Yaoki 八起居酒屋

As we craved for Izakaya in Johor Bahru, Yaoki was recommended by our dear Mr Google. The eating place was not very obvious as they are located up at level 2 via a flight of stairs, just above the Japanese Convenience Mart (P Mart).

Yaoki

The entire place was huge. The entire dining environment gave an old-fashioned Japanese Dining place with its wooden brown furnishing and down-to-earth decorations. 

Near Entrance

Their staff were attentive to customers' needs and friendly. 

Dine with 

Dining there gives a bit of privacy with some wooden partitions in between the tables. Besides the open dining area, there are also private rooms.  

Table of 4

They also have bar counter seating too. 

Bar Counter Seating

While dining in Yaoki, I noticed that there were many Japanese Patrons too. The Warm lighting and bookcases of Japanese Manga add more atmosphere as though we were in Japan. 

Dining Environment

The steamed egg custard is often known as Chawanmushi in Japanese was smooth and silky. Since this is our first dish, it had kind of set the standard of Japanese Food as a benchmark in our mind.

Chawanmushi - RM 6

Beside having a wide variety of cooked food, their range of Sushi availability is impressive too. I had the Sakura Sahimi E all to myself with raw Swordfish, Salmon and Tuna.

Sakura Sashimi E - RM 68

We were served typically with soy sauce for dipping as well as wasabi. 

Salmon

The raw fish are fresh and come with relatively thick slices. 

Tuna

Here comes my favourite swordfish sashimi, the texture of the fish was good and I'm glad that they did not disappoint. 

Sword Fish

The Chilled Chasoba came in a generous bundle topped with shredded seaweed. The Chasoba sauce came with garnishing like wasabi, radish, spring onions and quail egg.

Chasoba - RM 16

Assorted Deep Fried Seafood & Vegetables. The plate came with 3 prawns, lady fingers, shitake mushroom and fish meat. Love that it was hot and not greasy. 

Tempura Moriawase -RM 32

Love the done-ness of the slab of grilled beef generously coated with sweet savoury sauce and showered with some black pepper flavours. 

Amiyaki Beef - RM 42

Every piece of Grilled Beef was juicy and packed with flavours. Recommended to order if you can take beef.

Juicy Beef

Their Skewers got me paused for a moment. It is quite usual that we see a lemon wedge on the plate but what threw a surprise to us was a dollop of sambal chilli, what a local-infused dish I thought! The Shitake Mushrooms are soft and come 3 in a stick.

Shitake - RM 10

The Pork Meat Roll with Asparagus aka Asupara Butaniku Maki comes in 2. Love their smoky flavours. Perhaps the Sambal Chilli comes in handy here to enhance some taste to it. 

Pork Meat Roll with Asparagus - RM 14

We ordered the Pork Belly Meat with Salt and leek for it was the first item that was illustrated on their menu.

Tonbara Shio - RM 16

The Chicken Skewers were very well spread with Teriyaki sauce, deliciously done with smokey and sweet flavours. 

Yakitori -RM 8

Surume Ika No Oroshi Yaki better known as Squid with Grated Radish. It's simplicity on its own. There are a few variations of Squid dishes to choose from and we choose the plain dish that is topped with Grated Radish and also a dollop of Mayonnaise with a lemon wedge.

Squid with Grated Radish - RM 58

Unagi Kaba Yaki or Eel with Teriyaki Sauce was yummy. It was served on a thin layer bed of shredded eggs and seaweed.

Eel with Teriyaki Sauce - RM 52

Each piece of eel was sweet and savoury. I enjoyed the thin layer of charred crisp on its top layer.

Unagi

The place is very well-staffed and systematic. The food served was quick too. Considering the location and cleanliness, it served as a good place for large group gatherings too as there are a few private rooms. Do make advance reservations.

For taste, I would say it is rather standard and does not have any wow factor.  Nonetheless, it's more to the well-presented dishes and service that score, this will be also a deciding factor in making a return trip here with my pals.

Yaoki 八起居酒屋
Location:  67A, Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia