Arashi Yakiniku Charcoal Grill

get ready, for an all-out no-holds-barred sinful, meaty dinner at Arashi Yakiniku Charcoal Grill. if you're in the mood for some lip-smacking, artery-clogging indulgence, this is the place to go. i confess, i was floored by the end of the meal. Arashi is a pretty new kid on the block, just opened a couple of months ago and it aims to bring affordable yakiniku to customers. their specialty is in wagyu beef cuts, and i'm so excited to share what i ate with you guys! (: get ready for a feast for your eyes (literally!!)

started off simple with the appetizers ($7.80) and Arashi Kaisen Salad ($15.80). i really liked the pickled beansprouts which were perfectly refreshing, while having a lightly savoury flavour that made it so yummy. sauces were provided as condiments to the dishes later on, but i didnt really have to touch those because the natural essences of the dishes were delightfully robust. the salad was a very light, healthy way to begin, and it came topped with prawns and salmon which were delicious! be sure to mix the vegetables into the sauce below though, because i found it rather tasteless when i didn't toss the veggies.

almost immediately, we were presented with the MEAT. now look at that marbling! we were served the "Ohmi" grade A4 wagyu beef from Japan, and this is just shy of the best grade of wagyu. the most premium A5 cuts require prior reservation. we started off with the tenderloin ($68.80), and had two other cuts of beef. true to its name, this was the most tender out of the three types of beef we had. it came with a sauce for dipping, but it's really not quite necessary. these were so tasty on their own! probably my favourite cut.

on the other hand, the Ribeye ($68.80) was just a little chewier, but this was absolutely bursting with juices, oozing a smokey grilled flavour that was even stronger than that of the tenderloin. 

ooh finally a picture of the grill! i really liked how Arashi has a smokeless grill - while it doesnt guarantee a 100% smoke-free meal, but it really reduced the smell and smoke significantly! we were in the restaurant for around 3hours and i emerged with barely a whiff of any smells of food/smoke on me. 

back to the meats - just look at that fire!!!!! and here, i present my nemesis. i kid :P but really, after this set of meats, i pretty much surrendered for the most part. Japanese Sirloin ($88.80), super fatty, literally dripping with fats (hence the flames), simply melts in your mouth with juices that pack a punch. this is not for the weak hearted. 

with all that meaty goodness, i was really glad to have some vegetables to balance things out! and i've discovered a new favourite bbq dish! pumpkin. i really never knew that pumpkins were a barbecue dish. no one told me! and i fell in love with it when i tried it for the first time. all these veggies are packed with goodness, and are the perfect neutralizers to the grilled meats. 

i'm a fan of garlic fried rice ($4.80), and i'm glad to say that Arashi does it pretty well! :)

also loved the clam miso soup ($7.80) that we were served! (: an update of the common miso soup (which you can just get out of the packet), i love how the clams added a touch of sweetness to the soup. and there was quite a generous amount of clams inside, which was awesome ^^

despite the fact that Arashi's specialty is in its meats, i have to say that their fish/seafood took my breath away and appealed to me much more! this Japanese Cod Fish ($18.80) was done so beautifully. delightfully tender, and bathed in a sweet Japanese sauce, this is a simple dish that was done really well!

we had quite a selection of goodies with the Tempura Moriwase ($23.80), and i appreciated their light batter that was very palatable.

guess what! besides beef, we had other dishes to grill as well :O haha ^^ yummms.

this was another of my favourites. the salmon in butter sauce was divine! and i'll never forget those prawns ($12.80). i was quite hesitant about trying them initially because i'm just lazy that way (didn't feel like having to peel open the shell), but i was convinced to do so because it was apparently quite easy to open. well, i tried, and it did! shows how fresh those prawns are :) and gosh, they were HUGE. and super juicy!!!! i started squealing when i ate it, because it tasted so unexpectedly good :') the scallops ($12.80) and squid ($6.80) were not too shabby either.

from top: Japanese Kurobuta pork belly ($19.80), pork collar ($20.80), Momi Tare chicken ($9.80). absolutely indulgent, and it was such a pity that i was full to bursting by this point and i could only afford to taste a small piece of each kind of meat. nonetheless, each variety impressed with their brilliant dimension of flavours.

check out Arashi's charcoal grill! ;)

when the end of the meal came, i was so glad to be presented with this adorable Arashi Mango Pudding. and underlying the gorgeous presentation was a wobbly pudding generously studded with bits of mango. i was really pleased by the portion of mango in this dessert - not just what you see on top! it was sweet, yet not cloyingly so, and was the perfect dish to cleanse my palate at the end of all the meat.

Arashi's dining area spans three floors and includes an alfresco dining area as well! private rooms like these can be found on the third floor, and can accommodate around 10pax. walking out into the crisp night air after my heavy meal, i could just imagine how wonderful it'll be to sit along the Singapore river on a cooling day with some yummilicious yakiniku.

Arashi Yakiniku Charcoal Grill
48 Boat Quay
Tel.: +65 8118 6383
Mon-Sat 11.30am-3pm
5.30pm-11pm

*thanks to Calvin & the OpenRice team for the invite :)