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Japanese meat-lovers celebrating their birthdays with crazy literal beefcakes

Casey Baseel Nov 3, 2015
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Let’s play a little word association game. When I say “birthday,” what’s the next word that comes to mind?

For everyone who said “suit,” well, we’ve always suspected that at least a handful of people at any given moment are reading RocketNews24 while completely nude. Still, I’m guessing that far more of you thought of birthday parties and birthday cakes, which tend to go hand in hand. But what do you make the centerpiece of your birthday celebration edibles if sweets aren’t your thing?

Simple: you get a cake made of meat, like these carnivorous Japanese citizens.

When you consider the culinary landscape of Japan, a heaping helping of meat is every bit as decadent as a dessert of chocolate and cream. High-quality cuts are relatively expensive in Japan, and in many traditional and gourmet meals the few morsels of meat are more of a side dish than the main course.

お肉でお祝いしてもろたー！お肉ケーキ！はゎわわ pic.twitter.com/T9E2E1RqMB

— りんこ (@saorinko_1017) October 31, 2015

The most basic forms a meat cake can take are a slice of meatloaf or simple plate of meat with a birthday greeting like the one above. But this is Japan, where the presentation of a dish is considered by many to be almost as important as its flavor, so of course there are fancier designs as well.

肉ケーキ、撮らせていただきました！すごい迫力でした〜 #petitmiradio pic.twitter.com/cp7yPWEA3x

— プチミレ (@petitmilady) June 30, 2013

One of the most popular motifs is a flower, something that seafood restaurants have been doing for a while now with tuna sashimi “roses.” Here, slices of meat play the role of the blossoms’ petals.

肉ケーキ#黒岩家 pic.twitter.com/Mx608TO0XF

— じゅんさま@スカブ乗り (@junjunhimesama) October 21, 2015

Even more dynamic is creating an entire meat cake pedestal, which here looks to have a core of shredded cabbage.

https://twitter.com/momoxminnie/status/656608524563120128

And just because your birthday cake is made out of meat doesn’t mean it can’t have a candle.

初めての肉ケーキ♡
プレゼントまでなにまでほんとありがと〜(*^^*) pic.twitter.com/sfISDAWA1m

— 川上知起 (@mrchildren1022) November 1, 2015

Or 17 candles, depending on your needs.

肉ケーキ。イクゾー pic.twitter.com/EBn6w9e3Q6

— とんつう.bot (@tontsu_yakiniku) January 24, 2015

While some meat cakes appear to be homemade, others are prepared by yakiniku restaurants, such as the above example from Tontsu and the one below from Black Hole, both grill-your-own-meat joints in Tokyo.

https://twitter.com/iloveyakiniku/status/615483407175282690

So if you’re booking a birthday dinner for a meat-loving friend, consider asking the staff for one of these dessert alternatives. It just might be the perfect way to say “Happy birthday to moo.”

Source: Naver Matome