The Place
Yakiniku is a Japanese style of cooking, which utilizes a gridiron to grill, typically, bite-sized edibles over burning charcoal, and has been introduced into Korean cuisine. Or, is it a Korean cooking style that’s been introduced to Japan? It’s a chicken and egg situation.
Restaurateurs at the newly opened JZ Yakiniku have done a brilliant job introducing the cuisine to the city. The restaurant, housed in a mixed-use building on a Tiyuxi backstreet, makes for a cozy place to dine, even on Guangzhou’s wintriest days; the warm stone tables giving off an intoxicating glow of heat absorbed from their built-in wood-charcoal grills.
The installation of a ventilator at each table makes a noble gesture towards the lung health of patrons and, to be fair, you won't smell like barbecue smoke after a meal here. It’s a nod to clean air however that seems at odds with the laissez-faire attitude JZ takes towards tobacco – smokers are given free rein to puff away at the eatery. Expectant mothers, be warned.
The Food
The menu is composed in large part of Wagyu beef selections imported, naturally, from Australia. Price for a regular plate of sliced beef, depending on the cut, ranges from RMB68-109. The M9 Wagyu beef plate (RMB109), though an average graded meat, is the most popular order, and its texture is one of distinction. You can also upgrade to a Wagyu banquet by ordering the M9 platter (RMB428), the star order on the premises.
Although it’s typical for diners to cook on their own in a yakiniku restaurant, waiters at JZ, who all receive a one-day training in addition to ongoing hands-on cookery instruction, grill your meal (unless asked otherwise) and cube your lamb steak (RMB58). Bite-sized, remember?
A salty-sweet diced onion and tare, a thick soy sauce, accompany the beef as condiments, while seafood and lamb are paired with other flavoring sauces. The seafood platter (RMB69), consisting of shrimp, squid and scallops, is another sexy addition to the table. To add some variety to the otherwise meaty spread, get the veggie platter (RMB35), formed of eggplant, mushroom, corn, pimiento and cucumber.
The Vibe
There’s a certain friendly and energetic atmosphere going on in the restaurant where waitpersons salute and bid farewell to patrons in a buoyant manner; however, the rolling, cheesy pop music seems difficult, under any circumstances, to justify.
Price: RMB150
Who’s going: Chinese families with a smoking papa
Good for: ‘meat-ing’ up with the Wagyu squad
Nearest metro: Tiyu Xilu (Exit A), 5 minutes
Open daily, 11am-3pm, 5pm-1am; see listing for JZ Yakiniku.
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