Rocku Yakiniku @ Pavilion

I first noticed this place on the 7th Floor, Rocku Yakiniku @ Pavilion, when I dined at Pigs & Wolf a few weeks back.  I could see that there was a perpetual queue at this restaurant at dinner time.  On the recommendation of a friend (and after reading about it from eatdrinkkl), I wasn't going to pass up on this good value-for-money deal.

As I wasn't in favour of queuing up at dinner time, I decided to swing by for their buffet lunch, the benefit of which is you pay only RM32.90++ (instead of RM49.90++ for dinner while children dine at half price).  You also get 50% off all beer.  [#Note: The price for the buffet lunch has since gone up to RM39.90++ while the dinner price remains unchanged (for now).]  The lunch buffet is between 11am - 5pm while the dinner time slots are from 5pm - 10pm.  From the name of this place, it's obvious that this place serves an all-you-can-eat grilled meat, seafood and vegetables.

The only thing you need to know is that you're given 100 mins and additional charges of RM9.90++ will be chargeable for every additional 20 mins thereafter.  You have to finish eating and leave within the 100 mins (you can keep a time check as they conveniently give you a print out of your time in).  This time print out also acts as the bill when you pay at the cashier.

There're also some pre-cooked additional dishes from their buffet spread that you can attack ranging from noodles and rice to grilled saba (mackerel), gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), wakame (seaweed), agedashi tofu, kimchi and more.

Once seated, the server will explain all the "rules" to you.  Drinks are not included in the buffet.  This was our order of Iced Green Tea @ RM3 which comes in a big jar that can easily be shared by two.  The server will start you off with some basic starter platters of chicken, beef, pork and seafood.  On the table, you'd find order chits where you can order further (unlimited) amounts of any meat and seafood you want.

While waiting for our platters to arrive, we checked out the buffet line and got a few items...grilled saba, agedashi tofu, gyoza, fried chicken, kurage (jellyfish) and rice (for sharing).  This turned out to be our first (and only time) at the pre-cooked buffet line.  You can also pick up your vegetables and mushrooms (for grilling) at this buffet line + fruits (apples and oranges) to finish off your meal.

You might also want to grab some sauces for your grilled items.  There are 3 available...chilli sauce, spicy miso and ponzu.  I found the spicy miso to be too salty for my palate and preferred the chilli sauce (for the meat) and ponzu (for the seafood).

First up, the pork platter arrived with pcs of pork bacon, belly and collar (that's what the server said and that's what is also stated on the chits).

The pork bacon was my favourite...and the easiest to cook (no worries of it being overcooked).  Just grill till it's just crispy....and eat!

The pork belly was another hot favourite.  As these are fatty strips, the edges will get charred easily so you have to watch over it...like a hawk ;)

The pork collar was equally yummy.  In short, anything porky is porkilicious good!

Next, we had the beef platter made up of rib eye, striploin and chuck (I think, can't remember what the server said).  When the platter first arrived, I had to request that they reduce the portions as I felt it was too much for 2 people to handle.  Even with the reduced platter, we couldn't finish it.  [#Tip 1: Especially good for big-eaters of meat as these are pretty good quality meat.]

The beef cuts were very tender although you really have to keep an eye on the meat as it takes mere seconds to cook.  Leave it too long and you'd end up with overcooked and chewy beef.

The chicken was a surprise...a surprise in the sense that I liked it as it's usually my least favourite meat when having yakiniku.

I think it was because it came in small shreds, so it was easy to cook and caramelise...you need to just stir it around the wire mesh (like you're doing a stir fry).

Finally, the seafood platter of salmon, butter fish, prawns, mussels, scallops, squid and shishamo arrived but ours came without scallops and shishamo.  Again, the portions were a bit much.

I liked the salmon a lot, it was really fresh and delicate.  The prawns were good too...just a bit more cumbersome to eat.

I didn't like the squid at all...it was rubbery and chewy and I left half unconsumed (we were given like more than 10 pcs of squid).  I'd skip the squid (and probably the mussels too) the next time.

The server attending to us was rather efficient and asked us 2 - 3 times if we wanted any re-orders before I finally obliged.

I enjoyed the salmon the most and hence I asked for an additional order (but this time with butter fish that I didn't get the first time round).  I think we were given about 6 - 8 pcs each of butter fish and salmon.

The butter fish was also very nice...soft and tender but the salmon is still my undisputed champion.

We also had an extra order of pork belly...another 6 - 8 pcs!  We only asked for 2 re-orders but still couldn't finish our food.  My favourites were the beef rib eye, pork bacon and belly and salmon.  I'll be 'wiser' the next time I visit and get specifically the items that I want only (now that I know what I like and what I don't) since I'm not a big-eater.

Be forewarned that extra orders come in rather big quantities (everything seems to come in 6 - 10 pcs of each which looked like they were meant for 4 or more people) and we had a hard time finishing the 2 additional orders.  I wished that they would reduce the portions accordingly for 2 pax.  Because of that, I was too stuffed to even try the scallops and shishamo (if I had ordered that, they'd probably give us another 4 pcs of each again).  [#Tip 2: More ideal if you go in a group of 5 - 6 people coz the portions seemed to be tailored to this group size.  Also, since a 4-seater table shares one burner, more than 4 people will get you 2 burners *wink wink*]

As you can see, we didn't get to cook any vegetables...didn't have time to visit the buffet line again :(  The only thing I had that's remotely close to vegetables was the first serving of enoki mushrooms (cooked in butter) :D

At the beginning of the meal, the charcoal would be incredibly hot, so it would take only seconds to cook the thinly sliced meat...but, after the first hour, the flame eventually slows down and the wire mesh becomes more sticky.  It's 'not-so-uncanny' that this happens so that your food takes a longer time to cook and less food gets cooked...kekeke!!  I did see this group of 'university-going' young men at the table next to us (and boy, can they eat) asking for their wire mesh to be changed (which they did) and additional charcoal (which didn't come).

From my personal experience, the 100 mins time slot flew by sooner than expected.  Although 100 mins is sufficient for one to get fully satiated, I would have liked more time as I'm a slow eater and like to take breaks in-between.  I would have preferred a more leisurely 2 to 2 1/2 hrs time frame (taking into consideration the time needed to do the cooking) though I can also fully understand why it's limited to 100 mins.  [#Tip 3: Great for fast eaters, not so for slow eaters (or elderly people who needs time to digest their food)...wakakaka!  #Tip 4: Also, not ideal for young children who need your undivided attention in getting/feeding them food.  By the time you fuss over them and before you know it, your 100 mins are up :P (plus there aren't any desserts to keep the little ones happy).  #Tip 5: Because of the time constraint, giving the grilled food time to cool is also a luxury we don't have (but I did wait for it to cool), coz eating it too soon is rather 'heaty' for our bodies, so watch out if you have sensitive throats!]

There's also live entertainment for certain days of the week from 7pm....so, if you're not a fan of music performances (or games and magic shows) while eating (like me), it would probably be to your best interest to come for the lunch buffet.

My Personal Opinion

I would say that at RM32.90 RM39.90, it's fantastic value-for-money...even at RM49.90, it's still great value-for-money, taking into consideration the quality and freshness of the meat and seafood you get (and the unlimited quantities that you can have).  Although the variety may be limited, it's still more than enough to keep one happy ;)

If I have just one tiny little pet peeve is that I wished they would adjust the portions more appropriately for 2 pax (and not serve the standard portions for 4 people which is way too much for 2 people to handle).

It's definitely a place that I would return to again when I'm craving for some good-quality wallet-friendly yakiniku (if only the 100 mins could be longer).  This place certainly appeals to the younger crowd coz these young people can really eat + they like the décor and ambience of the place (and maybe the live performances too).  I'm sure you'll have a rocking good time at RockU!

Rocku Yakiniku

Lot 07.01.03 Level 7

Pavilion KL

168 Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2148 8884