A cornerstone of Japanese cuisine decadence is all the premium wagyu beef. Here, we’ve rounded up some of the prettiest, fanciest Japanese beef dishes available in Singapore, for you to check off your list. From simply slide yakiniku platters to fussed-over small plates, here are the ones we’re salivating over.

Oyster and Beef Sashimi

Get it at: Wagyu kaiseki specialist Ushidoki, which sources its wagyu from Miyazaki prefecture

Ushidoki chef Nobuaki usually starts his kaiseki menus with a cold dish, and if you’re lucky it will be the oyster and beef sashimi. Each plate comprises a creamy French oyster topped with marinated beef and Spanish olive oil capsules. The dish is also decorated with Japanese maple leaves.  
 

Saga Wagyu Grilled Sumibiyaki

Get it at: Fat Cow, the self-professed “meat atelier” run by handsome young chef Fukashi Adachi

Get it at: Vivocity’s yakiniku specialist Tajimaya, whose fancy exhaust fans ensure you leave without smoke in your hair

Miyazaki Beef comes from Japanese black cattle bred and fattened in Miyazaki prefecture, where the warm climate and lush countryside are well suited to producing high quality beef. All Miyazaki beef is Grade 4 or above according to the meat quality grading standards. To enjoy the meat’s exquisite marbling (Tajimaya uses meat with a score of 7 to 8), Chef Michael Teng recommends the tenderloin cut. 
 

Wagyu Tartare and Wagyu Sashimi

Get it at: Duxton Road’s Niku Katsumata, which imports its high quality beef from Kagoshima and Kumamoto.

Some might be hesitant about raw beef but Taiki’s careful handling of the meats is comforting. The cut of meat used for the wagyu tartare changes from time to time but the rump cut gives a good bite. It is marinated in shoyu then topped with a quail egg yolk, some caviar and spring onions. The sashimi features inner thigh meat, whose sweetness comes through with each bite.  
 

Niku Somen

Get it at: Yakiniquest, a sexy but zen yakiniku restaurant that specializes in omakase-style barbecue

Niku Somen—raw wagyu sliced into thin “noodles”—is a top pick here. It is a light refreshing dish, with delicate flavors. Served in a small teardrop shaped bowl, the fine beef strips are doused in light dashi, matched with seaweed, grated yam and spring onions and served with a side of wasabi. The dish is an appetizer in the special omakase.

Kagoshima Ribeye

Get it at: Mandarin Gallery’s Ito-Kacho, whose amazing yakiniku offerings always involve using chilled—not frozen—meats 

Air-flown in from Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japanese black wagyu is a top quality beef from cattle exclusively bred and fed a nutritious diet to achieve smooth meat texture. The lower melting point of their fat content gives rise to a finer marbling consistency, which makes the meat more robust in flavor. Get the ribeye cut, where balanced fat content allows you to taste the meat better. 

Wagyu Tokujo Karubi

Get it at: Tenkaichi, which not only has views of Marina Bay, it offers a best-price guarantee, offering to beat any similar buffet by 10 percent.

Wagyu tokujo karubi is a grade A5 finely marbled black cattle wagyu from Miyazaki prefecture, which offers an exquisite balance between meat and fattiness. Superbly tender and nuanced with clean and concentrated flavors and a near buttery texture, the beef is best enjoyed very lightly grilled. 

Ohmi Wagyu Beef Steak

Get it at: Osaka Kitchen, a local outpost of the well-known teppanyaki chain in Japan, 

Grilled on the teppan until seared on the outside yet pinkish and tender on the inside, the ohmi wagyu beef steak is served with slices of fried garlic from Aomori, Tohoku, wasabi, mojio (seaweed salt) and daikon. Hideshi recommends eating the beef cubes with a smear of wasabi and topped with a slice of fried garlic and a sprinkling of mojio. Clean your palate with the daikon and then dig into another piece. 

Wagyu Shabu Shabu

Get it at: French-Japanese fine dining establishment Lewin Terrace, housed in a beautiful white mansion in Fort Canning Park

Normal shabu shabu sees diners swishing pieces of thin-cut beef in hot broth. In order not to lose the meats’ fat and flavor into the broth, Matsumoto thought to use a siphon to extract the flavors of the vegetables into the bonito broth before pouring it over the thinly sliced Kagoshima Wagyu. To cut through the combined umami of broth and beef, he adds some Japanese mountain vegetables and wasabi gnocchi made using a special wasabi essence.