Yakiniku Kashiwa (Crows Nest)

Yakiniku grill is one of our favourite Japanese cuisine. And Kashiwa at Crows Nest is definitely our local go-to restaurant for yakiniku. You do need a booking to guarantee a place in the small but busy restaurant – but we usually arrive early for a quick 45 minute meal.

We recommend to start with the wagyu beef then branch out to other cuts of meat to your liking. All the meat dishes were perfectly marinated and no additional seasoning is required after grilling.

Details:
Yakiniku Kashiwa
7A Falcon Street
Crows Nest
http://kashiwa.zashiki.com/

Shoya (Melbourne)

On a cold rainy night in Melbourne, we dined at Shoya. And fittingly we decided to enjoy some yakiniku next to a hot grill.

The choice of meat included in the set menu was excellent. The wagyu beef had great marbling. We particularly enjoyed the sausages. On top of the yakiniku set, we ordered a piece of toro sushi each for starters. It was melt-in-your-mouth excellent.

Details:
Shoya
25 Market Lane
Melbourne 3000
http://www.shoya.com.au/

Rengaya (North Sydney)

I walked past Rengaya Yakiniku opposite North Sydney station often after work and was confronted by the fantastic grilling smell. Finally we were able to get in on a Friday night without booking.

The restaurant offered premium grade Blackmore Wagyu beef with perfect marbling. We ordered the sampling platter which allowed us to try the various textures from different cuts. Needless to say, they were melt-in-your-mouth after a couple of minutes on the hot grill. The Japanese dessert with green tea brulee and mocha was also excellent.

The bill did not come cheap but we expected it given the quality.

Rengaya
73 Miller Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
http://www.yakiniku.com.au/rengaya/

Ajikitcho Shinsaibashi Daimaru 味吉兆 大丸心斎橋店 (Osaka Japan)

Among the thousands of people in the famous Shinsaibashi shopping district in Osaka, we found refuge to enjoy a quiet dinner at Ajikitcho. This 1 Michelin star restaurant is situated at the top floor of the Daimaru departure store, right next to the roof top English garden.

There were a wide range of nice menu available and being a big wagyu beef fan we went for the yakiniku menu featuring the famous Omi breed. The meat was nicely marbled and tender. The entrees of prawn/egg ball soup opened up the appetite and the watermelon jelly dessert finished the meal perfectly.

Details:
Ajikitcho – at Shinsaibashi Daimaru
味吉兆・大丸心斎橋店
大阪市中央区心斎橋筋１-７-１
Osaka, Japan
http://www.ajikitcho.jp

Nishiki Wagyu Yakiniku (Crows Nest)

To continue the feasting during the Chinese New Year period, we headed to Nishiki Wagyu Yakiniku for their mid-week buffet. The family got to sample a large range of wagyu beef and Japanese dishes at $55 per head.

For an all-you-can-eat venue, the quality of wagyu beef offered was very high – tender and wonderfully marbled. The buffet had a time limit of 100 minutes which did not seem enough, given the fun I was having at the grill. However, we all left the restaurant completely satisfied.

Details: 
Nishiki Wagyu Yakiniku
270 Pacific Highway
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Note: buffet is only available Monday to Thursday