rengaya

rengaya has always been one of the top favourite restaurants of mine and my grandma's immense love for this place can be seen through her constant choice to return here on special occasions.rengayais a japanese restaurant that specialises in yakiniku (bbq), as they use premium ingredients such as australian black cattle and also fresh seafood sashimi. the restaurant's interiors are simple and typical of a japanese dining setting with their shoji screens and you are warmly welcomed in by enthusiasticly friendly staff. to start off, a sip of complimentary, hot japanese green tea to warm yourself! my grandma's must-have entree atrengayais this little dish called namuru ($8.90), which consists of 5 kinds of korean-flavoured vegetables. quite a refreshing entree to start off! the mushrooms are particularl

(1.5/5.0)rengayais an upscale japanese restaurant in north sydney. the posh and contemporary restaurant features an elegant and rustic interior fitted with wooden table tops and lots of greenery. the menu offers a set of typical japanese bbq and an assortment of sashimi.

i ordered a bowl of unagi-mabushi, or a bowl of typical rice served with chopped eel, ginger, shallot and japanese pepper. first, the rice was not the high-grade japonica rice which exudes a naturally sweetness and fragrance. it is extremely disturbing to know that i can eat them easily on street hawkers in singapore and malaysia. second, the eel was simply stale and mushy. there was neither a natural freshness nor texture to the eel.

north sydney is known for its abundance of high quality japanese food andrengayais a perfect example.rengayais a japanese bbq restaurant and  is known for its premium wagyu beef and seafood. this is one of my family’s favourite restaurants and we have been here many times and i will go through our two most recent visits in this post.

as one of our fav jap yakiniku joints for the past decade or so, i have been guilty of not posting a review ofrengayaearlier. we have been here many times during lunch, enjoying their wonderfully prepared lunch boxes and for dinner, usually for their a la carte wagyu diy bbq. after being absent fromrengayafor a while, we had a chance to revisit one late night after attending our monster’s award ceremony at his nearby school.

it was still buzzing w customers close to their pack up time. we were gently cautioned that we only had half an hour to do our thing. it was fine by us as we only wanted a light dinner.

with that in mind, we got the tofu salad 3/5, bonito flakes on top of mixed leaves w properly chilled soft silken tofu, avocado, seaweed, sun dried tomatoes (ugh!) dressed w ponzu like vinaigrette.

wagyu beef tataki salad 2.75/5, no denying the freshness or quality of the beef but this has always been my least fav. i cant get over the acidity of the dressing when paired with the richness of the beef.

salmon n kingfish sashimi 3.25/5, best to enjoy this at lunch as they are priced lower but retaining the same quality. they ran out of salmon belly which was disappointing.

chirashi bowl, i didnt get to try but was told it was ok. small bowl though.

if you are here for their yakiniku n you are a beef eater, go a la carte, order the wagyu short rib for melt in your mouth beef or wagyu chuck rib/oyster blade for a bit of texture or the less exxy wagyu special beef rib (still quite melt in your mouth) or the less exxy wagyu rib finger (for texture). pair w either the takana or salmon flake rice n a good sake, you’ll be set for the night.

rating is based on wagyu yakiniku quality.

i have eaten at this restaurant for years, and tonight was by far the worst experience i have ever had. our dinner service was meant to be from 5:30pm-7:00pm. we ordered promptly by 5:45pm - but from then on, every 10 minutes we were continuously harassed by a waitress called 'susan' who felt the urge to remind us that we needed to vacate by 7pm - not only did she almost injure my children by lifting up the hot plates with such brashness that all of us had to jump out of the way, she snapped back when we asked about the status of the ponzu sauce, 20 minutes after the meat was served (the sauce is an accompaniment to the meat). it cost $550 for this meal, to feel belittled, embarrassed and rushed for an occasion meant to celebrate fathers day. we paid the bill at 6:59pm. kfc had a better customer experience for $5.50 . avoidrengayalike the plague.

well.... a lot of people sayrengayais one of the best japanese bbq places. in my opinion, not really. i mean if you are into marbled beef meat, you might like this place. i think it's bit pricy and rip off. marbled meat was tender but they were too fatty (of course) and rich for me and i had to say i didn't enjoy that much. it's good to try it out if you've never tasted marbled meat but otherwise i think it's not worth what you are paying for. services and atmosphere are good though.

dine in experience was super disappointed. we had order sashimi,bbq and soba. however, we had waited for 30 mins for our bbq to come and another 20min for our soba to come. i don't understand why raw meat and basic dishes like soba would take 30mins to prepare. if this is the service thatrengayacan provide, i wonder how can u qualified yourself as australia' s first and finest bbq restaurant. indeed, waiters ofrengayaare unqualified, u need to remind them for several times before they can bring you your drinks. don't give us reason like today is busy, if you can't cope with all ur orders, then don't open such a big restaurant. a real high quality restaurant should not put profit making as their first priority. for me,rengayais not worth trying, and me and my friends are all very disappointed.

in contrast to the surrounding high-rise offices, the entrance ofrengayais unmistakably japanese with the door guarded by a pair of traditional samurai armour suit. that’s not where the authenticity ends. stepping intorengayawe instantly felt the mundane daily grind drain away and mentally we were strolling down hanamikoji dori in gion hoping to catch a glimpse of a geisha. the decor is a fine effort to recreate true japanese dining ambience.

i started coming to this restaurant with my family when it first opened. yakiniku (japanese bbq) was not commonplace (nor was korean bbq), so the concept of grilling your own meat at the table was quite novel at the time. however what we really came for was the wagyu beef. back then,rengayaboasted that they sourced export quality australian wagyu that would generally be shipped straight to places like japan and never reach australian dining tables. of course this came at a price, and back in the early noughties, it would usually cost in the vicinity of $50 to $70 pp for my family of 5 to eat here. we were always well looked after, especially by the manager at the time, shiro.

the restaurant's decor hasn't changed at all since they opened, but unfortunately - like their (once) affiliated(?) restaurants, koh-ya and suminoya - their menu has gone the way of the buffet. the restaurant now appears to be mostly geared towards serving lower cuts of meat on an all you can eat basis. i believe they charge about $86 pp for 90 minutes.

the idea of bbq buffet has never really appealed to me, and the main draw ofrengayahas always been their 7-9+ score 'premium' wagyu. premium wagyu is still available on the menu, but at a higher cost than ever before. whether this is due to pure greed or a sheer lack of demand for premium cuts due to most customers opting for the buffet option, i don't know. i do however feel like $150+ pp for a wagyu 'amusement' each (a tasting plate of premium wagyu), sashimi, a few accompaniments and a small carafe of low-mid range sake is way too expensive on principle.

i understand that customers' demands change over the years, but i miss the days whenrengayawas a bustling, family friendly restaurant focused on offering an a la carte selection of premium wagyu at a moderate price point. as the saying goes, nothing gold can stay.

given the wide array of japanese food in sydney, it’s proving to be a challenge as foodies unite to try and rank all the different restaurants. many restaurants delve into fusion, or try really hard to come out with innovative creations, butrengayais none of that, staying true to its japanese culture, thus i highly recommend it to anyone who’s in for an authentic japanese experience.

if there's one place in sydney to go to for yakiniku (or, as it's commonly referred to, japanese bbq), it'srengayain north sydney. having been open since 1993, it was the first authentic japanese bbq restaurant to open in australia, and has since been an iconic destination for meat and seafood lovers alike.

we visitrengayaoften for business lunches and dinners.

the sashimi is always fresh and the wagyu cuts are tender and flavoursome.

service is friendly but it can get quite busy so sometimes it's a bit hard to get the attention of service staff.

recommended dishes are sashimi and any bbq wagyu. scampi sashimi is a must try, and ask for the scampi heads to be used for miso soup.

if you think ofrengayaas a wagyu specialist, and design your meal around beef, you certainly won’t leave disappointed. take your mouth on a journey through eight different textures of beef, starting with premium wagyu ‘yukke’ ($33.80). 'yukke' is the japanese spelling of the korean raw dish ‘yukhoe’, and combines premium grade beef tartar with a mix of egg yolk, sesame oil, garlic and finely chopped shallots that ensures it slides down your throat.for something a little more toothsome, premium wagyu beef sashimi ($23.90/6 pieces) is the perfect way to examine the grade 9+ wagyu’s fat marbling and flavour, against a smear of freshly grated wasabi and soy.it’s also the perfect excuse to crack into quality sake, like the pretty kuromatsu hakushika gouka sennenjyu junmai daiginjyo ($43/300ml).refresh your palate with a couple of korean vegetable selections: assorted kimchi ($9.90) and namuru ($9.90) of blanched, seasoned and dressed vegetables, both work nicely to prepare your palate for the meat onslaught...

february 29, 2016do fork, north sydneyauthentic, bbq, beef, casual dining, japanese, wagyuleave a comment. a recent invitation by washoku lovers brought us torengayanorth sydney, me and my long time bestie. last time we were here, was a japanese cultural high school excursion in year 12(?!) which was …too long ago. in 2016,rengayais still in the same corner, north sydney still has the same bustle, and my date, is still the same gal with a few more laugh-lines under her small beady eyes :p.

hands down my number one japanese bbq in sydney. most bbq restaurants means you'll be walking out smelling like smoke but the ventilation inrengayais incredible. the wagyu here literally melts in your mouth and the service is great. just note that this place is a little bit more exxy than other japanese bbq places in sydney but is worth it!