Gyu-kaku (牛角)

Resolutions always come with a new year.  My popular and common ones are as usual, exercise more, consume calories worthy food only, and travel to new places.  The new one I am adding to my mix this year is to eat more veggies.  Eventually I want to become a vegetarian (for religious reasons) but I love meat too much to give it all up at once.  In fact, I am having a "Gai Lan" (芥蘭) diet tonight for dinner.  (Random note: do you prefer the stems or the leaves?  If you are fond of the leaves, then we can be Gai Lan buddies.  I do not like to eat the leaves on Gai Lan / Choi Sum or any of these types of veggies!)

Judging by the title of this post, I am probably as far away from my vegetarian goal as I can be and you are probably screaming "what a fake hypocrite!" in your head.  Again, I said it 2 sentences ago... I love meat but I am taking baby steps to eat less meat.

Anyhow, for all carnivores out there, here's one of my preferred Japanese restaurants that specialized in grilled beef.  My first experience with them was actually the Chicago branch (yes, this is an international chain) and my favorite dish there - believe it or not - was the garlic fried rice and dorayaki dessert with green tea ice cream and red bean paste.  (Another random note:  I just read Gyukaku Chicago's online menu.  For some odd reason, their menu is more like a Korean BBQ place now than a Japanese Grill restaurant... What the!?  And speaking of Korean BBQ, my favorite place of all time is still Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Grill.  I am drooling just thinking about this place!)

Feels like I get distracted very easily tonight... I blame it on jet lag... LOL.  Alright, back to Gyukaku Hong Kong.  (finally...)  My friend and I went to the Habor City location on one hungry evening.  I forgot if the restaurant accepts reservations but I remembered we did not have a reservation and the lines was ridiculously long... If you hate waiting at restaurants, skip this place.  Or, go on a weekday.(We went on a weekend.)

After hours of waiting, we were starving so we ate a lot!  We even encored on some of our favorites!

Japanese whiskey must-have: Highball

BBQ must-have: Beer

Beer must-have: Edamame

Assorted Vegetables Platter

Thick Cut Beef Tongue
Delicious!

Gyukaku Premium Karubi

Nakaochi Karubi

Marinated Skirt Steak (Harami)
I didn't like this one very much.
The marinate was overpowering.
Can't taste the beef :(

Round 2...

Loved the beef tongue so much decided to encore but tried the thin cut.
The thick cut was better.

Round 2

Bibimbap

A little confusing since this is a traditional Korean dish.
Would have preferred the Garlic Fried Rice but sadly they don't offer :/  (WHY?)
I need rice (carbs) in every meal.
Otherwise, I feel like I am missing something.

Not bad but again, bibimbap is a confused child in a Japanese BBQ restaurant IMHO.

As I left Gyukaku satisfied and stuffed to the throat, I noticed my next target - Mou Mou Club.  I have been dying to eat some real sukiyaki since I came back from Japan.  Sadly, I was quite disappointed when I finally tried this place.  Their version of sukiyaki was basically a soup base for hot pot.  Not exactly what I was expecting but the prices are very reasonable.  Unfortunately, I don't think I will return and my search for delicious and affordable sukiyaki (oxymoron?) in Hong Kong will continue.  (Maybe it will be easier to fly to Japan and indulge instead?)

Gyu-kaku (牛角)
Shop 37B, 3F LCX, Ocean Terminal, Harbor City, Tsim Sha Tsui
尖沙咀海港城海運大廈LCX 3樓37B號舖
Tel: +852 2153 1686
Hours: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm (Last Order 10:30 pm)