After having opened in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia, Yakiniku Great, which was founded by Shoji Tsugawa in Utsunomiya, opened its first and only Thai branch at Yard 49, a community mall in Sukhumvit 49, last year.
In Bangkok where the word "yakiniku" often brings to mind all-you-can-eat do-it-yourself grilled meat, Yakiniku Great Bangkok offers something different by elevating a yakiniku meal through prime cuts, precise grilling technique and omakase experience. It also promises to offer only A5-rated, auction-grade wagyu with marbling scores from 11-12 from Shibaura Meat Market in Tokyo. The prized meat is flown in chilled, not frozen, to preserve its quality.
While you can order à la carte, Yakinuki Great can host an omakase yakiniku experience in a private room. If you're a beef buff with a deep wallet, you should go for one of the three omakase options, namely Premium, Kiwami and Great. Each costs a few grey notes.
The "Omakase Great" option, the priciest, comes with 16 items, half of which are premium cuts, and a dedicated host who grills prized pieces of meats with specific precision for you and educates you on them along the way.
Yukke tarte and Great salad kicked off the long meal. The former had parmesan sprinkles atop wagyu sashimi and the latter was refreshing and crisp with pecan crumbles.
The Yakisashi part was served next alongside soy sauce cubes and fresh wasabi. It was the first melt-in-your-mouth moment and there were many more to come. Each side of the thin slice was cooked for seven seconds each and your host will clean the thong with lemon between pieces. There's an anatomy chart to show where these cuts come from a cow in case you're a wagyu geek.
The Fillet was next and cooked to a medium-rare perfection. Accompanying it was Sweet potato topped with melting butter and salt sprinkles.
The Misuji slice was cooked for only three seconds on each side and complemented by tare sauce. The Tougarashi cut offered a leaner and chewier sensation, being cooked for three seconds on each side.
After several marbling pieces of meat, Warabimochi, aka water mochi jelly, was served next as a palate cleanser before the host cooked you Scallops topped with egg tartare and ikura pearls. Simply an explosion of flavours. Next, the mushroom, sprayed with seaweed-infused sake, offered an earthy and meaty sensation.
The highlight came with a slight fanfare as Chateaubriand with uni and rice, aka Uni Briand Don, was served on a special paper placemat bearing its name printed in gold colour, complete with an exclamation mark. It was such a tease as the meat of considerable thickness was cooked twice with a resting period in between so the meat retained all juiciness inside with the crusty surface. The succulent prime cut was topped with Bafun uni for a creamy texture and dressed with garlic butter soy sauce for extra umami.
Next, the Kosan cut was briefly cooked and served with dashi soup and scallions before beef balls made of different parts in a cow's front leg were served and drenched in a tasty sauce.
The Saikyo cut was marinated with miso before being grilled for seven seconds per side and it was served on top of Cold somen as a penultimate course. The Dessert of the day came in as a waffle with red beans and mochi stuffing.
The Great Yakiniku closes on Wednesday and opens for lunch and dinner. Their beef cuts are prime but with price tags to match. Visit Yakiniku Great Bangkok on Facebook.
