Wagyū

I wanted to try this japanese beef for some time. Wikipedia states "Highly prized for their rich flavor, these cattle produce arguably the finest beef in the world." Of course, that ain't come cheap. I recently found a shop that sells it at a "reasonable" 5000¥ / Kg (50€ / 65$), so I bought 100g. Now this is some of the best beef I've had. Maybe only matched by black-forest beef filets straight from the farm, back in rural Germany. And even then.
So my starter was 黒毛和牛 with fried eggplants from Kyoto. The finer the ingredients, the simpler the presentation. The beef with just salt & pepper, the eggplants in olive oil & salt.

Boy, this was good... :-)

I'm always puzzled by food prices in Japan. Most of the time, the bill is way more than you thought. But sometimes it's way less than you'd expect... not sure why. This time, the great started above, together with the dish below, only cost 1000¥ worth of ingredients. Go figure.

Udon with season-vegetables

In the same pan where you grilled the beef, add with time interval eggplant slices in olive oil, finely-chopped garlic, sliced green & red tōgarashī (japanese long peppers), enoki mushrooms. Finish frying in a bit of soya sauce, then add water and let cook for a few minutes. Then add udon noodles and let cook for 3mn, mixing well.