Specialising in Kagoshima Wagyu (which is my favourite type of wagyu), Gyu Kaku has branches in CHIJMES, UE Square, Novena Square, Kinex (formerly One KM), Star Vista, Centrepoint, Marina Square, and City Square Mall. For the purpose of this review, we visited the City Square Mall outlet because we guessed (correctly) that it would be quiet.

Gyu Kaku does serve a la carte and sets. There is a 2-person set going for $68.80, which is not a bad deal. But the buffet here is the real McCoy.

Tenkaichi, which also serves wagyu yakiniku, offers a slightly better price for their buffet, but I think the quality of the beef is better at Gyu Kaku. Besides, Tenkaichi’s bbq is on a hotplate whereas Gyu Kaku has a charcoal pit. Always BBQ with charcoal that has been burnt till white; it gives even heat and won’t likely burnt the food.

Wagyu tender fillet (with sesame) and Wagyu chuck

There are 3 types of buffet here: Kuroge wagyu buffet ($84.90++), Kuroge is regarded as the highest grade of Japanese wagyu; Australian wagyu buffet ($64.90++); and Weekday buffet ($54.90++, Mon to Thur excluding public holidays) which uses Australian wagyu. You can only eat for 90 minutes and last order is 15 minutes before the buffet ends. So when that happens, tell your waiter, “give me everything on the menu.” That’s roughly 60 dishes.

Out of the 12 types of wagyu cuts and marinades, my friend’s favourite cut is the king harami, which is between the sirloin and short-plate, because it’s the meatiest, most value-for-money. LOL. It’s a buffet! Just order small cuts more times.

King Harami cut in the middle

For me, I confess I don’t have a tongue sophisticated enough to differentiate the cuts. Or rather, because it’s a buffet, the dishes are served quickly without any explanation, so the meats get confused and jumble up into an undifferentiated disarray.

However, I can say that the quality of the wagyu is outstanding. Clean taste without being overly fatty. Really good value for such great wagyu.

Sorry, can’t differentiate the cuts.

Besides wagyu, they have Kurobuta pork of different cuts (including pork belly!), chicken, seafood (such as prawns and scallops, don’t get the scallops, they are not good quality) and lamb rack.

The lamb rack is fantastic too, marinated in a mint sauce to undercut the fats.

Lamb Rack

But this is a smart restaurant. They are not going to serve you only the meats, the expensive meats. They also have about 20 types of appetisers, Japanese and Korean, like kimchi, Japanese fried chicken, gyoza, Korean pancake, french fries, cheese corn.

But we are smart consumers too! We didn’t really order the appetisers except for vegetables to wrap the beef Korean-style; some kimchi; assorted mushrooms; and… garlic with butter. We should have ordered the garlic right from the start so that we could eat it with the beef. The butter garlic is great as a condiment, get it. You can use the butter for your meats too.

Turn on your volume to hear the garlic sizzle, omg so sexy:

We did make one exception from the “smart consumer, order expensive food” rule: we got the garlic fried rice. It was umami, no regrets. We suspect they make their fried rice so delicious so that we would order more rice and eat less meat. No way, Jose.

One last thing to note: the service by the two boys at this outlet was excellent. Swift and efficient. Friendly. Our green tea was always topped up without us having to ask.

The 90-minute limit for the buffet passed too quickly. By the end, I wish we had more time even though we were stuffed. We paid $65.75 each. It was definitely worth it. Writing this review reminds me that I want to go back soon.

Menu

Gyu Kaku
City Square Mall #05-05, 180 Kitchener Road, Singapore 208539
Tel: +65 6388 4001
11.30am – 10pm daily
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Food: 7/10
Price / value: 7/10
Ambience / Decor: 6/10
Service: 7/10

You may be interested in…
–The Gyu Bar, Stevens Road: WAHgyu Yakiniku Udderly Delicious, a Must Go for Beef Lovers
–Niku Kin 肉金, Tanjong Pagar: Modern Yakiniku with 100% Hokkaido Wagyu
–焼肉王 Yakiniku-Oh Goen, Tanjong Pagar Plaza: This Fuss-Free Japanese Charcoal BBQ WINS Big Time
–Renga-Ya, CHIJMES: New Beef Don for Set Lunch (Limited to 15 Bowls Daily) and Ohmi Beef Yakiniku After CNY

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.