Dubai: Pork barbecue at Yuraku

It’s been a long time since my last visit to Asiana Hotel. I had a disappointing experience with their Friday buffet, and I haven’t felt like going back since then. Though when Shinae told me about a Tuesday night All-you-can-eat Pork BBQ at the Japanese restaurant Yuraku at Asiana, I was all ears.

We quickly gathered the rest of the gang, so we were 8 people in total for dinner yesterday. We were seated in one of the private dining rooms, which double as karaoke rooms, so after a while, our neighbors started singing K-Pop karaoke. It was really loud, but fortunately, they were ok singers. Our table had a built in grill, so we cooked the meat ourselves. The only pork cuts available were rather fatty slices of pork belly, but they’re also the best for bbq. Chinese hotpot (or was it Japanese Shabu-Shabu?) was also included in the price, and came with a wider range of ingredients, but most of us were there for the pork, so we left the hotpots untouched.

The barbecue was great value for money, but the drinks were quite expensive. For 2 cans of coke and a beer I paid 79AED, which is almost nightclub price.  If you’re planning on having a couple of beers with your meal, then Sonamu’s Korean BBQ night on Tuesdays and Saturdays is probably a better option.

The restaurants at Asiana Hotel used to have a loyal fan base among the Koreans and the Japanese expats in Dubai, but nowadays, they seem to be catering primarily to the Filipino expat community. Recently, the Filipino restaurant Manila Grill opened at Asiana, and the hotel is also home to the popular Filipino nightclub Boracay. Outside Yuraku, there was a big poster promoting Filipino Street Food themed nights. Looked like a nice concept, which I’m definitely going to check out soon.

Yuraku, Asiana Hotel, Salah Al Din Street, Deira, Dubai