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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Koh-Ya Yakiniku Japanese BBQ Restaurant, Neutral Bay


Beef loin, beef harami and chicken

Four words that elicit thrill yet terror: all you can eat.

For ninety minutes you can order and eat all you like at Koh-Ya. The seafood and yakiniku buffet will set you back $39.80; 44 different dishes and two desserts may set you back three belt holes or more.


Ox tongue

We revel in the Japanese tavern style atmosphere at Koh-Ya, the front room furnished with a giant fish tank, palm trees, bottles of imported beer lined up on the counter and, for some reason, a bicycle hung on one wall.

The all-you-can-eat option comes with a laminated menu, each option helpfully illustrated with photos. It's all-you-can-order in ninety minutes. Rattling off a gluttony of dishes to our waiter, we're soon feasting on salted edamame soy bean pods, spicy kimchee and salad. Still-frozen prawns are whacked on the grill, joined quickly by marinated beef loin, strips of chicken and paper-thin slices of tender ox tongue.


Chinese cabbage kimchee

A silver foil cup holds buttered corn kernels; another holds chunks of mushroom topped with a triangle of butter. Both are cooked on the grill until corn and mushroom are consumed in a bubbling cesspit of golden sunshine.


Prawn cocktail salad

We continue with grilled sardines, velvety shavings of beef sashimi, marinated octopus and a cod roe and egg porridge. Miso soup and jako rice round out the savouries and tip us well over the edge.


Octopus


Beef sashimi

It's a sad moment when we realise there's no room for yukke (raw tartare of beef), dried ray wings, satsuma-age fish cakes or garlic cloves in butter or sesame oil.


Yakiniku - cooking our meat on the grill


Spinach and almond salad

There's always room for dessert though. A platter of rockmelon slices, orange quarters and a cluster of grapes cleanse the palate.

It clears the way for a soft-serve ice cream cone.

And we all loosen our belts another notch with a sigh.



Koh-Ya Yakiniku Japanese BBQ Restaurant
Shop 1, 9-17 Young St, Neutral Bay, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9904 5036

Lunch
Saturday and Sunday 12.00pm - 3.00pm (last order 2.30pm)

Dinner
Wednesday to Monday 6.00pm-10.30pm (last order 9.30pm)
(closed Tuesdays)

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Japanese yakiniku - Nagoya, Haymarket
Japanese yakiniku - Suminoya, Sydney
8 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 3/11/2008 09:53:00 pm


8 Comments:

  • At 3/11/2008 10:51 pm, Blogger red bean said…

    Aww you finally made it to the one I went to!

    You didn't order chicken ginger rice :p I am so hungry for BBQ now.. the summer gone and no BBQ at all!

     
  • At 3/12/2008 6:41 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi Helen, You mentioned that its $39.80 p/p then you went on to say that you "rattled off orders to the waiter ..." - at the risk of being rather daft, does that mean you went a la carte instead?

    Thanks
    Gobsmack'd

     
  • At 3/12/2008 10:42 pm, Blogger Rachel said…

    Seems liek they included entree and dessert as well. Quite good value .. pity about the 90 minutes though ... I prefer my meals unhurried and can enjoy time with friends :)

     
  • At 3/14/2008 10:15 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    My husband and I were standing in front of this place a couple of weeks ago trying to decide whether to go in or not. The problem (and its not so much of a problem) is that there are so many good places to eat Japanese in Neutral Bay so we went somewhere else. Did you find the 90 minute limit to be rushing at all?

     
  • At 3/14/2008 12:50 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Mmmm, I agree with you, I find that 'all you can eat' is usually code for 'any old cheap junk we can get away with foisting on you'. What you had looked to be good quality, well cooked etc - so was it a la carte, or all you can eat?

     
  • At 3/14/2008 8:35 pm, Blogger yan_ange said…

    I love the Yukke there! I have been there so many times with my family and friends. Always too full at the end! The ox tongue is heaven, prawn cocktail great. The soupy rice, can't remember the name, it's like a chinese porridge is really good. The prawn cocktail salad is great too. Everything is good except for the hurried service. Make sure you are on time otherwise they penalise you by stripping away your allocated 90 minutes.

     
  • At 3/16/2008 4:28 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Red Bean - We ate like crazy but alas, no room for chicken ginger rice.

    We're have a late burst of summer so maybe it's not too late to bring out the barbie?

    Hi Gobsmack'd - Sory I should have clarified. At a lot of Korean/Japanese bbq's you order off a special menu, so it's all-you-can-order within 90min, within reason of course.

    Hi Rachel - The all-you-can-eat menu includes side dishes and 3 desserts. We found 90min was quite enough time though. We were definitely full within 70min.

    Hi Lorraine E - Not at all. 90min doesn't sound like long, but the food arrives relatively quickly. We've done bbq in about an hour before It's not really a rush, and last time we had a late booking so there was no pressure to leave straight away.

    Hi Jax - It was all-you-can- al-la-carte :) I'll have to amend this post so it's clear for everyone :)

    Hi Yan_Ange - We didn't find the service too hurried, and we were here on a Friday night. It can feel a bit "eat and leave please" but then I guess that's how they can afford to have good value all-you-can-eat.

     
  • At 2/11/2011 9:03 pm, Blogger Frank said…

    seen few people confuse about 90min limit, actually you can order as much as you want when last order come, dont have to rush.

    for my experience, 90min pretty much enough...

     

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