Shanghai Restaurant Review: Yuu Yakiniku

By Betty Richardson, April 3, 2018

The Place

As you and I go about our pedestrian little lives in Shanghai, the wheels of trade and politics turn in Washington DC and Beijing, shaping our world and even our diets as we scuttle about obliviously. Last year in some smoke-filled room, it was agreed that US beef would once more be permitted into China after a 14-year ban. Disappointingly for USDA bigwigs, the response from Chinese consumers, since trained to appreciate the perceived ‘greener’ reputation of Australian beef instead, has been more muted than the anticipated rapture and subsequent buying frenzy of the pride and pinnacle of American industrial farming.

Nevertheless, a trickle of flavorsome and fat-heavy USDA-certified beef is slowly gathering pace within Shanghai’s restaurants, particularly at new Japanese barbecue bar Yuu Yakiniku, where it is exclusively employed on their menu, priced from just RMB3 per 10g.

The Food

The casual art of Asian barbecue, that is, meat which is sliced and grilled table-side, couldn’t be more different from the grand old American steakhouse setting. After picking a few thinly-cut steaks arranged in a folksy wooden box, we come to understand Yuu Yakiniku makes no effort to marry the two cultures save for a glorious mid-noughties R&B playlist yielding such classics as Major Lazer’s ‘Bubble Butt.’

This becomes painfully evident when our server begins cooking our rib-eye (RMB10/10g) to a local default of well-done, punishing it with her tongs against the grill to ensure total eradication of pinkness as its precious fat dribbles into the fire. Turns out it makes little difference whether you overcook a well-marbled USDA rib-eye or a two-dollar flank steak; the result is chewy and joyless.

Shanghai Restaurant Review: Yuu Yakiniku

Our server agrees to change tactics to medium-rare for the sake of barbarian steak preferences, through which is it possible to taste the nice but not excellent quality of the meat.

Unfortunately, nice meat is the best Yuu can do. A box containing an ensemble of skewered chicken wings, shrimp and mushrooms can’t convince us to order them, save for the black cuttlefish sausage, which we end up regretting since it tastes like a convenience store hot dog. The swift arrival of icy cold whisky highballs combined with Sir Mix-a-Lot’s ‘Mack Daddy’ somewhat defuses the situation.

Food Verdict: 1.5/3

The Vibe

Save for its gloriously retro playlist, Yuu Yakiniku’s atmosphere, product and price outdoes none of Shanghai’s more established Asian barbecue joints, be it Japanese-style Ajiya, Taiwanese-style Hutong or Korean-style Ben Jia. Save the USDA steaks for an all-American steakhouse.

Vibe Verdict: 1/2