Smokeless Japanese Yakiniku
The
first Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant opened in 1996 in Japan.
After four years, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ
grew over 200 outlets in Japan alone, signifying the love for Japanese BBQ
taking the country by storm. Soon, Gyu-Kaku
went international to US, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and it finally
reached our Malaysian shores in 2012 at One Utama Shopping Centre. Today
Gyu-Kaku has three outlets to cater to its many Japanese yakiniku fans.
A
few of us gathered at its first outlet in One Utama recently to get a taste of
the smokeless Japanese BBQ. The outlet is located in Isetan’s food paradise
together with other restaurants. Conceptually designed with an open concept,
the many booths and open space allows every passerby to be tempted with all the
senses of the Japanese BBQ. Designed with Japanese theme using lots of wood
furniture, wooden wall panels, wooden raised platform flooring and box
lightings, Gyu-Kaku is set to remind
everyone of its roots.
The
menu pretty much focuses on beef, all cuts of the cow that is perfect for
grilling. Besides the highlight of the beef cuts, there are some other
appetizers, salads, rice and noodle with some desserts. One can make your
selection of beef ala carte or simply opt for their set meals filled with
various cuts of meat and seafood paired with salad, soup, rice and dessert. Gyu-Kaku is famous for their smokeless
BBQ, using special smokeless charcoal that creates a steady strong heat but doesn’t
emit the usual smokiness. The restaurant also has a strong down-draft
ventilation system to ensure that the smoke is well controlled. Bibs are also
given to protect our clothes or in case one is just a messy eater.
Once
the orders were logged in, we settle in with our drinks. Gyu-kaku has a good list of beverages, from non-alcoholic to the alcohols
that include Japanese sakes.
Gyu-Kaku has quite a long list of appetizers
to whet one’s appetite. Ours of that evening was Fried Shrimp Gyoza (RM12.90) featuring crispy fried gyoza finished
with Okonomiyaki sauce and mayonaise
with Bonito flakes. The gyoza has a
shrimp filling. This is pretty much delicious as we all polished this off
happily.
Since
we knew we were going to be packing in lots of meat, we were glad that Gyu-Kaku has also a decent list of
salads and greens to offer. We had a Horenzo
Salad (RM8.90) and Assorted Namuru
Salad (RM14.90).
The
Horenzo Salad looked plain at sight
but it was just so good. It’s a Japanese style spinach salad with crispy
garlic, mushroom and goma sesame dressing. It’s light and easy to enjoy. I was
really fond of the goma sesame
dressing as it was creamy, nutty and aromatic. This salad was so good, we had
to order another one…
The
Assorted Namuru reminds of Banchan. It is basically an assortment
of seasoned or marinated white radish, spinach, bean sprout and black fungus. Expect
lots of textures and flavours with these vegetables and they all go very well
with grilled meat and seafood.
When
our platter of various beef cuts arrives, I was pretty impressed! At sight, the
beef quality really stands out. You know you are getting the freshest and
premium cuts of the beef by looking at how beautiful the meats were.
Gyu-Kaku’s beef cuts available are Karubi (short rib or oyster blade), Rump Cap (round primal cut), Harami (tender and low fat content), Fillet (undercut of sirloin), Brisket (prime cuts that include superficial
& deep pectorals), Beef Tongue
(delicious & subtle), Shabu Shabu Grill
(thinly sliced beef strips) and Tsubo
Zuke Karubi (marinated short rib with homemade Shabu dressing). Prices
start from RM14.90 to RM35.90.
If
one is feeling rather indulgence, then go for Gyu-Kaku’s Wagyu cuts from Wagyu
Brisket, Wagyu Rump Cap, Wagyu Karubi and Wagyu Tenderloin. These are priced from RM26.90 to RM99.00.
All
meats come with choice of marination of Rock
Salt (Himalaya), Tare, Shio, Miso, Spicy Miso and Miso/Shio with Leeks.
Other
meats include Lamb Neck (RM15.90), Lamb Chop (RM32.90) and Chicken Thigh Fillet (RM12.90). Seafood
list includes Sea Water Prawns
(RM20.90), Whole Squid Grill
(RM14.90), Norwegian Salmon Foil (RM17.90),
US Scallop (RM25.90), Oyster Foil (RM15.90) and Ocean Seafood Platter (RM79.90)
We
got busy. All the meats really only require a very quick grill on the coals
since I prefer my meat to be medium. What I really enjoyed was Karubi, Brisket, Fillet, Shabu Shabu Grill
and surprisingly Beef Tongue. I
actually concluded that I prefer my meat with a marbling content as these are
simply tastier and tenderer. Of course
the Karubi was my ultimate favorite
with its glorious marbling content, making it unctuously scrumptious.
The
Beef Tongue is superbly tender,
almost melting upon contact with my mouth. I also enjoyed the meat simply
seasoned with salt as I can enjoy the natural beefy flavours of the beef cuts.
For those who love heavier flavours, one can opt for the miso or spicy miso or
simply dip your grilled meats into the sauces provided.
Besides
the Yakiniku, we also had some of their set meals, rice and noodles as filler.
Feast on some of their signature noodles like Gomanegi Ramen (RM16.90) and Tantan
Ramen (RM18.90). Comfort ramen noodles soaked in earthy and spicy flavours
accompanied by lots of veggies and other condiments.
During
lunch, there are also set meals like this Chicken
Katsu Set (RM18.90) which has a large piece of golden fried panko crumbed
chicken served with tonkatsu sauce,
rice, soup and a dessert. It’s a complete meal perfect for lunch and the best
part is that it comes with a dessert too!
If
one should have to consume carb, make sure its well worth it just like the Ishiyaki Mentaiko that is available a
la carte (RM20.90) and also as a lunch set (RM17.90). Served in a hot stone
bowl, the rice has salmon, cod roe or mentaiko,
lots of fresh lettuce, seaweed, sesame and butter. Simply mixed all these
together and enjoy the sheer simplicity of buttery rice with burst of umami
salty cod roe and salmon. The rice is so gorgeous in flavours that we raved
over it happily. I would return to Gyu-Kaku
simply just for this rice!
All
good meals had to come to an end and it did end with desserts. Milk Pudding (RM9.90) is a signature of
Gyu-Kaku’s and I can see why. The
milk pudding reminds me of Panna Cotta
and this one is very milky and creamy with a light Japanese brown sugar syrup
and soya bean powder.
It’s
been a while since I had S’mores and I was literally excited when I saw that
Gyu-Kaku has a version of S’mores
(RM5.90) as a dessert option. Nothing beats the memories of those days in the States
during campfires where I would toast marshmallows over fire in the autumn
nights and sandwich the oozy melted mallows with graham crackers and chocolate.
We did the same with ours over the coals here and these are just so oozy and
sinfully yum!
Gyu-Kaku
Japanese BBQ Restaurant
has a lot to offer for beef lovers! The meat served is definitely prime cuts
and quality. In addition, one does not have to deal with all the smoky and mess
over a BBQ, so simply head over here whenever your BBQ craving sets in. I planned
to return for some beef and most important of all, that awesome Ishiyaki Mentaiko rice!
GYU-KAKU
JAPANESE BBQ RESTAURANT
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GyuKakuMalaysia
One
Utama
2nd Floor, Isetan,
1Utama
Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7733-0018
Publika
Publika, Solaris
Dutamas
Block D3-Level G3-Unit
3
Jalan Dutamas 1
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03–6211-5446
Tropicana
City Mall
Lot G-36, Ground Floor
Tropicana City Mall
No.3, Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03–7725-6796
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