Yakiniku's new menu

Yakiniku at Hyatt Regency Chennai is earning quite a name for itself for good Japanese food if the newest menu is anything to go by. Sous chef Amlendu Kashyap is in charge here and over dinner on Saturday night, he showed us exactly why the restaurant has been voted the best Japanese restaurant in the premium category in the city.

Sous chef Amlendu 

Inari potato salad

Inari potato salad comes all wrapped up in tofu skin. The tofu skin that I've had all this while at Chinese restaurants has been stuffed with a mix of meats. But here, it had been stuffed with mashed potatoes and pickled veg 😲 yup... my exact reaction when I read the description. But wait...what I didn't say was how delicious it was. That pickle, crisp and tangy was the perfect foil for the smooth potato mash. It's a cold starter but don't let that stop you from relishing it.

Mochi with mushroom sauce

Mochi with mushrooms is outstanding. The mochi looked like little idlies but any resemblance to the South Indian dish stops right there. Made of glutinous rice, they are soft, squishy yet chewy (it's hard to describe the texture of mochi). On their own they taste bland but the shimeji and mushroom sauce it was served with took the flavours to another level.

No, they didn't forget the sushi - this is soba sushi

Tempura maki

Prawn, nori and Japanese mayo - simple ingredients but when made into tempura maki roll, it becomes more than amazing. Tempura crumbs added more texture. Yummy!

Tofu steak

Yakiniku beef

Yakiniku pork

Garlic fried rice as accompaniment

There are sizzlers on the new menu - tofu steak, Yakiniku Beef and Yakiniku Pork. All three are delicious, mushroom fans will love the tofu steaks that sizzle in the mushroom sauce though it's quite similar to the one served with mochi. The pork was the more tender of the two meats but the sauces they were cooked it were full of flavour. Chef Amlendu combines up to to 12 different sauces, including mirin, to complete this dish. The only minus point was for the amount of onions in the dishes. We had garlic fried rice to go with the meats.

Chicken udon

Chicken Udon is definitely comfort food - imagine curling up with a good book and a bowl of udon noodles, poached chicken and spinach in a nourishing broth. However, this version didn't quite reach the bar that had been set so high.

Adzuki beans, mochi & ice cream

The one thing Yakiniku lacks is a good dessert menu. But there was one to end this meal with - sweetened adzuki beans, mochi and ice cream. And it's yummy. (Btw, adzuki beans have a host of health benefits, even helps in weight loss!!) 

  
Yakiniku's new menu is well crafted, subtle yet packed with a good understanding of Japanese flavours. It has plenty for vegetarians as well.