Aburiya – A Wagyu Gastronomical Adventure

It was a meat lover’s fantasy at Aburiya. This yakiniku restaurant at Robertson Quay completely satisfied my craving for beef. A most telling sign was the menu, where an impressive array of meats was listed even before the salads and the sides.

We went straight for the Wagyu Set. At $100, it was great value for money. There were 4 cuts of wagyu beef (tongue, skirt, rib-eye and short rib), a large salad, mushrooms, beef stew, tamago soup, kimchi and rice. We added 2 more servings of chicken, kurobuta pork and an order of onigiri and Foie Gras.

Woo-hoo...waiting in anticipation

The beef came richly marbled. We asked for the shio (salt) seasoning to allow the rich, earthy flavours of the meat to permeate through each bite. Just 2-3 minutes on the hot grill was sufficient. With the meat slightly charred outside and oozing with pink juices inside, every bite was a melt-in-your-mouth delight.

1 minute after the food arrived

2 minutes after the food arrived

We requested for miso seasoning for the chicken breast and tare (sweet griling sauce) seasoning for the pork. Both exceeded expectations. The chicken was tasty and so tender. As for the kurobuta pork, having it seasoned with tare was a stroke of genius. After a couple of minutes on the grill it tasted like uber juicy bakwa slices. The well marinated pork was sweet and tender and the rings of fat just added little bursts of flavour with every bite.

Really value for money

FT and JT had a great time grilling the meat. The tamago soup was well received by both of them too. All I had to do was to sit back and stuff myself. The beers (Asahi and Sapparo) came ice cold and complemented the rich meats well.

A special mention must be made about the onigiri. After a couple splashes of soya sauce and several minutes on the grill, the result was a savoury cracker-like rice cake which went extremely well with the kimchi and strewed beef.

For dessert, FT ordered a scoop of chocolate ice-cream and I went for the black sesame ice-cream. I LOVE black sesame ice-cream and the smokey flavours of the one I had was an excellent end to an excellent meal.

Aburiya Japanese Charcoal Grill
60 Robertson Quay
#01-03 The Quayside
6735-4862

Food: 8.5/10
Price: $$$$
Service: 7.5/10
Ambience: 7/10
Yum: Wagyu short rib, Kurobuta pork, Black Sesame Ice-cream