Gyu Nami (mostly) does one thing and it does it well – rice bowls. Their signature dish comes with wagyu beef and runny egg, delicately stacked onto a mound of seasoned rice. Enjoy the classic Japanese beef rice bowl in a new, delicious way.

…or so they’d like you to think.

We never did make it to Gyu Nami at Amoy before it closed, but we managed to hit up their Orchard Gateway establishment recently. The space is small – a straightforward rectangle with chairs and tables littered throughout what space they have between the kitchen at the end, and the short reception counter in the front. There are only two major dishes on the menu – the $10+ wagyu beef bowl (large at $13+), and a $12+ unagi don. You can choose to add drinks and/or dessert, and miso soup alongside mochi (+$2+) for a set meal.

Notice I added a + at the end of those prices – it’s generally shorthanded as $10 and $13 when reviewed and listed online, but there is a +10% service charge, no GST at the moment.

We rarely order one dish each and fully did not intend to, but out of mild sheepishness did order the large wagyu beef bowl (ultimately $14.30) to share. I appreciate there wasn’t a fuss about this – in fact, they did kindly give us two spoons straight off the bat.

Their flagship dish comes out well: the cook of the beef and the egg looked good, and everything tasted fresh. The gyudon generally had a light, classic soy miso flavour, and was well-seasoned. If you’re looking for a saucier, heavier taste, this isn’t it – but if you’re looking to primarily enjoy the meaty taste of beef, this is great.

The large gyudon has nine (9) strips of wagyu at a good length. We could tell it was wagyu from the taste and the tenderness, it was easy to bite through and savour with the rice and perfectly-done egg. The rice was well sauced, there weren’t many patches of purely white rice, which was great for sharing.

I really can’t complain about any part of the dish, and I do think it’s worth the price tag (especially when shared). The one downer of the entire affair is that my first receipt included ice green tea, which we did not have, but it was fixed with little fuss. Besides that hiccup, it feels strange to write such a positive review. We’ll be back for sure.
Max rates 4/5