Yakiniku-GO Review: Yakiniku Joint In Seletar Mall Has Grilled Meats From $2.90++

Yakiniku-GO at Seletar Mall

There’s something oddly satisfying about watching fat bubble and drip from meat on the grill. I don’t have yakiniku often, however, since premium meats come with a costly price tag. Yakiniku-GO at Seletar Mall is here to change that, with meat starting at just $2.90++ when it opens on 9 February.

Food at Yakiniku-GO

If it’s your first time here and you don’t know which a la carte meats to get, Yakiniku-GO takes the trouble out of choosing with 13 sets, priced from just $6.80. These come with a bowl of rice, soup, and a little saucer of kimchi.

I liked how most of these sets come in two sizes: 100g and 200g options, catering to diners of different appetites, and also reducing food wastage.

The DIY Niku Sushi Set ($6.80++) comes with three slices of boneless beef short rib, sushi rice, spring onions, sesame seeds, kimchi, and three rectangles of seaweed.

It’s the perfect set for dainty eaters, allowing you to grill the short rib before rolling it into your very own sushi. The kimchi topping cuts through any potential greasiness, and the spring onions and sesame seeds add elements of nuttiness, and freshness. Pro tip: I brushed some soy sauce on the rice, and charred it on the grill so it was like yaki onigiri!

For a sampling of the different cuts available, the Yakiniku-GO Set (from $15.80++) is a good one to go for. It comes with half, or a whole, ribeye steak, as well as 100g of beef short plate, and beef tongue.

While the ribeye was rather lean, we really enjoyed the short plate that came with this set, so much so we ordered extra Karubi (from $2.90++) after that.

Looking at the Karubi short plate, you may think that it’s unappealingly fatty. However, the fat made this cut especially tender, and flavourful. Be careful when you place this on the grill, because the dripping fat leads to a little bit of a fire hazard.

Another favourite of ours was the Wagyu Tokujou Karubi (from $11.80++). These slices of beef are said to have marbling scores of at least eight or nine out of twelve, and they literally melted in our mouths.

It was delicious to have these slices of beef with the white short-grain rice.

What stood out for us were the four sauces that come with any order of the grilled meats. These sauces were created in-house by Yakiniku-GO’s very own Japanese head chef: House Special Yakiniku Tare, Spicy Yakiniku Tare, Miso Tare, and Negi Shio Tare.

The Negi Shio Tare in particular was my personal favourite. It’s made with four different citrus fruits: yuzu, orange, lemon, and lime, and dressed with Japanese leek. It’s clean-tasting, yet nuanced and bright─a perfect complement to the fatty meats.

Other than beef, Yakiniku-GO also has a Seafood Hoiru Yaki ($12.80++), that has fresh scallops, prawns, and squid in a teriyaki and butter sauce. Similarly, there’s also a Salmon Batayaki ($9.80++) option.

We also tried the Beef & Chicken Set (from $9.80++), which, unlike the other sets, is marinated in a shio-based sauce. The pieces of chicken leg meat grilled nicely, and were tasty from the shio marinade. Besides chicken, you can also have Lamb Leg Slice (from $2.90++) off the a la carte selection.

I was surprised to see that there is no pork on the menu here, but we didn’t end up missing it. Yakiniku-GO is also in the process of getting halal-certified!

Ambience at Yakiniku-GO

The restaurant on the first floor of Seletar Mall is located right at Fernvale LRT station, a six-minute ride to Sengkang MRT Station on the Northeast Line.

It seats 68, although current restrictions mean that the shared tables will now be spaced out. It’s bright and cheery, done up in light-coloured wooden decor that’s faintly Japanese in inspiration. The electric grills are 100% smoke-free, and if you met us after our meal, you wouldn’t be able to tell we had just had yakiniku.

The verdict

We were amazed at how affordable yakiniku is at Yakiniku-GO. The Wagyu Tokujou Karubi, and the Karubi, were our absolute favourites, which you’ll definitely see us returning for. It was also incredible that we did not reek of BBQ after our lunch. The only shortcoming was the fact that Seletar Mall if you don’t live in the area.

In celebration of Yakiniku-GO’s opening, RE&S Enterprises is offering a one-day opening special on 15 February. The Yakiniku-GO Set will be priced at just $7.60, rather than its usual price of $15.80. In addition, &Rewards members will be entitled to a return voucher for a free meat upsize between 9 February and 28 February, which has to be used by 31 March 2021.

For more affordable yakiniku, check out our Yakiniku Warrior review. Alternatively, read our Hanjip Korean Grill House review, as the Clarke Quay restaurant offers Korean BBQ with premium meats!

Address: 33 Sengkang West Ave, #01-49, Seletar Mall, Singapore 797653
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
Tel: 6242 5939
Website
Yakiniku-GO is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Lim An.
This was a media tasting at Yakiniku-GO.