TL;DR – Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara (Yakiniku Nakahara) is not only one of the best yakiniku restaurants in the world, but you’ll also find some of the best wagyu beef in the world here as well. Kentaro Nakahara in action. Photo credit – PalatismI love the people, the culture, the food – everything. You may not like Japanese food, but I’m adamant that you simply cannot be a foodie if you don’t love Japan. Japanese food culture means that you will not find anywhere else in the world with greater respect for food, the seasons and their craft. If food perfection exists, it exists somewhere in Japan. This pursuit of perfection, or Kaizen as it is referred to in Japan, lies at the very heart of the culture of this incredible country. It is a guiding life principle, one that I live by (as the name of this blog suggests). Kaizen, as taught by Taiichi Ohno, is about learning and using experience to strive for perfection through continuously improving process. This philosophy is ingrained in Japanese culture, from CEOs down to janitors, from chefs to waiters.

The most famous example is Jiro Ono, from Jiro Dreams of Sushi, but the story of Jiro is just one of many across Japan. One of these stories is Kentaro Nakahara, who takes Kaizen to another level, from dedication to obsession; Nakahara dreams of wagyu. Nakahara san says that a miniscule 0.2mm difference in thickness or a slight change in knife angle can cause a complete transformation in texture and taste. This is the mark of a true perfectionist. It’s the reason he hand slices all the meat, but only after he “carefully observes the meat’s texture and appearance, touches it, and listens for its voice telling him to ”. Each cut must be better than the last, each meal must be better than the one before. Even in Japan, not many people at the mere age of 40 have such passion and obsession to be and serve the very best. Combined with the philosophy of Kaizen, Nakahara will only get better with age, much like the meat that he so painstakingly slices. GEMS Ichigaya 9F, 4-3 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (map)

Reservations essential, book a few weeks in advance. Nakahara’s exclusive Wagyu Tongue has very often been described as “legendary”. Despite being one of the most sceptical people you will ever know, I would have to agree; it was easily the most tender tongue I’ve had in my life. It was so tender and unlike any other tongue I’ve had before, that it didn’t even feel like the same meat. For those who don’t normally eat tongue, this could be a life changing moment. jiro dreams of sushi masteryThe next best tongue I’ve had was at Chaco Bar in Sydney, but even that pales in comparison.sushi grade fish norwich I kissed a cow and I liked it.jiro dreams of sushi libro

Tender as it may be though, tongue is still not up there in terms of my favourite cuts; it has nothing on the more specialty cuts such as Sirloin and Oyster Blade. Would happily order it again though (pre-order this with your reservation to ensure they don’t run out). The Hire Katsu was not on the menu when I dined at Nakahara but Palatism, the famous IGer who recommended Nakahara to me, swears by this dish. sushi las condes la oracionIn his words, “best wagyu dish of all time”.jiro dreams of sushi independent lens Deep frying one of my favourite foods? genki sushi menu berkeley Normally I don’t recommend food that I haven’t tried myself, but I have complete trust in Palatism’s recommendations.

Pre-order is a must. For those that are new to Nakahara and/or new to Yakiniku experience as a whole, I recommend choosing the Omakase where Nakahara san selects seven slices from the day’s best beef portions. Make a note of the cuts that you like, and then reorder seconds (or thirds…or fourths) Wagyu Omakase – ¥6,200 – ¥7,500/$70 – $85 AUD per person. The cuts we had for our Omakase were Nikusome, Sirloin, Outside Skirt, Brisket, Oyster Blade, Knuckle, Hip (Culotte) and Bolar Blade. I won’t go through a detailed description of every cut of meat we had (I’m not writing a thesis here). Needless to say, the cuts below are the ones we enjoyed the most and got seconds, thirds and fourths. Wagyu Sirloin – ¥3900/$44 AUD (9.75/10) I don’t always get rendered speechless and turn into a babbling idiot, but when I do I’ve just had some of the best beef in the world. The moment when your life changes forever. Simply put, this is the best piece of beef I’ve ever had.

It’s sliced precisely and thinly, resulting in a cut that literally melts in your mouth. I took 3 bites and the meat was already disintegrating down my throat. Wagyu Oyster Blade – ¥3900/$44 AUD (9.5/10) You would think after the epicness of the Sirloin, it’ll be hard to be impressed, let alone rendered speechless once again. This was nothing like Oyster Blade at Rengaya. It was much more marbled, dare I say even more marbled than the Sirloin. So much so that the meat was almost sweet, in the best way possible. But because it was so fatty, I preferred the Sirloin. Ichibo (Butt/thigh) – ¥2500/$28 AUD (9.25/10) Based on our gaping jaws and speechless faces (and our several reorders), our waiter recommended Ichibo. He knew we preferred our meat more marbled and in Korean pear marinade (as opposed to salt and pepper). We were a bit sceptical eating “arse”, but it was surprisingly tender. It was a better balance of meat and fat than the Sirloin and the Oyster Blade, and as a result was much more palatable.

As a comparison, the meat to fat ratio would be similar to the Oyster Blade at Rengaya, but much more tender. Wagyu Offcuts – ¥1600/$18 AUD (8.5/10) We got a dish of Offcuts at the end of our Omakase course, so I’m not sure if this came with the Omakase or if we got the wrong order. Nevertheless, as the name suggests, it contains bits and pieces of all the different cuts, most likely being the ones at the end of each piece. It can be a bit of a lucky draw with a dish like this, but we got a piece of Sirloin and Oyster Blade (among others) in our dish which made it fantastic value, given that it was a third of the price of the regular cuts. At this point, we realised that eating slices of fat with some meat on it does not constitute a proper meal. So we got some slices of fat with some meat…with rice. The Sashimi Beef Maki Roll was a disappointment. Both rice and pickle overpowered the beef, which meant you couldn’t taste the quality of the beef, which is really the main reason you’re eating at Nakahara.