Sushi and sashimi might be top of mind when it comes to Japanese cuisine, but this new diner in Guoco Midtown sets out to bring Japanese grilling techniques to the forefront of its menu. Setsuri Ishinomaki houses an impressive grill section that showcases four traditional types of grilling in Japanese cooking – genshiyaki, warayaki, robatayaki, and rogama.
Perhaps the most undiscovered of the bunch is genshiyaki, which sees ingredients skewered into bamboo sticks and then stuck into a base of mokuhai (wood ash) imported from Kagoshima. This form of slow cooking coaxes out the natural flavours of the ingredients, whether it's prawns slathered with the joint’s secret seafood sauce ($12 per piece), or a succulent slab of honey miso salmon ($24). Another primitive method of grilling you’ll find here is warayaki, where remaining dry stalks from the autumn rice harvest in Kochi prefecture are burnt and used for grilling to impart a distinct smokiness to the dishes. Under this section, try dishes like the wagyu wara tataki ($48) and the hon maguro toro tataki ($48). Do note that these special forms of grilling also come with an extra waiting time, so if you’re stopping by for a quick lunch, the Shokado bento (from $38) might be a better option.