Aburi-EN, the eatery known for its quality yet affordable Japanese flame-grilled meat dishes, has recently widened its Teppan Series menu to include premium beef cuts. It has also introduced a weekday lunch deal that comes with a free miso soup and appetiser, all the way till 5pm.
Aburi-EN’s outlet at Isetan Scotts. Photo © Fen Chia.
Previously, Aburi-EN offered Chicken Steak Teppan (hot plate) dishes for a low price from S$10.90, which continues to be excellent value. With its refreshed menu, diners can also enjoy beef items such as US Black Angus Beef Skirt Steak, Australian Wagyu Hamburg and Chicken, Australian Beef Flank Steak and Australian Beef Striploin Steak for a very affordable S$18.90-S$21.90. Even better, weekday lunchgoers can look forward to a free miso soup and appetiser to add to their meats, which already come with a side of vegetables comprising corn, carrots and zucchini. They can also make their meal even more complete by topping up S$2 for a bowl of Grade A “Nanatsuboshi” premium short grain rice from Hokkaido.
Aburi-EN’s new beef teppan items. Photo © Fen Chia.
For those not inclined to cooking their own food, do not fret as Aburi-EN’s Teppan series arrive at the table already sizzling, and you can increase the doneness by leaving the meats on the heat to develop more char or remove them if you would like them less done.
As a person who loves a good amount of fat in my meat, I headed first for the familiarity of the Australian Beef Striploin Steak Teppan (S$21.90, 160g) which has some marbling and that strip of fat lining the beef that I was looking out for and tasted as succulent and rich as expected.
The Australian Beef Striploin Steak Teppan. Photo © Fen Chia.
Meanwhile, the combination option of Australian Wagyu Hamburg (100g) and Grilled Chicken Thigh Teppan (S$19.90) allows one to enjoy both types of meats, perfect for those who are unable to decide between beef and chicken. The beef patty was crispy outside and juicy within, while the chicken had a wonderfully crisp skin and succulent flesh underneath, with none of the off-putting layer of fat in between that I’m afraid of in lower quality meats. This option is also child-friendly and easier to chew.
The Wagyu Hamburg and Grilled Chicken Thigh Teppan. Photo © Fen Chia.
Any order of a Beef Teppan main at Aburi-EN allows you one choice of a sauce. Choose from the Wafu Onion, Signature Yakiniku or the Yuzu Yakiniku, with the latter featuring an additional punch and acidity from the citrus to complement the meat. I would skip the less exciting Okinawa Salt as the meats were already salty enough on their own.
Each Beef Teppan mains order comes with a choice of one sauce – or salt. Photo © Fen Chia.
Aburi-EN also offers the relatively less common skirt and flank cuts, in the form of the US Black Angus Beef Skirt Steak Teppan (S$18.90, 160g) and the Australian Beef Flank Steak Teppan (S$19.90, 160g) for beef buffs.
As a person more familiar with plain old sirloin or ribeye, I was pleasantly surprised to find these leaner cuts could be more flavourful. While they are tougher to chew on due to more muscle fibres, the beefiness emerges the more you bite. It is not easy to tell the difference without cutting through the steaks, though flank is usually thicker and its muscle fibres run down its length, while the muscles fibres in a skirt steak run across its width and it typically contains more fat than the flank. Aburi-EN could be a good opportunity to try these cuts, as most of them go straight to restaurant kitchens rather supermarkets, and it is tricky and takes more skill to cook them well at home.
Black Angus Beef Skirt Steak Teppan. Photo © Aburi-EN.
Beef Flank Steak Teppan. Photo © Aburi-EN.
Aburi-EN’s Teppan series are available at all its outlets except for Paragon and Orchard Central, though it has extensive menus across its different outlets. More information about Aburi-EN can be found here.
