あか牛Dining yoka-yoka サクラマチ店 — Restaurant in Kumamoto

Wow.

First time trying japanese brown 赤牛 and was surprised by it taste.

This breed often overshadowed by their black counterparts (kuroke wagyu 黒毛), like the one in kobe, miyazaki, or kagoshima, so I was glad when I found this shop that specialized on brown wagyu. The waitress told us that they raised their own cattle in Aso mountain region to ensure high quality product, rather than buying it from market, and they show the raw meat on the display.

I tried 三角バラ sankaku bara cut (around 5k yen/200g), near the ribs which has higher fat content, cooked to med-rare. It was superb and melt in my mouth, without leaving any greasiness aftertaste. Just right amout of fat. I tried hokkaido shiraoi black wagyu some time before, and kumamoto brown's just simply taste better and had better texture.

On the more affordable price (2.5k yen/serving), I also tried their roast beef rice. more on the rare side. This lean meat still retains wagyu characteristic such as unique smell, umami, and juiciness. I personally think it is good as...

I rode the Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Kumamoto in hopes of enjoying Akaushi beef once more before returning home overseas. I chose this restaurant as it rated highly on google reviews. Staff were friendly and welcoming to someone who doesn’t speak Japanese. I ordered the basashi and a steak to enjoy together with Kumamoto Castle Sake. Everything went well in the restaurant.

Unfortunately, by the time I was on the Shinkansen to Hakata station, I started to feel really unwell and was sick twice during the 39 minute ride, fortunately there was easy access to restrooms. I had to ride the subway line from Hakata station for 2 stops, unfortunately I was sick again after Gion station - I ended up being sick on another commuter in the train, I was embarrassed and mortified, all I could do was apologise.

I’m sure it was not an intended outcome of your food but it was not the experience in Kumamoto I was hoping for. Perhaps this is the only time something like this...

Ordered their signature and number 1 popular dish- red beef bowl which came along with some sweet marinated beef pieces at the side, along with wasabi, onsen egg and beef consommé. The red beef slices were great, tender and juicy and went well with the rice, and the onsen egg and wasabi helped to elevate the taste and texture. The soup was light yet tasty and helped to wash down some of the “meatiness” from the main meal. Nice view to look at outside while you are enjoying your dish. Service was good as I forgot to take my hand phone and they hurried to pass to me while I was settling the bill....