When I got an invite for a Zomato #FoodieMeetUp in Sandaya Yakiniku Fisher Mall, I said yes with no hesitations. I knew I had to go to work right after our early dinner but the lure of freshly grilled meat is just to hard to resist.
Sandaya Yakiniku Fisher Mall is easy to locate. It's at the 3rd Floor of the mall, right off the escalator. The restaurant had its grand opening on November 30, 2014. Barely 4 months and it's already making a name as the top Yakiniku place in town.
The facade of the restaurant is a little intimidating for me since I am not into fancy dining and Sandaya Yakiniku looks so elegant. As soon as I entered, the crew was ready with their enthusiastic greet. A good sign of great service. We had time to wait because few people from our group was running late (yeah, I'm talking about you Elaine, LOL). Someone approached up then to ask if we want the food served already or if we prefer to wait. We opted to give it some time and we were told we can order anything off the menu while we wait. That's on top of the meal they prepared for us. I was impressed. Turned out that that someone was Avin One, Vice President and COO of Sandaya Yakiniku. He is a very nice, approachable guy. He explained to us each dish served and even cooked for our table.
Our meal started with a serving of Kani Salad. I love kani and I was not disappointed because you get generous amount the crab sticks in every spoonful. If I didn't know better, I would eat the whole plate up and may not have enough space for more. But there's the Spicy Tuna Sushi waiting for me and you know how I love anything spicy. I have high praises for this because the tuna is so fresh and the spice has that special kick that complements the whole dish rather than take over. No need for any dipping sauce. For our soup, we were given a choice of Miso or Mutsuni, which is the Japanese style beef stew. We chose the later since Miso is just too common. It was a good choice. The ox tripe was so tender and the soup base really tasty. Just be careful not to eat it all up because it'll really make you feel so full.
Then it's time for the star of our meal. The special yakiniku meat platter specially prepared for us by Avin. It's a combination of six high-quality meats from the: (1) US Short Plate, (2) US Hanging Tender, (3) US Chuck Tender, (4) US Boneless Short Ribs Prime, (5) Japanese Wagyu Inside Skirt or Harami, and (6) Japanes Wagyu Premium Sirloin. I can't sing enough praises for this plate. It's my first time to eat wagyu and it's heavenly. The beef just melts in your mouth. No wonder there's a high premium on this meat. Avin grilled these for us and gave us a few tips on how to properly cook the meat without looisng all its goodness. Sandaya Fisher Mall has special spicy and sweet sauces to match your yakiniku but I preferred the goodness of the meat on its own. This meat combination is not yet available as a set but you can order individual plates for each meat.
We also had a taste of the Japanese Kurobuta Sausages and the US Beef Special Marbled Tounge. Each bite of the sausage gives you big tender chunks instead of ground meat. The Marbled tounge is a delight too. It can be hard though if not eaten immediately. I was feeling a little adventurous and tried Uni both cooked and raw for the first time. I was surprised that I loved the raw Uni better. A little intimidating at first but it just tastes exactly like fresh oysters. We also had Salmon Sashimi and Shrimp Tempura but nothing too special with them.
As I was editing photos for this post, hubs couldn't resists and had to try it out too. So off we went to Sandaya Fisher Mall, braving the weekday after office rush hour, for our early dinner. For three and a half persons (including yaya and miss Mila), we ordered 900 grams of the Special Assorted BBQ Set which the menu says good for 4-5 persons. Each yakiniku set comes with lettuce, kimchi, crispy cabbage, nira, and fresh sprouts salad. We had additional 3 cups of rice and a bottle of Sake that hubs and I shared! On hindsight, the rice may not be needed because the I felt that the goodness of the meat is best enjoyed Lettuce Wrap style. We could barely walk as we leave and barely finished what was served. We spent a little over P3,000 for this meal. It's a little splurge but believe me, it was well worth it. If you are on a budget, get the Wagyu plates. Just a couple bites of it and you'd know you made the right choice.
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