We were invited to the grand opening of Mitasu Charcoal Yakiniku in Banawe last week and we enjoyed our meaty meal.
Mitasu Charcoal Yakiniku is located right beside Macao Imperial Tea in Banawe. It is brought to you by the Fredley Group, the same people behind Macao Imperial Tea.
Parking is available, and parking is shared with Macao Imperial Tea, although there might not be enough parking space if a lot of customers come in, like for a party. But generally for every day, there should be enough space.
MITASU CHARCOAL YAKINIKU
So what’s cool about this place? The restaurant actually houses both Shabu-Shabu Ichiban and Mitasu Charcoal Yakiniku. Then for dessert, you can just walk over to Macao Imperial Tea. One-stop location! Great if you’re lazy about having to drive to another place and having to park again just for dessert.
Upon entering, you can choose to go to the shabu-shabu side, or to go to the yakiniku side. The shabu-shabu side has a raised area that’s set up Japanese-style, where guests sit on the “floor”. Since we’ve already tried Shabu-Shabu Ichiban before at their Circuit Makati branch, we opted for the yakiniku, which is located in the right side of the restaurant.
We were shown to our table, and we picked the Yakiniku Set – Special Assorted BBQ Set that has choice-cut meat platter with US Boneless Short Ribs (P1,600, good for 4 persons). We were asked what kind of meats we wanted – beef, pork, chicken or some combo of those. We chose pork and beef.
The Yakiniku sets already come with rice, soup, iced tea, and some side veggies. 🙂
One of the staff came and put hot charcoal into our table grill. Unlike most Korean BBQ places that use a gas grill, Mitasu Charcoal Yakiniku actually uses charcoal.
This is our Special Assorted BBQ Set:
Actually, I don’t know what parts the meats are. It was their grand opening and everyone was busy, so I didn’t want to bother anyone just to ask. In any case, they were still delicious, especially the redder, marbled beef cuts near the lower right. J loves his beef, and he really enjoyed the meats.
The meats are served raw, some are seasoned/marinated, and you can cook them however you like it – rare, medium rare, well-done, etc… Some cuts like bacon-looking cuts are best cooked until toasty. Pork should be cooked really well. For the better cuts of beef, you can cook them rare or medium rare. 🙂
I liked the sweet sauce mixed with a small amount of the spicy sauce:
We had a great time cooking and eating the meats, and when we left, we did not smell like barbecue! This is very rare, and something I had to mention. We were going somewhere else after and I did not feel oily, sticky or smoky. Even though J was doing most of the grilling, I was still seated at the same table and I did not feel icky at all after the meal. Normally, in other Korean bbq places, we would smell like barbecue and feel sticky when we left the restaurant.
SUMMARY
If you’re looking for some place new for Korean or Japanese barbecue, check out the newly opened Mitasu Charcoal Yakiniku. They use charcoal for their grill, unlike most places which only use a gas grill.
It’s not as affordable as some of the Korean bbq buffets, however, you get better quality meats here compared to the limited selections at the Korean bbq buffets. As for the size of the set, 500g is supposed to be good for 4 people, but for 2 meat lovers, it was a little bitin, but it’s enough if you’re not targeting to be really full like super busog. You can choose to order another meat platter though. For people with regular appetites, or who are not that into meat, it might be enough for 2.
We also did not smell like barbecue after our meal, which is a huge plus, especially if you are planning to go somewhere else after the meal. 🙂
Parking is available, and you can easily choose to have Shabu-Shabu instead, or just walk over to Macao Imperial Tea for dessert.
Mitasu Charcoal Yakiniku – Banawe
Fredley Banawe Complex
780 Banawe Street, Quezon City
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitasubanawe/
