NETSU Dubai adds Hitachi Wagyu from Shihou Bokojou Farm

A Japanese steakhouse in Dubai is sourcing beef directly from one of Japan’s most respected cattle farms. From 19 November, NETSU by Mandarin Oriental will offer Hitachi Wagyu from Shihou Bokojou Farm in Ibaraki Prefecture, introducing a cut that carries particular standing within Japanese beef culture. The partnership represents a sourcing decision built on working directly with a named producer rather than through intermediaries, and signals a restaurant confident enough in its ingredient to name the farm, the prefecture and the provenance openly to its guests.

Hitachi Wagyu’s reputation rests on specific breeding and feeding practices refined over generations. The marbling that defines wagyu emerges from approaches to animal husbandry designed to produce meat of distinctive character. Shihou Bokojou is a family operation in Ibaraki, a region celebrated for beef cattle, and the introduction of this cut to NETSU’s menu marks a permanent addition rather than a limited event, suggesting the team has tested the meat under their grills and decided it belongs in their established vocabulary.

At a Japanese steakhouse built on simplicity and precision, the cook’s role is to understand the material intimately and apply heat in a way that enhances rather than masks its qualities. The marbling pattern, the texture of the fat, the way the meat responds to heat all carry the fingerprints of the farm’s methods and the region’s climate. When provenance is this specific, those details become visible on the plate. For guests accustomed to the clarity of Japanese steakhouse cooking, that distinction matters.

Ibaraki has produced notable beef for centuries, yet remains less internationally visible than some rivals, partly because producers here have traditionally focused on supply to the Japanese domestic market rather than export. A partnership with NETSU represents either a shift in that thinking or a restaurant willing to look beyond the most obvious sources to find something of genuine distinction. Either way, it deepens the story the diner carries away from the table.

What distinguishes this move is the specificity. The restaurant is not simply adding wagyu to the menu. It is naming the farm, the prefecture, the breed. This level of transparency reveals a restaurant confident in its sourcing and willing to educate its guests about where their food comes from. Shihou Bokojou Farm is not a household name outside Japan, which is partly the point: it is a working farm whose reputation is built on consistency and quality rather than marketing.

Ibaraki Prefecture has produced notable beef for centuries, yet it remains less internationally visible than some rivals, in part because producers here have traditionally focused on supply to the Japanese domestic market rather than export. A partnership with NETSU suggests a shift in that thinking, or at the very least, a restaurant willing to look beyond the most obvious or celebrated sources to find something of genuine distinction.

The exclusive availability from 19 November onwards suggests this is not a limited event but a permanent addition to the menu, which carries its own significance. It signals commitment. NETSU is positioning this Hitachi Wagyu as part of its identity going forward, not a novelty to drive traffic for a short period. For a restaurant built on Japanese principle and precision, that matters. It means the team has tested the cut, understood how it behaves under their grills and at their counter, and decided it belongs in their permanent vocabulary.

This is the kind of sourcing that rewards attention to detail and an appreciation for the labour and knowledge that stand behind a single plate of beef. At NETSU by Mandarin Oriental, both qualities are already established. Now there is simply more to discover.

On Simply Luxury: Mandarin Oriental