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| - 4.5 stars! I've been keeping my eye out for this restaurant ever since I heard about it on BlogTO... and I thought it would be a good time to compare this restaurant since I've been to Gyubee a few times now so I have an idea what to expect for a japanese BBQ AYCE restaurant.
Firstly, for a Monday night, the restaurant was relatively busy. However, with that said, the restaurant space is huge. There were a lot of seating throughout the restaurant, and I liked that they have some chairs for those who are just walk-ins and maybe had to wait for a table. I find the seating is very comfortable and i'm not cramped for space, compared to other japanese BBQ restaurants. What really impressed me was the air circulation - normally when i go to AYCE BBQ restaurants, i always walk out smelling like grease and smoke. I find their stoves absorb the smoke really well, and for once, i actually feel air circulation.. like an actual draft, which i really like! I was able to walk out of the restaurant and not have to hop into the shower because I feel like i smell gross.
I had the opportunity to try everything.. and by everything i mean all the items offered on their AYCE menu except for glass noodles (one of the sides which were not available last night). Naturally, most of us come here for the meat, so I have the opportunity to try their special orders as well. At Shinta, you have two options: regular angus beef AYCE for 32.99 on a weekday... or wagyu beef AYCE for 69.99. Yes it is a much steeper price point, but for those who have actually tried to buy wagyu beef at butcher shops.. you know what you're paying for. So despite the almost double $$ hike, I felt for AYCE Wagyu, it's pretty reasonable. By that i would almost exclusively only order wagyu beef to eat to make it your money's worth.
First off, I tried the extra order of Japanese A5, Australian M6+ and US wagyu beef. I was quite impressed with the quality, particularly with the Japanese A5. The marbling is exquisite, very even, and 15 seconds on each side on the grill, plus their sweet soy sauce they suggest you pair with all your beef... it was amazing. The beef LITERALLY melts in your mouth - the quality is incredible. I def think this was my favourite, but you can't really scarf these down too much coz they are quite filling!
The Australian M6+ is obviously not as marbled as the A5, but it was still an amazing cut - slightly more spongy/meaty texture but still with a generous amt of melted fat. The US wagyu is actually quite similar to the angus beef... in fact I think I actually prefer the angus beef a little bit more.
Their other meats - chicken was quite nice, the pork belly and sausage were both very good... but what left an impression was their beef toro, miso marinated salmon and the clams. The clams come in a tin just like some of the sides with two holes at the top for steam to escape. the clams were juicy, fresh and delicious! The salmon - i don't normally like to order that for BBQ AYCE... but with the miso - it's amazing - the salmon was still juicy and tasty on the inside and not dry at all! The toro beef is almost like a thin beef brisket cut, with some sweet soy sauce marinade, it can be addictive - the angus beef and this were my favourites among the regular AYCE beef menu.
The sides are nice - the bibimbap egg was a bit tough, but i liked the toppings, the rice was a bit soo soft though (not sure if it's the sauce, but i like the fact it's not a ton of rice). The soba noodles were great in taste, but could use a bit more al dente. I don't normally eat lamb, but the little bit I did try, it was well seasoned - i think you would probably enjoy the lamb chops too if you're a lamb lover.
Another highlight for a side, is their kimchi soup - it's quite different from miso soup, i liked that it was unique, it's almost like a tomato based kimchi soup - it's got a nice hint of spice but at the same time the sweetness of the tomato in the soup really balances out the flavours. I woudl've gotten a second bowl if i didn't have to leave room for food!
Their drinks menu - I tried the superfruit tea and the mango yakult. Both were AMAZING! the mango and yakult go really well together - their strawberry one is also just as good. The superfruit tea is sweet and refreshing - almost like a cold version of a fruit tea you get at a BBT shop. I would like it a bit less sweet, but otherwise it was great and i ate the fruit inside :) I also had one of their alcoholic drinks - the yuzu honey and sojo presse - it was fizzy with a nice hint of grapefruit and soda :)
However, their dessert needs a bit of an upgrade. hence the 0.5 star off - however I know they only opened 2 months ago, so hopefully as the restaurant gets steady, they might consider opening up the menu more for this section. each customer gets 1 melona as a dessert.. for an AYCE i honestly expected at least something else that can be an AYCE item.
Def will come back again :)
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