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As promised I am here again with some gems about my recent wine&food trip in Japan. This time I am going to tell you about a special restaurant in Kyoto where I had a super Kobe beef: Isshin restaurant, rewarded with 2 stars by the notorious Michelin guide!

chef at isshin

chef at isshin

Kobe is the name of the city while wagyu is the race of this bovine’s race famous for being very tasty also thanks to the visible fat’s stripes.

I could not miss this!

The restaurant is very silent; me and my husband took place at the counter where we had the opportunity to observe the chef preparing each single course: amazing for his speed and rigor at once!

  • Course 1
    Beef Noodles: brilliant. The soup is the usual one used for noodles with chives and soy sauce broth. The meat is raw and it reminds the classic recipe of noodles. The taste is delicate with a light fat touch given by the beef, very tasty.
  • Course 2
    3 different parts of the bovine for 3 delicious bites. Stomach with basil pesto, very
    kobe noodles in japan

    kobe noodles in japan

    armonious. Shoulder with sesame and mix of spices; finally “roasted beef’ more similar to the west style except for the size!

  • Course 3
    A wonderful tasting of tongue with a tasty soup. The flavor is not that strong but the consistency is absolutely unique, surely more “resistant” compared to other pieces.sashimi-of-tongue-sashimi-di-lingua
  • Course 4
    The shoulder, this fine piece! This time is included in a gelly bite paired to cherry tomatoes and green sauce.
    Tasty courses, very different from each other but one better than another!
  • Course 5
    Sashimi of tongue with soy sauce and chives, very good and balanced.
  • Course 6
    Wonderful the tail! Highly soft thanks to the visible layers of fat. Served as it was roast beef plus onions sauce meant to soften the tail’s flavor but it so sushidelicious you do not need anything more!
  • Course 7
    Here it is: beef sushi! The fine Shoulder again: the first on the righi s lightly burned by the flame, the second has avocado in the middle and prawns at the bottom. The both of them to be paired to soy sauce; while the last one is to be eaten as it is: beef cubes marinated (without any vinegar) with a sweet&sour flavor Full taste that  never bores.
  • Course 8
    Cooked meat from now on. The first bite is braised beef: amazingly soft and paired to a delicious eggplant without special condiments, very natural and tasty!
  • Course 9
    Amazing! Bites of roast beef to pair to solid soy sauce along with a mixed salad of turnip, mustard, onions and dressed with orange sauce.con-lo-chef
  • Course 10
    Finally the boiled beef (the all of the cooking typology have been served, evidently, leaving a soup at the end as usual in Japan), paired to rise soup. Tasty but delicate.
  • Dessert
    Beyond the peach sorbet, I loved the creme brûlée: a thin slice of it on the top of a layer of bean creme similar –in its consistency- to the italian almond paste (very famous in sicily).

What’s more: one of the best dinner of my life!

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