In light of COVID-19, we encourage diners to take precautions when going out. You can also support your favourite restaurants by getting takeaway and delivery.
Yakiniku Like couldn't land in Hong Kong at a better time. This yakiniku specialist, with more than 50 restaurants across Asia, seems to have been designed with the pandemic in mind. There are two main draws to the very affordable brand: smoke-free individual grills (with bigger tables scattered throughout the eatery) and an app-based contactless ordering and payment system. We’re fans of both.
Yakiniku Like interior
Contactless ordering
The well-stocked stations for solo yakiniku–ists come with all you need to grill to your heart’s content (the cutlery, chopsticks and napkins can be found inside a handy-dandy drawer). Diners can control the temperature of their grill at the touch of a button. We love the smoke-free design of the grills (there’s nothing we dislike more than our clothes smelling like they joined us for our BBQ feast).
If you’re a sauce nerd like us, you’ll be spoilt for choice with Yakiniku Like’s sauce selection. We particularly recommend the house BBQ, which makes for a good sweet-salty match for all the heavy grilled meats. The spicy miso sauce and Korean chilli sauce are for the spice fiends out there, though we found the miso sauce a bit tame. The HK-exclusive sesame sauce is on the sweet side.
All meats can be ordered à la carte, but we recommend going big (or going home) with a set menu, of which there are eight choices. Each comes with a big bowl of rice, miso soup and either kimchi or a green salad (we recommend the kimchi, which nicely cuts through the richness of the meat) and can be ordered in various sizes, from 100g to 300g (we think the 200g range would suit most diners).
Above, we have the bestseller in Japan, the Like set ($90/150g or $115/250g), which gives you three yakiniku superstars with a range of textures and flavours: beef tongue (tip: squeeze some lemon over after grilling), outside skirt and beef short plate.
The Trio set ($75 for 150g or $105 for 300g) is a good one to try if you want to sample some other meats in addition to beef. It includes beef short plate, pork jowl and chicken thigh. You read that right – the smaller set is priced at under $80, which is amazing value for money.
The Wagyu steak set ($158 for 120g or $198 for $180) is the priciest of the lot, but the quality of the meltingly tender Australian Wagyu is hard to fault at those prices.
Verdict
We’re sure queues will form in no time for Yakiniku Like – Hong Kongers love their barbecue AND all things Japanese, especially at these crazy-good prices for generous portions.
If you want an even better deal, the restaurant is offering a grand opening promotion from 14–15 January that gives you a 200g karubi set (aka beef short plate or short rib) for just $29! This promotion is limited to 100 sets each day, and you must first get a redemption ticket from 10am or 2pm at the restaurant. Why $29, you ask? Well, in Japanese, the pronunciation of the number 29 (ni-ku) means “meat”. In the future, Yakiniku Like plans to offer special promotions on the 29th of each month.
Shop 408, 4/F, New Town Plaza, Phase I, 18–19 Sha Tin Centre Street, Sha Tin, 3460 5225
This write-up is based on a complimentary media tasting provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.
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