Upscale Washugyu Beef

Mooo-ve over Kobe Beef. The soft, butterlike "massaged" beef from Japan was once the king of the cows in the high-end luxury, meat market. The beef is from fine bred Japanese hormone-free cattle raised in "stress free" environments. The cattle are raised using "natural rearing techniques". The claim: that all this produces the finest quality beef in texture and flavour, so much so that even Nobu & Megu in New York have bought into the craze.

We bought a chunk of this famous Washugyu beef to try it for ourselves. It was a whopping $55 for a 7"x3" piece. We seared it on a hot pan, and used light Memmi sauce for dipping (see picture above). The verdict- the beef was indeed soft as ever and tasted the way beef should taste, but would I buy another $55 piece of hormone free beef?