Yoshinoya expanding into ostrich bowls for more sustainable meat and cosmetics【Taste test】

Beef bowl chain introduces their “fourth meat.”

Japanese restaurant chain Yoshinoya is synonymous with the beef bowl, the operative word being “beef” because otherwise, it’s just a “bowl” and who wants to eat that? However, they offer a wide range of other bowls too.

And starting 28 August, they officially added ostrich to the menu, calling it their “fourth meat” after beef, pork, and chicken. A limited number of 60,000 Ostrich-don ostrich bowls will be sold at select Yoshinoya locations around Japan. The naming is interesting in that they use the English “ostrich” rather than the standard Japanese word “dacho” possibly to make it sound a little more exotically appetizing.

Image: PR Times

The Yoshinoya website has a map of stores selling Ostrich-don, so I was able to track down and order one for myself. Before you decide to do so too, I should warn you that this is still a bit of an experimental dish, and as such it comes at an experimental price of 1,683 yen (US$12) after tax. You probably have to really want to try it to lay down that much money for it.

▼ The bowl is topped with a salad and comes with a bowl of soup and raw egg on the side.

This was the first time I’ve ever eaten ostrich so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s prepared in a way to resemble roast beef, which I’m not sure was a great idea. Taking my first bite I was expecting that burst of roast beef flavor but it never came.

It wasn’t bad at all, but it was different from what I was expecting. I thought the taste was very similar to those soy hot dogs, which I also kind of like, but feel it should be its own thing rather than imitating other popular meats. The horseradish soy sauce and sour cream were doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the flavor department.

▼ The egg livens things up a bit too.

On the other hand, the meat was extremely lean and it was a hearty meal without being heavy. That’s especially a huge plus during these disgustingly hot days when even the slightest bit of fat can make you feel too bloated to move.

According to Yoshinoya, ostrich meat has a lot of imidazole dipeptides which are said to combat fatigue. I don’t normally buy into that kind of promotional talk, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a slight spring in my step after eating it.

▼ I should also tip my hat to Yoshinoya for the salad, which was way fresher than I’d ever expect from them.

I imagine the price would come down in the event Ostrich-don becomes a regular fixture on the menu, but even then I’m not sure if it’s something I’d eat a lot of. It doesn’t live up to the hyper-palatability of the standard beef bowl, but I think it is very worthy of being a healthier alternative to it. Perhaps it could be like what Diet Dr. Pepper is to regular Dr. Pepper.

By the way, Yoshinoya is offering Ostrich-don in coordination with its new subsidiary cosmetic company Speedia. Speedia farms ostriches and uses components derived from ostrich in its line of skincare products because they’re said to have anti-aging and skin-permeability boosting effects. The planned system is for Yoshinoya to use the meat as food and Speedia to use the inedible leftover parts like feathers and bones to minimize waste.

Image: PR Times

Yoshinoya says it has been looking into ostrich meat for the past 20 years because it requires less resources and is healthier than beef. It might be a hard sell to the general public, but only time will tell if Ostrich-don continues to grow. If you want to get a sneak peek at this potential future of rice bowls, track down a participating Yoshinoya nearest to you and try it out while it’s still around.

Related: Yoshinoya, PR Times
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