NEW RESTAURANT

Wagyu Jin #02-21 Shaw Centre 1 Scotts Road Singapore 228208 Tel: 8940 0741 Open daily for lunch and dinner: 12pm to 2.30pm; 6.30pm to 10.30pm

IN the beef-producing prefectures of Japan, farmers, breeders, cow-friends - whatever you want to call those obsessive artisans who produce the world's much sought-after wagyu - live for just one thing. That is, to say to their peers: "My cow is better than your cow."

Why else all the waxing lyrical about the terroir, feed, and whether cows prefer craft beer or a draught Ebisu before their daily massages and Mozart interludes, in each prefecture's literature on the subject?

In reality though, how do you tell one prefecture's beef from another? It's not like we go around articulating: "Ahh, this has the distinctive umami of Tochigi prefecture; that has the rounded marbled flavour of Miyazaki; and I'll bet 500 yen this here yakiniku came from a little shorthorn in Iwate."

Considering our own wagyu vocabulary is limited to a pithy "oh so good" and "why so expensive", we turn to the new Wagyu Jin to expand it, with a prefecture-centric omakase that takes you on a tasting tour of Japan's meaty side.

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It's a modest operation with 14 seats at most, serving only a fixed menu for lunch and dinner. Lunch is quite a steal at S$118 with three kinds of wagyu and an abalone dish included, but for the full experience, opt for dinner at S$238 or S$318, which is par for the course for any upscale Japanese eatery.

Decked out in various shades of dark, it seems designed to downplay a tight decor budget or provide cover for diners averse to recognition. The result is cosy if cold - not in terms of service, but the frigid air conditioning dictated by an inflexible shopping mall central system.

If you're expecting a yakiniku BBQ joint, don't. There's not a lot of show and tell in the form of cook-your-own meat platters, nor an open kitchen with chefs slicing and grilling in front of you. The meal is a sedate, civilised affair, with multiple courses delivered in easy-to-eat bite-sized portions.

It's not all meat, either, with a sizeable portion of the meal devoted to seafood - with more pricey items in the S$318 set. Both menus kick off with a parfait glass of uni - a generous floret of Bafun sea urchin fanned out over chunky langoustine, dashi jelly and a garnish of Kristal caviar. It's a luxe start to a menu that sticks to only A5 wagyu, but differing in terms of cut and of course, prefecture.

The first stop is Miyazaki, which claims to give Kobe a run for its money. Three thin slices of yakiniku are deftly grilled with a lingering smokiness. Since you really can't overcook A5, the slices are well done but still melt-in-the-mouth tender, topped with wasabi, leek and chilli, and kimchi to cut through the fattiness.

Next up is Shiga, home of Omi beef, a favourite of top Tokyo chefs who prefer to boast about the farmer rather than the prefecture it comes from. We don't know who our cow belongs to but its chateaubriand cut (tenderloin) works very well in a sando, or toasted sandwich. The leaner cut is less oily than the Miyazaki, grilled till still rare in the middle, smeared with wasabi and sweet mustard between golden brown toast.

A solitary piece of beef sushi is served next on the S$238 menu - a thin slice of Hida gyu lightly torched but still rare on top of a shaped mound of rice. Smooth and velvety, it's paired with its sashimi counterpart in the S$318 set - glistening dark red and clean-tasting above rice mixed with uni.

The S$238 course takes a breather while the pricier set shows off a whole braised abalone - a little on the rubbery side but with a deep savouriness enjoyed with a ball of sushi rice. A sauce made with its own liver is the ultimate seasoning. Then there's also kegani or Hokkaido hairy crab, shelled and stuffed back into the shell for easy eating.

The seafood is not Wagyu Jin's strong point - while pretty high end, they're not top grade - so we're happier to get back on the meaty track.

Instead of abalone or crab, the S$238 set gets cold somen - a refreshing distraction of thin noodles tossed in truffle oil with shio kombu and a topping of caviar. At this point, you might want to add on some beef tongue (S$12 for thin slices or S$16 for a thicker cut) - Australian, but let's not discriminate.

If you're not against sous vide, the thick slices are a treat with a satisfying bite, and lightly grilled. The thin version has bounce but less bite.

It's a fitting precursor to the main event of sukiyaki, where slices of Tochigi prefecture zabuton (a fatty "little pillow" cut that's part of the chuck tail flap) are simmered in a not-too-sweet gravy with tofu and mushrooms. Add the onsen egg and rice for a rib-sticking carbo finale. Finally, any traces of fat are easily erased with a simple dessert of yuzu sorbet and yoghurt.

Chef Saito's cooking is generally understated, with no great explosion of flavours, just a dependable, ingredient-based approach. But when it comes to the realm of wagyu (we're still waiting for the Yonezawa menu to be rolled out in October), his is a tour bus you want to catch.

Rating: 7

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN

10: The ultimate dining experience 9-9.5: Sublime 8-8.5: Excellent 7-7.5: Good to very good 6-6.5: Promising 5-5.5: Average

Our review policy: The Business Times pays for all meals at restaurants reviewed on this page. Unless specified, the writer does not accept hosted meals prior to the review's publication.