FG goes hida-gyu

Want to eat the crème de la crème of wagyu beef? Then you need to get to FG Restaurant** in Rotterdam very quickly, because they are now one of the few restaurants in Europe allowed to sell hida-gyu.

Whenever the word wagyu is mentioned, you have the attention of every meat lover. Thanks to its extensive marbling, the meat has an incredible amount of flavor and melts on your tongue, making it the ultimate pinnacle of the meat world. There are as many as 200 types of wagyu in Japan, and hida-gyu is one of the very best.

Best quality
Gyu is Japanese for beef. Wagyu can come from anywhere in Japan, while hida-gyu comes from Hida Province, whose charming village of Takayama is its best-known attraction. In addition to the meat having to come from this province, every cow is assessed for marbling, color and the strength of the meat. Only when the meat scores in the very highest categories in all these areas may it be sold as hida-gyu.

And only once you have been certified by the Hida Wagyu Association are you allowed to serve the meat. There are only six restaurants in Europe where this is the case, including FG Restaurant**.  Chef Francois Geurds was presented with a certificate last week. Very special, and above all, incredibly delicious. We were allowed to join a lunch centered around this beautiful product, and it was more than wonderful.

Hida-gyu all around
The meat makes an appearance everywhere. Whether it is the star of the dish or comes in the form of crispy fried crackling, found as a surprise at the bottom of a dish with celeriac and caviar. The favorite was the course with pearl barley, crispy fried hida-gyu, Gillardeau oyster foam, caviar and, once again, those cracklings. A quintessential comfort food dish, full of flavor and creamy, but in a fine-dining version.

From ceviche to stew
The ceviche of hida-gyu has a Chinese feel. It tastes of black vinegar and Sichuan pepper, but remains a fresh dish. We also taste a piece of stewed meat that is so tender it almost falls apart, yet is roasted until crisp on the outside. Including the most buttery mashed potatoes ever. And a piece of meat that has been cooked very briefly and is so tender you barely need to chew it.

Fortunately, there is no beef in the dessert. There is foie gras, draped over caramelized macadamias, and alongside it the best vanilla ice cream I have ever tasted. So creamy. In terms of texture, it seemed like a cross between ice cream and panna cotta. I still think about it every day. The perfect ending to a wonderful menu full of top-quality meat.

Tasting
Chef Francois serves the meat in every way imaginable. So if you have something to celebrate and want to eat truly special meat, you know what you have to do.

FG Restaurant**
Katshoek 37B
Rotterdam