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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Sakae Yakiniku House, Eastwood

 Korean barbeque is just one of those things that you constantly have cravings for and Sakae Yakiniku House (1/6 Hillview Road, Eastwood) definitely satisfies those urges. It is theoretically a Japanese barbeque restaurant however it is Korean influenced and offers a variety of both cuisines. Opened a few years ago, this yakiniku house is tucked away upstairs, above the Eastwood Club and below a computer café located opposite Eastwood station.

Kitchen Area



 Patty and I have been here on many occasions with family and by ourselves for a delicious selection of meat and awesome sides. The buffet offers a huge variety of dishes including bibimbap and kimchi jijime (pancake), but who are we kidding? We're here for the meat!

 They also have their regular menu, containing everything that's in the buffet plus some extra dishes, but if you're thinking of having some barbeque, then all you can eat is the way to go.

 Pat is evidently overdressed for the occasion. As I'm sure most are aware, when Korean barbequing, it gets messy and smelly, but all in a good way! I'm in my customary loose 'Cairns' t-shirt which allows for my post barbeque meat baby.

Posers (Pre buffet confidence)

Dipping Salt and Sauce

Veggies...

Onions
 
I order the Sapporo, Pat tries Calpis for the first time in his life and Patty opts for the Green Tea.


Sapporo, Calpis, Japanese Green Tea
 
 We begin our epic meat adventure with the best tasting meat on the menu by far, wagyu rib fingers. This has become the staple of each visit we're here and it is honestly that good. The meat has a high fat content keeping it moist inside and when charred on the outside it gives of the most amazing taste.

 Generally whenever we're here, we order 6-8 servings of this dish at a time and during the process of cooking it, we get more to stock up. We do order a lot of meat on each occasion and so much so that on this occasion, the owner actually came to our table to tell us that we shouldn't order anymore wagyu fingers and try something else instead ... please, like that would happen. Once she left, we asked another waitress for more. We end the night with around 5 or more rounds of this, I seriously can't stress enough how good this meat is, I have dreams about it.

Wagyu Rib Fingers (M9+)

 The variety of meat available is extensive, the beef ribs are great and wagyu loin is juicy but it's barely comparable with the wagyu fingers.


Beef Ribs & Wagyu Beef Loin

 Tongue is flavoursome and a bit chewy and the wagyu brisket is not too bad either.

Wagyu Brisket & Tongue




 This was new to the menu, some fried chicken with a thick fried coating, similar to that of karaage chicken and served with some mayo on the side.

Fried Chicken

 Probably not the best choice to go for chicken, it's quite plain and wastes space on the grill because it takes too long to cook!

Chicken Thigh Fillets
 
 Beef yukke (or yukhoe), are slices of well seasoned and flavoured raw beef piled into a heap with an egg yolk on top. This is my second favourite behind the wagyu fingers and is a must try. Once mixed together, the beef is nice and tender with a subtle hit of soy and sesame.

Yukke


Some green salad to accompany the meat.

Green Salad
 Naengmyeon (buckwheat noodles, sliced pear, radish, cucumber, egg and beef in an iced broth with a side of mustard paste) is also a great dish to have to refresh the palate after so much meat. The cold buckwheat noodles are delicious and it works so well with barbeque.

Mul Naengmyeon

 Bibim naengmyeon, is the spicier version without the icy broth. There is sweet chilli paste (gochujang) dolloped on top of the cold noodles. A good variation for the chilli lovers.

Bibim Naengmyeon

 To finish off proceedings, the standard buffet has a choice of normal vanilla ice cream or green tea soft serve. The deluxe buffet has a further two options of green tea and black sesame ice cream. The stand out by far is the green tea soft serve. It has a good hint of green tea flavour along with the characteristic creamy taste and texture of a soft serve. There is no better way to conclude a night of intense barbequing and yes ... we do order quite a few servings of green tea soft serve.

Green Tea Soft Serve


Get off my girlfriend Pat



 The website displays all the menus with photo images to accompany the description. The prices for the buffet are:

Standard Buffet:
43.80 (child 19)
Monday - Thursday 38.80 (excluding public holidays)

Deluxe Buffet:
52.80 (child 22)
Monday - Thursday 48.80 (excluding public holidays)
NOTE: the deluxe offers a few more varieties of meat and has a selection of sashimi too

 It may sound a little expensive because you can go to such places like Se Jong in Carlingford for roughly $10 cheaper but the quality and variety at Sakae Yakiniku House is much greater. If you prepare yourself during the day with minimal food consumption and come at night raring to get stuck in, it is definitely value for money as long as you order the right meats and not such things like rice dishes. There is unfortunately a time limit of 1.5 hours with the last order being placed 1 hour after you begin but from experience it's more than enough time. Most waiters and waitresses are good, however some are a bit hesitant when you order big servings. It's probably smart to be ruthless and make sure you get the amount of each dish that you want because sometimes they get a bit stingy and will 'forget' your order. You will also probably identify the owner who often snoops around monitoring how much you're eating, but it's a buffet, so don't get intimidated! I definitely recommend a visit to this place for the buffet range and somehow it always tastes better at night with a couple of drinks to wash it all down. Even if you order unlimited servings of wagyu rib fingers and then some green tea soft serve to finish off, I guarantee you won't leave dissatisfied. On Friday and Saturday nights ensure you make a booking unless you don't mind sitting outside in a covered area.


Bunny Rating-
Category: Dining







Sakae Yakiniku House on Urbanspoon

Opening Hours:

7 Days-
Lunch: 12pm - 3pm
Dinner: 5:30 till late

Contact No: 98742277

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