Mishima. The new, old 'wagyu'

Every restaurant worth their fancy salt has given wagyu beef a go in the last few years. It's so common (and bastardised) now that you even see it as wagyu burgers and pies. So what is the new step up from this, apart from having producer branded 100% wagyu cuts on your menu?

Mishima could be the answer. Mishima is the original Japanese cow, fortunately they lived isolated in the Sea of Japan on Mishima Island and were not cross breed with European cows in the late 1800's. The Japanese cross bred cows eventually became the Kobe (in Kobe -Japan) and wagyu (in Japan, Australia and the US) cows that we now are familiar with. The Mishima cows were able to stay pure bred and retain their unique marbling qualities when fed solely on grass.
These pure, native cows became so rare that sources suggest that there was less than 100 beasts left in the early 1980's. The meat is so prized and rare, even in Japan that my internet searches mainly turn up Iron Chef with $12 000 a beast competitions.

So with this level of exclusivity I could not resist a visit to Rockpool Bar and Grill when I heard that they had exclusive access to Mishima beef that David Blackmore has breed in Australia from the only ever exported beast. I don't pretend to understand the technicalities of breeding, but I'm told that these are being cross bred in Australia to eventually produce a 'stabilized breed'.
The thing I do understand though is taste.
Rockpool B&G are offering apart from steak cuts, Mishima burgers in addition to their usual wagyu burgers. To keep this experiment simple I taste compared the two burgers. A tough job but I did have experienced eaters to help...
I was told to expect the wagyu to be smokier and richer as it had a higher marble count. The wagyu had been raised on the usual partial grain diet. The Mishima by contrast has a lower marble count but can offer different flavours since it was raised on grass and can achieve very high marble count on this alone -unlike the wagyu.
So enough, commentary, what did it taste like I hear you ask?
Well... I found the Mishima burger meat to taste very rich and succulent, the typical flavours that you would have expected from the wagyu burger. The wagyu on the other hand was smoky, as we had been told and though also rich and opulent tasting, the Mishima offered another level of flavour that did not need the smoky character inherited from the wood fired grill. The best desciptor I came up with was one close to the Rockpool B&G home; the caramelised popcorn served with coffee, a sweet, yet nutty, dark nearly burnt caramel flavour.
Mishima it is, but it maybe some time before your local gets a hold of it, but that may not be such a bad thing.
Jack

Note, It's been a challenge putting this information together about the Mishima beef, if you have anything further to add or correct please let me know, so I can update this information.

Suzuran and Yoshi, South Yarra

Truffle pointed me in the direction of Suzuran, see Truffles review. It’s not far from work so I was particularly interested in not having to eat premade hand rolls any more. I enjoyed the sashimi and sushi platter with the addition of some eel nigiri, as you can see from the photo it was enough for 2 to share.

The eel was sweet and sticky in texture with a fresh quality eel taste.

I’m not sure about the ‘best sushi’ in town tag but it is definitely up there in the local area, I also enjoy going to Yoshi. The lunch deal is unbeatable; a salad with tangy, citrusy, Japanesey, secret (they will not tell me what’s in it) dressing, miso soup, and then a bento box with a range of petite dishes of sashimi, teriyaki chicken or salmon, tempura vegetables etc. Amazing value

Both places are definitely worth a visit

Suzuran 16/210 Toorak Rd South Yarra, 03 9804 7396
Yoshi 315 Toorak Rd South Yarra, 03 9826 5599

Jack