Shinkei Yakiniku

Just like Korean barbeque is a staple to Koreans when it comes to drinking, Yakiniku is also a favourite meal for Japanese during drinking sessions

There are plenty of Yakiniku restaurants in Japan, but one that also serves pork as part of its selection is a rare find. I was doing my research even before my trip and found only 3 restaurants with pork on their menu on the busy Dotonbori street. Most of them had seafood or chicken, but when it comes to barbeque, it is pork for me. Unfortunately, the popular one, Yakinikuya Daibokujou Dotonbor, was fully packed, and I totally forgot to make a reservation. We decided to just search as we go along and found this Shinkei Yakiniku with a 4.8 Google star review

The restaurant was extremely small and tight in space. With only 3 to 4 tables available, we had to share some of the common areas with the neighbouring table. As it is a traditional setup where guests need to remove their shoes before sitting down at the tables, it was pretty awkward when I needed to exit, as I would have to stand up on the benches to get out, and the family had to stand up from their seats so I could walk through. I had a highball to go with the Yakiniku, and it was pretty strong for someone who doesn’t drink often

We asked the lady for pork, and they showed us this menu, which was the only available item for pork meat. There was no a la carte order, or maybe due to a language barrier, we were not able to order. The set came with 3 different cuts of pork: pork collar, belly and pork neck. There were also some vegetables provided in the set, like pumpkin, mushroom and onion

There were only 2 sauces provided; one more of the chilli-based soy sauce and the other a garlicky sauce, which was perfect for dipping with the pork meat

At SGD 44, the serving size was less than most restaurants in Singapore, but in Japan, it is known that Yakiniku is not a cheap meal, which is why the original restaurant I wanted to visit was a buffet meal at a fixed price

Since we only ordered 1 set, it didn’t take long for us to finish grilling the meats. The Japanese version of Yakiniku is different from Korean BBQ, as the meat is served thinly sliced, so it cooks much faster. I realised there is always a greyish residue on the meat whenever I go for Japanese Yakiniku. The meat has a nice smoky flavour, but as it was really thin, you don’t get a lot of meat juices, so you depend a lot on the sauces for the flavours. The ingredients were generally fresh, but the servings were not quite enough to be filling as a meal, and we were not ready to order plates of the set for this price

Overall, if you are looking for a place for a light snack with drinks, the restaurant is very friendly to tourists, and the lady boss chats with their regular customers. The service is also pretty fast and homely. If you are looking to fill your stomach and are on a budget, the buffet options might be better

Address: 1 Chome-8-5 Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0071, Japan

Opening hours: 6 pm to 11 pm