Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant – Isetan 1 Utama’s Eat Paradise

I went to Jaya One’s Food Bites today and frankly I wondered why was it called Food Bites Gourmet Street Food Market when there were barely more than 10 stalls selling food.
You’re likely to be less disappointed if you’re there for shopping; as the variety of clothes, accessories, knick-knacks were abundant. Go with friends and you’ll likely to have a great time catching up and browsing around. For me, I was tired, jet-lagged and had a mountain of work.  I went there for food, and I went back hungry.

A hungry Becky is never pleasant. Furthermore I was there specifically because a friend had set-up a stall; and thus I had wanted to show my support. Let’s just say a few incidents happened and I left shortly after, hungry and disappointed.
Luckily KC was still game for lunch after his RM10 dry bun-ed hotdog. We hopped in to Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant, one of the new outlets in 1 Utama that we had wanted to try since it opened.

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Conclusion of the meal was food is good, prices marvelously value for money and service was exemplary.
For RM199, we chose the Fuku Set, which came with everything that you’ll see in this post, and yes, including desserts.

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Their Calpis drinks (Calpis Soda and Calpis Water) were very good as well, each reasonably RM5.90 and RM4.90 respectively.

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I like it! 🙂

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Our total bill.

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We could barely finish the food!
At 2.00pm on a Saturday the outlet was bustling busy but the service was incredibly efficient. The food was served rather systematically as well.

First up was Namuru Assorted – seasoned daikon, horenso spinach, bean sprouts, zenmai royal fern (normal ala carte price RM14.90) and Classic Kim-chee (RM5.90). Both were adequately prepared.

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There were a platter of Assorted Sausages (RM10.90) as well, which was forgotten till it was already on the grill in my haste to start eating.

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For our salad option (our set allows an order of salad and rice) I chose Horenso Salad -Jjapanese style spinach, crispy garlic, & goma dressing. (RM8.90). The picture below didn’t do it justice. It was a lovely bowl of greens drizzled with superb house-made goma dressing. Slivers of raw meaty mushrooms was hidden underneath the leaves.

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When I said service was exemplary, I meant it was beyond the usual serving exercise. Service here was almost akin to dining in a fine dining restaurant. Because there were 3 of us, every dish that was supposed to be shared was portioned for us, without us having to ask; case in example our salad and the rice.
Ishiyaki Mentaiko – rice, salmon, cod roe and greens topped with dry seaweed in hot stone bowl. (RM18.90). Fabulously flavourful and non-oily!

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Below: One of the helpful service staff mixing up the contents nicely prior to serving it to us in individual bowls.

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Because it was a set meant for 2, we got 2 BIG bowls of Tofu Chige soup. (RM12.90). This wasn’t spicy but flavour rich, not to mention generously loaded with tofu, eggs and chicken meat.
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All of these came in quick succession, and this was efficiently followed by the grill and meats.

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Since it was a set, we didn’t get to specify our marinates or dips for the meat. Anyhow, all were good, sufficiently marinated and succulent in texture.

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It was really up to us for the doneness of the meat. The grill was easy to control and we had fun (or rather KC did) grilling. I just focused on eating everything on the table. :DD
At this juncture, I just had to mention about the commendable service again. After a short grilling or eating session of 10-15 minutes, one of the staff will come around to change the grill plates as well as our dining plates. Now this is truly deserving of the 10% service tax!

I thought that was it, and we already felt that there was a lot for a set meant for 2. But no, after the meats came the Seafood Platter!

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For 2??? You have got to be kidding me!
Seafood platter. RM 79.90. US foil scallops, Norwegian salmon, King Prawns, Whole Squid, Oysters in foil.

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We loosen our belts and proceeded to cook. The oysters in a foil were meant to be cooked in the foil in the middle of the grill. We were advised to let it boil till the butter on top melts.

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Fat, juicy oysters. There 2 of them in here and they were fabulous.

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Then we threw in the scallops, which was incredibly fresh and sweet. Same verdict applies for the salmon, squid and king prawns.

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Happy with my King Prawns! :DD

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Gyu-Kaku may be known for their meats, but we concurred that the seafood was good as well!

We were stuffed but our set came with 2 desserts. The staff was nice enough to offer us 2 different ones so we could sample their Green Tea ice cream (RM8.90) as well as their signature Milk Pudding (RM9.90).
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The Milk Pudding was lusciously creamy and aromatic with milk. I declared it the best milk pudding I had so far, but do keep in mind that I have not tried those in HK, supposedly the city that makes the best milk puddings.

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I strongly recommend the sets, but if you would like better control over the meats and marinates, then go ala-carte. Be prepared for a costlier bill though.

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Interior and spacing were spacious and comfortable enough. Though there were no suction fans we didn’t leave the outlet smelling like grilled meats!

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Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant.
Level 2, Isetan 1 Utama Eat Paradise.

Note:
The management informed us that they are still tweaking the menus, so go quick if you want to enjoy the same sets we had!
Gyu-Kaku is run by the same management as Bubba Gump Shrimp.

All pictures taken with the Samsung Galaxy S3.

For more of my EATS in 1 Utama:

1. Putien opens in Malaysia- serving authentic Heng Hwa (or Xing Hua) cuisine from China
2. Moo Cow, my favourite froyo is in 1 Utama! Current new flavours for CNY is Mandarin Orange & Dragonfruit!
3. AK Noodles House for a economical meal
4. The Soup Restaurant – nourishing soups and dishes originating from treasured family recipes that are distinctive and traditional
5. Yong Tau Foo Eat and Happy – Cheap & tasty La Mian! Recommended!
6. Recommended! Opika Restaurant – Wholesome organic food – Love the Nasi Ulam!
7. Not recommended: Noodle Shack – Traditional Mian Fen Guo – small portions, lacking in taste!
8. Petite MilliePoutine, Tartine and Tart Flambee!  

This Post Has 36 Comments

  1. ulric

    Hey…u forgot to mention that KC was the one who finished off the grilled meats and desserts bcose he got two pathetic lunch partners 😛

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hhhahahha oh yes!
      It was too much la! But we were hungry 2 hours after though!
      Shows that we cant eat a lot at one sitting 😛

      1. ulric

        Haha…tats true 😛

        Hey…just noticed that there’s a Yuzu Float on the menu. Rats…shud have ordered tat also…hehe =)

      2. Rebecca

        What??? I would order that too!!

      3. ulric

        We need to go again lar! =)

  2. June Tan

    Wah.. drooling with the BBQ.. yum yum.. ^_^
    2 people eating nearly RM250?? U grill yourself?

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hahah glad u liked it. Frankly I thought it could be better

    1. Rebecca

      Yes yes, come with a group of friends – worth it for the sets! 😀

  3. Caroline

    omg! that’s quite reasonable price for all!!:O

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yups it is right??? We were shocked too! 😀 Happily shocked not rudely shock fortunately 😛

  4. Mamapumpkin

    Thanks for sharing! This is making me hungry now and it’s only 5.26pm. Hmm.Hmm.Hmm. I haven’t been yet to 1-U to check the new Isetan out but now I have a good reason to!

  5. Average Joe

    How did u manage to get Samsung Galaxy S3 phone so fast? Is it available in the market already?

    1. rebeccasaw

      LOL. Samsung gave me one to review.
      It is not announced yet market price or stock availability. I think Celcom packages were very recently announced.

  6. Akulah Pak Lan

    They seems to have a lot of choices with variety kind of meat. Love it..

      1. Akulah Pak Lan

        u make me wanna go back malaysia now.. haha.. few more days to go. I hope..

      2. rebeccasaw

        Me hope so too. Can take any of the ytl packages for holiday after taht.

      3. Akulah Pak Lan

        Yeah.. need a good holiday..lets go lets go

  7. Choi Yen

    this definitely more than enough for 2 person!

    1. rebeccasaw

      I knowwwww righhhttTt! Stuffed til can’t breathe!

  8. Mandy

    There’s another good place for Japanese BBQ – Gyuichi @ Desa Sri Hartamas. Try it! They serves lovely marbled Wagyu at reasonable prices.

    1. rebeccasaw

      lovely marbled Wagyu at reasonable prices you say?? I’ll be there soon! 😛

      1. Liz

        I’ve been there before. BEWARE ~ the Wagyu is addictive!!! Hahaha…

      2. rebeccasaw

        Hahah! thks for the warning 😛

  9. Liz

    I’ve been there before. BEWARE ~ the Wagyu is addictive!!! Hahaha…

  10. Grahf

    Just for your info the suction fans is exactly where you are barbequeing. The small holes at the side of the grill IS the suction fans.

    1. Grahf

      Oh…also i’ve been to the ones in Japan. Haven’t this one here in 1U to see if it comes close to the original franchise in japan 😛

      1. rebeccasaw

        Ohhh I was in Japan but I didnt visit this chain 🙂 do let me know of your verdict! 😀

  11. aJCb

    160459 40302Sorry for the huge review, but I

  12. Gary

    F u stupid whore, what the sh!t photo u took? And the food is suck and u recommend people to go? Real please, u r sh!t

    1. Rebecca Saw

      Yo Gary, I dont think there’s a need to use profanities. If you’re unhappy with your food, shouldn’t this “frustration” be aimed at the outlet itself? Inform the manager/service staff?
      Besides, this visit was sometime ago, and frankly, I never had any issues here though I visited thrice, with my friends who never had issues either. And we paid for our food rather satisfactorily at the end of our meals. If u had a different experience, I’m huge on welcoming feedback, just that your way of presenting your feedback leaves much to be desired.
      I’m replying now to acknowledge your comment, and would not be replying any further comments from yourself if you choose to be rude.

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