Konichi-wa
Japanese culture always fascinates me in a way like how I was fascinated with birds when I was young. Not that you will know how excited I get when I see a bird.. when I was young.
Food from Japan gives me the same fascination. And that’s why Emporium Shokuhin‘s many restaurants interest me deeply. So when Claire was invited to go to GYUU+ for some yakiniku and she drag me along with her, I’m freaking grateful for that.
I’ve never been to a yakiniku restaurant, the closest thing to one must’ve been Seoul Garden.. So this is a first for me. Its got a very posh feel when you step inside, and almost every table will have a built in grill. Interesting. I can’t wait to give it a go.
One thing I am worried about is the smell, there isn’t any exhaust duct visible over the grill, so I bet we will smell like grill meat when we leave. But the restaurant doesn’t smell like that, so I wonder where all the fumes go?
First item on the list is the new kid on the block: Premium Wagyu Selection platter ($38++). Check out the bloody meat laced with fat. They look fresh enough to be eaten raw, but I’m not like that. So I cook my meat.
As we grill our meat, I noticed that all the fumes got sucked off to the side, so the built in grill has its own built in exhaust. Think about the price of these darn tables for a while guys, its a pretty amazing piece of engineering. Either that or I just came down from a mountain like a country bumpkin.
Next up is the 2nd item, the 40 days Aged USDA Beef Ribeye ($68++ per slab), to be honest this is the king of all the beef I ever had.
And done, medium done-ness 40 days aged beef ribeye.
It tastes like condensed beef. All the good things in the meat concentrated into every single cell in the meat, its got this focused beefy goodness with a nutty edge. I don’t know how else to describe it. I can only say its worth every penny and that I can’t freaking afford this slab of meat.
Then we were served some Prawns ($13++), Eringi mushrooms ($7++) and Thin-slice Pork Belly ($14++). Fresh is the word, but yeah these are just cannon fodder to keep us busy before the other main draw comes..
And here it comes: Gyuu+ Reiman ($14++). DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY ITS MODEST LOOKS! Its basically just chopped cucumber, kimchi, ajitama and watermelon. Yes watermelon! Its a cold and salty dish and you would think why is there watermelons in it? Well surprise surprise.. When you start slurping the noodles down and chew the ingredients, you will be so darn surprised that the watermelon actually goes well with the reiman. Its refreshingly savoury! Honestly, I wanted seconds, take my money!!
Then then there’s this ‘one bite’ dish thats not usually served to the general public. Its basically a slice of premium A5 Zabuton beef, expertly seared by the staff, then dipped into raw egg, place only top of a dollop of rice topped with some kind of sauce. You’re supposed to stuff this little bowl’s content into you mouth and chew, but I’m in the public, so I shyly took 2 bites instead of the 1 bite its designed to be eaten. The egg is cooked as it touches the hot meat and the flavours of the beef merges flawlessly with the thick egg taste. The rice is the buffer so as to not overpower you with too much flavours till you drown in it. Seriously I’m gonna get a gout attack with so much meat today…
You might wanna know how can you order this special dish? Well if you become a member you will get to know when its available. Being a member is free! Just go ahead and sign up here.
And…. the last savoury dish of the night is the Ishiyaki Bibimbap ($18++). Its like a gourmet version of bibimbap, do not liken it to those random food court korean food types, those are miles away from this level. The cornucopia of quality ingredients used to make this dish. Its no wonder it cost so much.. to me the poor af guy..
Then, when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, we’re served a scoop each of Yuzu and Goma ice creams costing ($5++) per scoop. This is a mini scoop I think, because we seriously already had too much to eat.. I took the Goma first which is black sesame ice cream, and BOOM! the explosion of sesame in my mouth! How they pack so much sesame in one scoop and with a consistency of ice cream is beyond me! And the Yuzu as well, how they pack so much yuzu in one scoop? Both of them taste so concentrated I would be eating 1 kg worth of the main ingredient condensed in a single scoop. Madness.
The night ends with the twin ice cream, they are freaking nice but please don’t order them both in one single bowl. They are king in their own domain, mix them and they will fight.
I think I will seriously consider saving up to visit Gyuu+ at Emporium Shokuhin. Too good to only go there once. Should make it a routine visit. I think I’ve said enough, you guys should go and be your own judge, tell me if I’m wrong. I doubt that though.
Gyuu+ Yakiniku Grill
6 Raffles Boulevard #01-18 Marina Square
Singapore 039594
11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Simon Tey
