Had dinner with D and we settled at Yen Yakiniku, a restaurant tucked along Ann Siang road that serves Japanese grilled meat. The concept was inspired by a yakiniku restaurant in Taiwan where chefs will cook the meat ‘live’ infront of you and so we have Yen Yakiniku born in Singapore

Each chef will cater to 3-4 guests and the restaurant could accommodate up to 25 pax with 10-12 at the counter. And I prefer the counter seats just cos it’s where all the action takes place 🙂 And well, if you happen to find your friend too irritating, you can always just watch the chef cook #justkidding

High Ball $12

Whisky with soda and lemon

The friend was rather excited about his order of High Ball

O-chazuke $8

Soaked steamed rice in traditional tea broth flavoured in salmon

Ochazuke, a Japanese style porridge, is a very homely dish to the Japanese. It’s not something you see often in Japanese restaurants so D was really excited to try. The rice was shaped in a triangle and infused with the tea broth which was sweet and light and full of (salmon) flavour

Grilled meat are best done charcoal style

Ox Tongue $18

A dish highly recommended by the chef, we decided to give it a try

The chef recommended us to try one in its original taste and the second with a touch of lemon to savour the difference in the two. I preferred the latter, just cos you can taste the chewiness of the tongue with the sweetness of the meat and crunchiness of the spring onions ending with a lingering citrusy taste

Pork Jowl $13

It was my first time trying pork jowl

And I fell in love with it. The meat was tender with a good porky taste and very well cooked

Wagyu Oyster Blade $36

The beautiful redness of the meat

Thin slices of wagyu that melts in your mouth with that crunch in the middle

Beef Short Ribs (Thick Cut) $24

If I have to pick one favourite, these beef short ribs will definitely make it to the top of the list

So good I am hungry just by looking at them. Even though they use a thicker cut, but the doneness of the meat was to the spot. Tender and bursting with the wonderful flavours of the beef

Eringi Mushrooms $10

Initially I was rather skeptical of the ordinary looking mushrooms

But they really surprise me. What was something so ordinary can turn out so extraordinary. It was a simple and satisfying grilled mushrooms

Hokkaido Scallops $15

Huge looking fellas. But the chef said these were considered small. They had bigger scallops to serve before

Equally delicious with a simple marinate. Cooked in medium-rare with the outer sweet and taut and the middle a little raw with the fullness of scallop juice

And here’s a photo of the chef cooking for us. The chefs here will first introduce the dish and then explain how they gonna cook the food

It was a different yakiniku experience here at Yen Yakiniku. I know some people would have preferred cooking their own meat but hey, if you want to enjoy the comfort and convenience of a chef cooking for you, why not right? Service aside, I think the quality of the meat speaks for itself. It’s definitely one place you can consider checking out for their attentive service and excellent and refined grill experience

Yen Yakiniku

15 Ann Siang Road, S(069695)