everyday luxury
There is nothing quite like Ozaki beef, the highest grade of Japanese wagyu from the renowned Miyazaki prefecture. “Ozaki is unique to cattle at 28 to 36 months old, versus the age period of less than 28 months at other farms, enabling the meat’s flavour to improve and also to reduce the overwhelming richness of its fat,” says Satoshi Uehara, Ushi’s executive chef, who is based at The St Regis Kuala Lumpur. Only here, are you able to indulge in Ozaki beef, as quantities are highly limited due to the farm’s size.
This method translates to a more mature wagyu which you can eat every day, in that diners’ palates won’t be worn out even after a five-course meal centred on Ozaki beef. Superb texture is a given, so much so that even cooking it doesn’t cause any shrinkage. The meat’s exquisite marbling guarantees rich flavours, with hints of sweetness appearing the more you chew.
Luckily for local gourmands, Uehara is a good friend of the farm’s owner, of which the wagyu is named after. This, combined with the chef’s knowledge of Miyazaki’s stellar reputation for world-class produce, results in a level of gastronomy similar to what you can experience in Japan, with many ingredients featured originating from the region.
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Highlights from my kaiseki menu experience (RM728+) focused on the ribloin cut, including beef tartare, a gyukatsu sandwich dressed with blueberry sauce, shabu shabu and sakura shrimp kettle rice served with thinly sliced Ozaki beef. While the style of the dishes remain the same, the chef changes up the cuts used from time to time, creating a different experience.
If diners would like to curate their meal experience, the à la carte menu features options such as Japanese beef curry, sea urchin and grilled wagyu rice, and even non-beef options like unagi rice or salt-grilled yellowtail collar rice. New to the restaurant is the addition of dry-aged Ozaki beef, aged for 21 to 40 days for a more focused flavour.
