Have you ever heard of “restaurantainment”, a new F&B trend where dining and modern entertainment go hand in hand? I was intrigued by this new concept, so we found ourselves at the newly opened Rocku Yakiniku Buffet @ Pavilion KL that spreads over 3,500 sq. ft at the new Dining Loft on Level 7 of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.
Apart from that, Rocku Yakiniku Buffet @ Pavilion KL offers buffet style Japanese BBQ at a very reasonable pricing:
Lunch between 11.00 am and 5.00 pm at RM39.90++ for 100 minutes buffet (children get 50% off).
Dinner between 5.00 pm and 10.00 pm at RM49.90++ for 100 minutes buffet (children get 50% off).
Note: For each additional 20 minutes, RM9.90 ++ applies.
Apart from beers, Rocku Yakiniku offers an extensive list of Japanese sake.
Once we entered the vicinity of the restaurant, it felt like we were being transported to a beer garden in Japan. The decor is uber cool and funky – with graffiti adorning the concrete brick wall on one side, and another side there is various panels wallpapered with Japanese manga pages. The bright pops of colour mixed in with the industrial-like structure works really well against each other, setting up a fun but casual ambience.
The entertainment is happening right in front of everyone’s eyes. Even if you are not seated ‘strategically’, there is one large projector screen available for your viewing pleasure.
These are the live performance schedule;
Wednesday to Friday – 7pm onwards
Saturday and Sunday – 1 – 4pm and 7pm onwards
Salad and cold dishes such as chukka idako, seaweed, etc.
Fried rice, fried noodles, chawan mushi
Mushrooms, assorted vegetables, fried dumplings, grilled fish
Egg roll, fried chicken, bacon wrapped with enoki mushrooms, Japanese curry
While waiting for our friends to arrive, we helped ourselves with some greens, cold dishes, fried rice, noodles dishes and fried stuffs at the buffet bar. The selection was good, and we loved the fried chicken and bacon roll with enoki mushroom especially.
Rocku Yakiniki also takes pride in their selection of dipping sauces: ponzu, spicy miso, chili sauce and also their very own sauce. We think that the spicy miso sauce goes really well with meat while the ponzu sauce complements most of the fresh seafood selection.
For our first round of order, we were served with a platter of seafood, beef (imported from Australia and New Zealand) and pork. If you happen to have any dietary restrictions or personal preferences, remember to notify the serving staffs beforehand.
We normally leave a yakiniku or BBQ place with our clothes positively reeking of a meat-and-charcoal smell. This is not the case in Rocku Yakiniku. It is because Rocku Yakiniku has a revolutionary suction system under each grill that does the job pretty amazingly. I like how real charcoal pits is used, which infuses those splendid cuts of meat with a hint of smokiness that one just can’t get from a gas grill.
The seafood selection includes butter fish, salmon, prawn, scallop, squid, mussel and shishamo. We had no complains as the seafood was fresh and succulent with simple marination.
The beef platter consists of chicken thigh, rib eye, and beef strip loin with enoki mushrooms. The tendency in Japanese cooking to place importance on the actual flavor of the ingredients is reflected in yakiniku; which is why marinating is often kept to a minimum. The beef slices were tender and juicy but remember not to overcook them.
Various parts of pork can also be added to the same wire mesh grill. Our order of pork platter came with finely sliced pork belly, bacon and collar. The pork belly with its nice ratio of fat and lean meat was my favorite part.
For round two of our order, we had more seafood especially the scallops, salmon cubes and prawns. I loved the rich, sweet flavor and delicate texture of the scallops. We could not resist sipping on the remaining of scallop juice and gravy on the shell!
Finally we found a place that combines great food with outstanding live entertainment! The live band that night was out of this world. They can play anything from rock and pop to something a little mellower
Dining at Rocku is a lot of fun. We enjoyed sitting at the long, communal tables where we made friends with strangers, downed some beers while barbequing meat. The buffet with a good selection of fine quality meat is a steal for RM 39.90++ (lunch) and RM 49.90++ (dinner). The live entertainment was also very interactive.
Rocku Yakiniku – Japanese Charcoal Grill
Dining Loft @ Level 7.01.03
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang
Tel: 03-2148 8884
Business hours: 11am – 10pm daily
