BBQ joints are not a new thing on our shores.
They've been around for a while- the Koreans with their Korean BBQ, the Japanese with their Yakinikus, the Thais with their dome-shaped mookatas, and the Chinese with their BBQ and hotpot combinations thrown into one.
We've got no lack of choices here.
But there's always room for one more.
I've been seeing them around- these smaller-scale Yakiniku places that cater very well for both the group diners, and the solo eaters.
We paid a visit to the newly-opened Yakiniku GO outlet at Suntec City not too long ago.
The first thing you notice about the place is how bright, structured and neat it is.
There're no kitschy decorations, no fanciful posters on the walls, nothing (very cultural) of the sort.
Just bright lights, neat chairs, brown tables, and cute little square shaped grills.
Much of their menu is (of course) beef, but they have pork, vegetables and salmon too.
We went straight for the beef.
Don't ask me what kind of beef- I don't know- but they were cut thin, each layer had a nice strip of fat, and all of them came drizzled with some kind of dark, sweet sauce.
I think one of the meats was a wagyu.
It was all very good- the flame was hot, and we had a marvelous time grilling the meats in some sort of comfortable rhythm where we moved easily from the tongs to the chopsticks to the spoon.
We took turns to work the grill.
One cooked, one ate.
One ate, one cooked.
In front of us were the condiments.
There was a saucer of sweet sauce with a little bit of chili.
There was a saucer holding a cube of butter which we had ordered because butter and meat can make for an unusual combination, and we wanted to try.
At the next table, someone was waiting for their order of salmon to be cooked.
It was interesting- here at Yakiniku GO they don't place the fish directly on the grill. Instead they serve it in a little tray like the kind used in frozen pound cakes, and you just chuck the whole tray straight onto the grill.
There's- literally- nothing for you to do, except maybe poke some holes in the butter (already inside the tray) and rearrange the fish.
Same thing happens when you make an order of vegetables.
They come in the rectangular-shaped pound cake tray which you simply put on the grill, then wait for it to heat up so your butter can melt to cook your vegetables, and in the meantime you can stir the mushrooms about a little bit, or rearrange them in a neat row if you're super restless and want to kill time.
Nevertheless, whether it be grilling the meats, wrapping the meat in the lettuce, or swirling the mushrooms around in the tray to soak up the butter, having a meal at Yakiniku GO can be a really great time.
I appreciate the variety as much as I appreciate the fact that I can have a meal here with family, friends, or all by myself.
It doesn't feel awkward.
Particularly since the place, the portions, and even the service have all been designed (expansion-pack) style this way.