Are you an avid fan of Japanese and Korean cuisine? Just yesterday, we went to try out this newly opened Yawara Jakarta together with Hans and his sister. Located on Jalan Cibitung (South Jakarta), Yawara seems to be aiming for Japanese and Korean food lovers with a variety of premium US and Japanese meats available on their menu. Yawara has been opening for five days now, but they have no signage in front of the restaurant. However, you can easily follow your GPS and search for the restaurant name in the Waze apps. And, there’s a small cake shop named Tivi which located right next to this restaurant; it will help you recognize the Yawara restaurant.
The restaurant was very quiet, yet the calm and warm atmosphere with a minimalist Japanese touch quickly make us relax and feel comfortable. But, I don’t understand why they put the Brompton-road (Harrods London) as part of the wall decoration on the 2nd floor. There are tables for shabu-shabu and sushi bar available on the first floor, but because they are not ready for the menu, then we’re directed to sit on the second floor.
Well, just like in other Korean restaurants, here, they also serve us with some side dishes; Fresh vegetables as meat wrap with gochujang on the side, shredded squid, and tongue with curry sauce. By looking at their menu, we realized that Yawara provides a combination of Korean and Japanese food. The main products, of course, is the US Beef and Australian Wagyu Beef, including Prime Kuroge Wagyu (Japan) but they also offer classic Korean favorites ranging from Japchae, Kimchi, Sundubu Jjigae, Jijimi, Salad, Vegetables, Bibimbap, and Korean noodles with prices starts from IDR 40K to IDR 890K.
For starters, we chose Yawara Salad (IDR 35K), served with a drizzle of garlic and simple Korean dressing. It’s that simple, but it tasted fresh and delicious! And for the drink, we chose Iced Lemon Tea (IDR 25K) and Hot Ocha (IDR 20K).
Yawara Kuroge Yukhoe (Prime Kuroge Steak Tartare), IDR 178K
Yukhoe is actually a Korean version of steak tartare which Yuk means meat, and Hoe means raw dishes. The Japanese chef who served this dish on our table explained that they use the most tender part of the beef. Thinly sliced of raw beef, served with a raw egg, and sliced of pear, and he mixed them together before serving. I was amazed after I tried the dish, because it tasted surprisingly good! There’s no strange or fishy smell at all, the seasoning smells good, slightly salty, but perfectly paired with the sweetness of the pear. Best to eat and wrap them with the nori which available on the side. Gosh, I’m craving for this again!
Sundubu Jjigae, IDR 78K
I love Sundubu Jjigae and always look for this popular Korean stew whenever I come to a Korean restaurant. The Sundubu Jjigae is served in a stone pot, and the portion was quite big. There’s soft tofu, vegetables, and mushrooms inside the soup, and the waitress helped us to mix and cook the raw egg in the soup. It tasted delicious, but I expect the broth can be a bit more spicy, and more complex.
Hot Stone Wagyu Garlic Rice, IDR 92K
The next thing I know, we’re all excited with the Hot Stone Wagyu Garlic Rice, which comes with sliced of wagyu and egg on top, including garlic and sliced of scallion beside it. They told us that we should mix them and let the hot stone bowl cook them. The beef was tasty, and the garlic made it even more fragrant. And the best part is the bits of rice gets crisp after that. So yummy!
Prime Wagyu Karubi (Well-marbled Short Rib), IDR 230K
Wagyu beef is known for its marble, that’s why we ordered this from the menu. The beef looked beautiful on the plate, and again, the server helped us to grill the meat. When I take my first bite of this meat, oh my goodness. It was so tender and juicy, literally melt in my mouth yum. The beef was so tasty, to stand on its own without dipping. But if you like, you can also dip it with black pepper, salt, yuzu, or and even Gochujang (fermented red chili pepper paste) after grilling.
US Prime Tan Shio, IDR 185K
We also tried the US Prime tongue in shio sauce. Given only briefly over the fire, the grilled thinly sliced beef tongue at Yawara became another favorite that night. Soft and firm, full of flavor, we loved it!
Homemade Green Apple Sorbet, IDR 30K
To finish off the meal, we had the Green Apple Sorbet. It’s homemade, a bit sour and tangy at first, but tasted sweet at the after taste. Then each one of us got complimentary desserts too, “it’s already in the package” the waiter said. It was such a sweet and refreshing way to end the meal.
From this visit, what I enjoyed the most was the Yawara Kuroge Yukhoe, Prime Wagyu Karubi, and US Prime Tan Shio. Overall, it was a wonderful dinner at Yawara Jakarta, but a little expensive. Lucky we got 20% off discount from the opening promotion, yay! The waiter said the discount is valid until May 2017, you better hurry!
Yawara Jakarta Japanese Private Dining
Jl. Cibitung IV No.32, Petogogan, Kebayoran Baru (South Jakarta)
Opening Hour: Lunch: 11.30am-3pm / Dinner: 6-10pm
Price: IDR 40K – IDR 890K
Phone: +62 21 7203789 / Reservation: 081808484333
