Beef Buffet Dinner at Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant @ Star Vista

1 Vista Exchange Green, #02-17 The Star Vista, Singapore 138617

Tel: 6735 4001

Website: https://www.gyu-kaku.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GyuKakuJapaneseBBQ

Time for dinner with *K and *E, my favorite male buds again. Recently, dinners with them mean buffet adventures, since they like variety and quantity all in one. Tonight, we embarked on our first ever DIY BBQ Buffet - yakiniku beef meal!

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant has outlets at EU Square, Chijmes, Star Vista, One KM Mall and Novena Square; we chose Star Vista in the hope that it was less crowded. Besides the usual booths and tables, the restaurant also has a few private dining rooms.

Ala carte menu aside, Gyu-Kaku offers buffet dinner at SGD$64.90 (Australian Wagyu Beef Buffet) and SGD$84.90 (Japanese Kagoshima Beef Buffet). Besides beef, buffet includes free-flow green tea or soft drinks, seafood items, chicken, pork and vegetables / salads as well. That makes it really value for money, if you ask me!

We started with the various cuts of Kagoshima Beef, followed by Australian Wagyu Beef. It was pretty fun as we got to grill the meat ourselves, controlling the done-ness. Kagoshima Beef was, needless to say, more tender and moistened.

We also enjoyed the Squid, and Buttered Scallops, and Shrimps. I asked for several helpings of Wafu Salad as those went really well with the barbecued meats, adding a healthy touch at the same time.

Other items tried were Bacon, Chicken, Pork, Beef Tongues and Japanese Gelato. I also had a Plum Wine Soda (SGD$10.00).

Overall a very hearty meal, we enjoyed the variety and fun ever-grilling experience at Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant immensely.

[Media Invite] Dinner at Teppan Bar Q at Robertson Quay

11 Unity Street #01-21 / 22 Robertson Walk, Singapore 237995

Tel: 6235 0629

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barQsg

Reservation: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/teppan-bar-q-orchard-river-valley-01-21-22/book-now/

Teppan Bar Q is a takata-style teppanyaki joint, serving up quality Japanese food with a Spanish influence. It is also owned by the team behind Torikin Restaurant @ Bukit Timah area. One can expect to find a variety of food items here such as Teppan tapas, Hakata tonpei yaki and teppanyaki cook-in-front-of-you seafood / meat dishes.

Though small, the restaurant's contemporary settings and personable service crew draw crowds like a magnet. I was honoured attend this media tasting with representatives from Hungrygowhere as well as some other familiar reviewers / food-bloggers, and we were fortunate that the Japanese owner Kyota Ishida was in town and was preparing some of the food dishes himself!

We started with Squid with Pesto (SGD $12.00) - deliciously grilled squid with olives, tossed into creamy, rich pesto sauce for a light "grassy" taste. It was a good beginning.

Tonpei Yaki (SGD $17.00) is a must-have Osaka appetiser - a fluffy omelette tantalizing the tongue with added pork slices, cabbage, and drizzled with Okonomi sauce and homemade plum-infused soy mayonnaise.

Then we tried the Seafood Teppanyaki (SGD $54.00) comprising Tiger Prawns with Balsamic Sauce, Hokkaido Scallops and Salmon Teriyaki. My favorite were the plump, juicy Hokkaido Scallops that sprang to life in the palate.

Next, 200grams of Sirloin Steak Teppanyaki (SGD $30.00) grilled to a beautiful melty tenderness with hints of smokiness hovering. The dish is served with wasabi, fried garlic pieces and homemade sauces on the side.

Miso Soup (SGD $3.00) was served as well, a cloudy concoction with generous pieces of seaweed.

Finally, we concluded with Garlic Rice (SGD $6.00 per person) tossed with some eggs and spring onion, exuding fragrant aroma that spoke of strong fire, supple wok's breath and brilliant culinary skills.

The overall dining experience here was lovely, opening up our palates to some interesting dishes. Thank you Teppan Bar Q for hosting and Hungrygowhere for the invite!

[Media Invite] Dinner at Manbok Korean BBQ Restaurant

279 North Bridge Road, Singapore 088752

Tel: 6557 0939

Website:  http://manbokinc.wix.com/manbok

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Manbok-Chinatown-314234135391389/timeline

Opening Hours

 Lunch:    11.30am to 3.00pm (daily)

Dinner:    5.00pm to 11.00pm (daily)

Price

Weekdays Lunch

Adults SGD$15.00 nett / Children SGD$10.00 nett

Weekends & PH Lunch

Adults SGD$18.00 nett / Children SGD$10.00 nett

Weekday Dinner:

Adults: SGD$29.00 ++

Children: SGD$18.00 ++

For a group of 4 adults and more for dinner (seated at same table), there will be free beer.

Manbok Chinatown is located at Chinatown, as the name implies, and thus very convenient to get to.  This is a Korean BBQ Restaurant, and the very affable owner Mr. Tan proudly told us that the name means "a million fortunes" (万富) in Chinese. What a prosperous name!

This was a media invite attended by representatives from Hungrygowhere and some other familiar faces including Ivanteh_RunningMan and Fundamentally_Flawed.  Mr. Tan hosted the dinner, supplying us with valuable information as well as constantly bringing out items fresh out of the pan for us enthusiatically.  In the kitchen there are 2 Korean chefs preparing sumptuous, authentic dishes for the patrons.

Here's some of the dressings and sauces - some spicy, some sweet, and the mysterious "Special Sauce" has been highly recommended.

A neatly-organised section serves all the necessities required for grilling or the soup - seafood, sausages, vegetables, eggs, mushrooms etc.

The array of marinated and non-marinated meat selection was pretty impressive - around 10 types of them colourfully displayed in two rows.

The meats consisted of Chicken Breast, Chicken Legs, Pork Belly, Marinated Pork Collar, Bacon, Spicy Pork Belly, Beef Chuck Tender, Beef Short Ribs, Pork Collar and Beef Short Ribs (non-marinated). My favorite was the Marinated Pork Collar, Spicy Pork Belly and Beef Short Ribs - utterly tender and tasty, thus giving rise to multiple helpings.

Usually there would be 3 types of cooked items as well. For tasting purpose, we got to try more.   It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why these Korean Garlic Chicken Wings made it to the top of our list - crispy, flavourful and simply finger-licking good.

There were also Korean Pancake - the original and kimchi ones.

And Jajiang Noodles ("zha jiang noodles") - springy strands of noodles moistened and flavoured by tasty fried bean paste gravy.

Korean Sushi Rolls made thier way to our palates as well - there were chicken and tuna ones, all very nicely rolled and deliciously-prepared with simple ingredients.

Finally, some Tempura - deep fried battered eggplant and chicken. While the eggplant ones lacked flavour, the chicken ones were good - crackling on the outside, tender on the inside. The suggestion of pairing with the special chilli sauce (on the side of the pan) was brilliant.

For desserts, there were fresh cut fruits and ice-cream (vanilla or chocolate) to cool the tongues down. Bottles of light, sweet Hite Beer made for good companions throughout the tasting session as well.

From the cooked food to the grilled food to the soup, it was all very enjoyable. I really like the BBQ chimney used here - someone the entire dining experience did not leave us smokey or greasy, and the smell that lingered on us was toned down significantly.  Service was excellent and price is reasonable - I will definitely be back for more, whenever the cravings kick in.

Thank you Manbok Chinatown and Mr. Tan for the beautiful tasting session, and thank you Hungrygowhere for the invite!