When it comes to splashing out on a meal, it’s difficult to beat the indulgence of Wagyu, especially when it’s grilled Japanese style to release all its melt-in-the-mouth flavour.
Yakiniku Yama Oku is one to watch in Causeway Bay, a swanky 12-seat yakiniku kappo counter opened on the same floor of Cubus as its Japanese siblings Sukiyaki Nakagawa and Teppanyaki Mihara GOTEN. Leading the charge are two experienced chefs from Fukuoka, Koji Takazono and Koichi Kuga, who are keen to show off their cutting and grilling expertise. Though the chefs don’t speak much English or Cantonese, a duo of attentive staff are on hand to translate.
Seasonal Wagyu is the justified star here, rich, well-marbled Omi beef from Shiga Prefecture and Oita Wagyu from the prefecture of the same name.
You can walk away paying from HKD480 per person for lunch at Yakiniku Yama Oku, but with think it’s worth upgrading to one of the dinner omakase menus, of which the mid-range Sui omakase (HKD1,180 pp) is recommended.
Following a trio of appetisers, each with numerous intricate components, the first of the yakiniku action takes place. We were treated to the aged tongue with lemon koji salad, with the citrus cutting nicely through the tongue’s intense savouriness, as well as the more tender rump cap with salted kelp. The chefs’ thoughtful attention to the sauces and garnishes that best complement each cut of beef sets the restaurant apart from other yakiniku specialists around town.
Each yakiniku menu section is interspersed with other non-grilled specialities. Next up for us was the 14-day dry-aged Wagyu loin shabu-shabu. The shabu-shabu broth is one of the best we’ve ever tasted, slow-cooked with beef and oxtail bones for 72 hours. The result is a deeply concentrated yet clean broth with a hint of citrus that warms the soul.
The yakiniku star for us was the course of seven-day dry-aged chateaubriand, smoked with straw. The prized cut of chateaubriand, of which there is only 2kg from every one cattle, is buttery to the extreme and only needs a touch of Himalayan pink salt (shaved tableside) to bring out its delicate flavour. On the side, the onion purée is a sweet-meets-savoury bonus.
Another highlight from the grill is the signature yamaoku-yaki Wagyu sirloin and cured Kodawari egg yolk roll, an ingenious take on sukiyaki. Each thin slice of beef, first marinated in sukiyaki sauce, is quickly seared, then rolled with a bit of rice and a firm cured egg yolk, lush to the max.
The only downside of the omakase for us was the palate cleanser, in our case a bizarre mix of fish broth granita and chewy chilled Morioka noodles that is one step too far for us in terms of creative flavour combinations.
The chefs return to the right track with the final savoury course, claypot rice, before culminating with their daily dessert creation.
The rice used at Yakiniku Yama Oku deserves a special mention, cooked in a traditional Iga clay and cast-iron donabe crafted by Nagatanien, a kiln-master family dating back to the Edo period. The rice itself is the Nagano Yaehara Koshihikari variety, grown in volcanic soil beneath Mount Asama. Even the water used for cooking is a cut above the norm: alkaline Onsen Water 99 from Kagoshima’s Tarumizu hot springs.
The rice is freshly cooked in front of diners’ eyes and mixed with bits of fatty blowtorched Wagyu, dollops of creamy sea urchin, and briny ikura pearls to achieve perhaps the most decadent claypot rice of all time.
Our verdict of Yakiniku Yama Oku
You’ll pay for the privilege of dining at Yakiniku Yama Oku, though the cost is nowhere near what we had initially expected for Wagyu of this calibre. The omakase menus are generous and innovative, featuring rare cuts of some of the world’s very best beef grilled by yakiniku experts.
Yakiniku Yama Oku, 3/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, 5394 3681, WhatsApp 4497 5412, book here
| Order this: Sui dinner omakase Menu: not available online Price for two: HKD2,400 | Atmosphere: immersively cave-like Perfect for: Wagyu extravagance |
This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.
