Sydney Food Diary: Musuo, CBD

Who’s a meat-lover? From the team behind the ridiculously delicious ramen restaurant Yasaka Ramen is Musuo Yakiniku, a Japanese BBQ restaurant. It’s one of those rather modern places where you have an electronic menu on the wall that you order from, and if you decide to do the all-you-can-eat buffet ($85), it’s quite a different experience of eating. You can plot the various things you want to eat and try.

But of course, the wagyu beef is the best. We tried it a few different ways, and while I was expecting it to be good, it was even better than that: so tender and fatty and rich and beautiful. And of course grilled on the spot, by you, to your liking.

This beautiful meat doesn’t come cheap. The best quality wagyu is not included in the buffet menu but generous George, the manager, snuck us a plate, I believe, of special wagyu loin (a plate of the special wagyu cuts will set you back between $33 and $83). And while this was the standout (photo at the top), the meat that we ordered through the buffet menu was also delicious. Actually, I really liked the duck.

I’m not sure everyone is used to grilling food themselves at a restaurant, but you’d think with Australia’s BBQ culture, that this might be perfect. It’s a step up from snags from Woolies. This particular buffet has a few rules: don’t order too much (and waste food) or you’ll be charged for it. You can eat all you want and you’ve got two hours to do it.

But you can also get pretty much anything else you’d like too (though you really do need to order per person, for example, one order of mushrooms was really just one or two pieces of mushrooms enough for a bite for one person). The grilled vegetables were also delicious.

The sashimi surprised me how good it was.

I’m always a sucker for deep fried lotus root chips.

What else? The edamame croquettes weren’t as tasty as I’d hoped. We were brought some oysters, very nicely presented.

It was nicely busy on the Monday night we went, a somewhat informal and festive atmosphere, with the grills at the tables and the TV menus, but more formal than some of the Korean BBQ restaurants I’ve been to.

And George left me with a challenge, or a treat, depending on how you see it. I do like steak tartare and enjoyed it when I’ve had it in France, though I admit I like my portions small; it just feels a bit too much, too rich and too raw after a short time.

So, a Japanese version was interesting (on the menu it’s called Wagyu Yukke): I found it a little too salty, and I liked about half or two-thirds of it and then found it a little too much (my better half refused to touch it). Here I’m cheating and trying to cook some of it on top of a cabbage leaf (sacrilege!) which didn’t really work that well.

Ah well. There’s so much to enjoy here if you’re not game to try the steak tartare! This would be a fun place for a special occasion meal, to surprise the foodie in your life (or as I said, the meat-lover), and as a fun group occasion. I recommend it.

We dined as guests of Musou (thanks team!) though of course, the opinions here are my own.

Musou Yakiniku Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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