Last week we picked up some American beef at Jusco, complete with AMERICAN BEEF! FROM USA! stickers on the packs. “Awesome,” I thought. Beef bowl renewal at Yoshinoya must be imminent… Think again. And American companies wonder why they can’t compete in foreign markets… It’s called quality control, guys.
This is sad because, unfortunately, Aussie beef just doesn’t cut it for Japanese cooking – it’s too lean. I think Australian cows play hockey all day or something. New Zealand beef is much better from what I’ve seen – on par or better than American beef – but for some reason it’s a lot more expensive. Pretty much the same price as cheap Japanese beef though, so there’s no reason to buy it. Of course, NZ lamb is unparalleled in quality, so soft and tasty (I think it’s because they’re regularly injected with semen, but that’s a different story).
In other cringeworthy news, read yet another reason why you don’t want to be hospitalized in Japan, ever.
Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
I’m referring this post to my Kiwi buddy John.
You know the classic NZ riddle, yes?
Q: Why do Kiwi farmers wear a Velcro fly?
A: Because the sheep recognize the sound of a normal zipper!
Kevin
You think the toenail story is bad? Try this one:
http://www.wftv.com/news/6253589/detail.html
Attempt at a link:
Yikes!
Whoa. That does suck. Guess you aren’t safe in hospitals anywhere…
damn – an international joke….I like it. The original version as I know it is:
Q. Why do shepherds wear robes?
A. Because sheep can hear a zipper a mile away.
On the QC thing – it must be a cultural issue. The QC disparity in the aerospace business is has interesting similarities. There is a big difference between Boeing parts being made by US domestic suppliers versus the same parts being made by Japanese (MHI, KHI, etc.). And it’s even more interesting when MHI or KHI offload the same parts back to a US shop. The price of keeping Japan a Boeing captive customer. Poor Airbus!! It is forcing the US domestic suppliers to produce better parts, however. So it should follow that USDA will improve their QC?