In Matsue we had the best Wagyu Beef dinner of our trip as well as one of our favorite bowls of Ramen, all based on recommendations from local residents. Out of the four restaurants we tried, three were outstanding including the two reviewed in this article.
Food Review: MENYA HIBARI (Matsue)
Address: Kitahoricho 189, Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: 11:30-15:00 Daily; 17:00-21:00 only on Fri to Sun
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: Starting from the castle, make your way northeast and cross the moat. Cross the north-south bridge just northeast of the Matsue History Museum, and continue on the same street for half a block into the residential district. Menya Hibari is on your right.
Despite its easy-to-miss storefront, this place is known as one of the best Ramen-ya not only in Matsue but along the entire San'in Coast. Ignore the closed door and just slide it open during business hours. You'll thank me for this.
Well-hidden within a residential district and yet conveniently walkable from the castle, Menya Hibari is one of those rare gems that has remained largely undiscovered by tourists crowds. At the time of our visit we seemed to be the only non-locals -- let alone foreigners -- as the clientele were mostly students in school uniforms. With only 14 seats crammed inside the little shop, it would be wise to arrive early before noon hour.
What exactly defines Matsue-style Ramen? Fukuoka has its internationally-famous Tonkotsu (pork bone), Sapporo has its Miso-butter and Tokushima has its chicken broth. Here on the seafood-rich coastline of San'in, Matsue's Ramen-ya have developed their distinctive style based on a variety of fish and shellfish. Menya Hibari's claim to fame is a secret recipe Ago-dashi, derived from shavings of dried Flying Fish, sardines and Kombu kelp, and topped with a generous ball of chunky Kara-Miso designed to dissolve slowly into the soup. While the menu does include an assortment of soupbases such as Smoked Salt Tonkotsu and Sichuanese Dandan, the star attraction is the Ago-dashi Ramen starting at 780 yen (CAD$9.2).
Then there were various add-ons according to your own tastebuds: extra Chashuu for 200 yen, a soft boiled egg for 120, extra noodles for 150, extra green scallions or sesame oil for 100 each and so on. Pictured is my extra large Ago-dashi Ramen with added Chashuu and egg, for 1250 yen.
One sip of the Flying Fish broth and we knew ... this place was legit!
This was my first ever taste of Ago-dashi and its alluring Umami flavor, similar to conventional Katuso-dashi but slightly smoky and much, much deeper. That said, I was quite sure that the Ago-dashi was blended with a pork bone soupbase for that extra complexity in flavor and milky white colour -- dried fish shavings generally produce clear broths, as any Japanese housewife would know. As you can see I was busy analyzing that soupbase ... this was simply impossible to reproduce at home!
As I finished my bowl to the last drop, we chatted briefly with the Okusan who was quite amused that two Canadians had somehow found their way into this residential area of Matsue. I forgot to tell her that they're already quite famous on the Japanese side of the Internet, and with this first ever review in English, perhaps more foreigners would hit this authentically local but hard-to-find Ramen-ya.
Bill for Two Persons
| Ago-dashi Ramen x 2 | 1560 yen |
| Extra Chashuu x 2 | 400 yen |
| Soft Boiled Egg x 2 | 240 yen |
| Extra Noodles x 1 | 150 yen |
| TOTAL | 2350 yen (CAD$27.6) |
My fond memories of Matsue had a lot to do with its exceptional restaurants at every price range. After a cheap lunch of local Ramen, we went for dinner at one of Matsue's top Yakiniku restaurants for some high end Wagyu Beef ... at a serious discount!
Food Review: YAKINIKU KITAGAKI (Matsue)
Address: Nishicha-machi 58, Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: 11:30-14:00, 17:00-21:30 Daily
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: Starting from the castle, walk south to the Prefecture Hall on the main road. Keep walking south for a couple blocks, crossing the small canal then one more block south. Kitagaki's meat shop and Yakiniku restaurant are both on the left side.
If you love the luscious, melt-in-your-mouth texture of Kobe Beef but hate the inflated price tags, this place is for you.
But first a disclaimer ... this technically isn't Kobe Beef but the local equivalence of Shimane Wagyu, a competing brand of Japanese cattle raised in the rugged mountains of West Japan. While Shimane isn't as internationally famous as Kobe or Matsuzaka, prices are significantly cheaper for the similar grades of beef. And on top of that ... we managed to find a Yakiniku restaurant operated directly by a butcher shop!
Welcome to Yakiniku Kitagaki, located right next to Meat Shop Kitagaki just south of the castle. For decades the butcher shop has established its reputation as Matsue's premier outlet for everything from certified A5-grade Shimane Wagyu to handmade Beef Croquettes. For readers who have visited the excellent meatshop / restaurant of Steak House Satou at Tokyo's Kichijoji district, this is the West Japan equivalence.
As expected the menu featured a mesmerizing selection of everything beef: Premium Karubi at 870 yen (CAD$10), Beef Tongue (Tan Shio) at 970, Extra Premium Karubi at 1580, and top-of-the-line Extra Premium Rib Eye (Tokujo Shimane Rosu) at 2780 yen (CAD$33). In other words, 30% to 50% discounts compared with most Kobe Beef restaurants in Kobe!
So we splurged and ordered the most expensive item on the menu. This Extra Premium Rib Eye turned out as highly marbled as any A4-plus Kobe or Matsuzaka steak, though the fat content was a little high for my preference. It had been 8 years since our last visit to a steakhouse in Kobe and we had almost forgotten how impossibly succulent a properly charred Wagyu steak can get.
This was my favorite dish of the meal, and possibly of our three days in Matsue. Blessed with gorgeous, even marbling, these Premium Karubi short ribs turned out just as heavenly tender and juicy as the above Rib Eye but with a less oily mouthfeel. While the portion was smaller than the Rib Eye, we certainly appreciated the cheaper price of 1580 yen (CAD$18.6).
An even better deal was the daily Kiri Otoshi, literally odds and ends from their meat shop next door. On this day we lucked out with a large plate of tenderloin chunks, half of which had already been devoured in the above photo, for an impossible price of 880 yen (CAD$10.4). We're talking quality, branded Wagyu Beef at fastfood chain (i.e. PepperLunch) prices!
While examining the menu I grew curious about an unfamiliar item named Daki Chimaki, labelled here as an extremely rare cut with only 700g produced from each 500 kg cattle. For a cheap 680 yen (CAD$8) we took a chance on this mystery meat, which turned out to be ...
... Wagyu Beef Shank! These tendon-rich slices of bicep muscles combined the soft succulence of Wagyu with the crunch of beef tendons and, despite the dirt cheap price, turned out to be my second favorite after the short ribs.
The seductive aroma of charred meat and grease completely filled our tiny private enclosure. What we loved the most was the steel mesh grille, which didn't stick to the meat as much as the dome grilles used in many Yakiniku restaurants.
Aside from beef we also ordered a plate of scallops and this ginormous Omakase Salad. Our friendly server warned that this might be too large for the two of us to finish, but it turned out to be the perfect palate cleanser after a greasy mouthful of Wagyu.
At last, the final bill. Two plates of premium A4-plus ranked Wagyu Beef, some Wagyu Beef Shanks and Tenderloin, four scallops, a large salad plus two medium bottles of Kirin, and it came to 8090 yen (CAD$95) including tax. Wagyu is never cheap, but I suspect that we would have paid upwards of 12000 yen if we were in Kobe. For any reader contemplating a visit to Matsue, these two restaurants would top my list of recommendations for their price-to-quality ratio.
Bill for Two Persons
| Extra Premium Rib Eye | 2780 yen |
| Extra Premium Karubi | 1580 yen |
| Daki Chimaki (Beef Shank) | 680 yen |
| Kiri Otoshi | 880 yen |
| Scallops Plate | 410 yen |
| Omakase Salad | 680 yen |
| Kirin Medium Bottles x 2 | 1080 yen |
| TOTAL | 8090 yen (CAD$95) |
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