along! for more of our travel and bit of pieces of our life blogs. Hope this list will help out in travel plannings~

Best Prata in Singapore? Mr & Mrs Mohgan's Roti Prata in Joo Chiat

At the middle and upper end of the gastronomic spectrum, Singapore simply blows KL out of the water with its' huge variety of fine dining restaurants, celebrity chef outlets and steakhouse chains. At the lower end though Singaporean street and hawker food lags behind. In particular, we find that most Roti Canai / Prata places simply miss the mark, so we're always on the look out for good Prata places around town.

Mr & Mrs Mohgan's Roti Prata is a shop that comes extremely highly recommended in the food-o-sphere. It's said that Mr Mohgan mans the shop himself because he simply couldn't find any worker / chef who could prepare the Prata to his standards.


As is usual with Canai and Prata you get dozens of choices of what fillings to have in your Prata. Our order of two kosong (plain) and two telur (egg) comes up to SGD4.40 which is a pretty reasonable price. It's very good for Singapore standards: decently light and fluffy and not too chewy, and is fairly crispy. However if you've grown up eating in various mamaks around KL and other parts of Malaysia it'll probably rank as just 'above average.'


Sadly the restaurant is somewhat inconvenient to get to if you don't have a set of wheels, but if you're in the area and have a hankering for above average Prata then it's worth the trip!

Mr & Mrs Mohgan's Roti Prata
Poh Ho Restaurant
7 Crane Road
Singapore 429356


View Larger Map