Wagyu and Rice @ City Junction Penang — Restaurant in George Town

Second visit. During my first visit, I was satisfied with the burger. Although it was on the expensive side, which raised my expectations, I thought they did a good job replicating a Japanese-style burger. However, the amount of sauce or seasoning was so little that it was difficult to dip, and using a spoon to scoop it out felt inconvenient. The meat was so tender that it broke apart easily, making it hard to dip into the sauce, and the sauce dish didn’t seem to fit well with the meal. But considering the taste and service, I thought it was worth having occasionally.

Today, on my second visit, I was honestly disappointed. The difference was quite noticeable, especially since I had fond memories from the first time. I ordered medium-well, but the inside felt undercooked. It seemed more like an issue with the patty mixture or ingredients rather than the heat. The inside had a porridge-like texture, and I couldn’t enjoy the chew. The meat itself was quite bland, making the sauce absolutely necessary, but it was hard to get the sauce on the meat. Adding the egg yolk on top only made the flavor even milder. Overall, the dish was bland and undercooked, so I left some of it unfinished.

I think the patty mixture was too moist. The patty needed to be a bit saltier and cooked more thoroughly or made less wet. The cabbage salad had a slightly bitter taste. The miso soup was still good, and the rice was nice, and the service was polite, but I was left disappointed.

I ordered a double patty, but by the time I ate the second patty, it had gone cold. It’s hard to enjoy a patty that hasn’t cooled properly. There were also some tough bits in the patty that I had to spit out, which I think were sinews.

Given that restaurants like this are rare in Penang, it felt even more disappointing today. I hope to have a delicious burger here again...

📍WAGYU AND RICE, 2nd floor City Junction, Penang. Currently opened in town, the branch of KL Wagyu & Rice resto. A Japanese resto on 2nd floor of City Junction 2A Atrium; side by side lot and same owner of resto Tsukiji Sushi (at left side) & HUT (another lot). Long counter table for 8 pax with individual Barbeque plate. Chef will do the grill for Hamburg or Beef slices; other dishes will be served warm from kitchen. Friendly and helpful staffs; informative about menu and food served. Signature dishes and Ala carte, one menu comes together with set of rice & miso soup that refillable, sauces, condiments and sorbet. Tasty food, uniquely curated by Chef especially the Hamburg. No take away since they want serve all dishes fresh and warm. No reservation, only walk in guests. Very recommended !

⭐️ Gyu Hamburg Set RM38.80: served with rice & soup (refillable), salad and sauce. Succulent minced beef, delicious and served with topping of imported egg yolk. Love the sauce of chilli w/ lemon, soyu w/ wasabi & mustard, green chilli and mix chilli powder, garlic crumble & apple chutney. Yummy! ⭐️ Hamburg Cheese RM23.80: the tasty beef burger with cheese sauce as topping. ⭐️ Gyu Kushii Ball RM16.80: 2 sticks of meatball with sweet gravy. ⭐️ Gyu Suji Daikon RM16.80: served warm; beef chunk is so tender w/ daikon & delish sauce. Love it! Repeat it in no time. 🥩 Chuck Short Rib. 40gm RM20.80: 2 slices of beef; grilled for you by Chef. 🥓 Gyu Tongue 40gm RM20.80: 4 slices of beef Tongue, on grill. Chef will ask if u want it to be salted and peppered. ⭐️ Kimchi Miso RM9.80: a nice mild spicy soup with kimchi in it. Love it! 🍵 Green Tea RM3 : served...

I honestly wanted to like this so much. Being a big fan of hamburg rice and feeling quite hungry, I came all the way from Bayan Lepas for dinner. The occupancy of the commercial retail podium isn’t great so it is very quiet and somewhat deserted on a Wednesday evening.

The head server is very professional and shows me to my seat with little hesitation. He advised me of the meal format and components of the set that can be refilled, all the time showing much courtesy, consideration and warmth.

The platter of sides, condiments and presentation are all well composed but portions are noticeably small. I told the young chef I preferred my burger medium as he got to frying it at the counter.

Here’s where things started to go wrong:

The meat was ground too finely, resulting in a pasty, sausage-like texture that lacked bite. The meat had not been properly aged and retained excess moisture. It tasted watery like the patties had been frozen before. The crucial umami, smoky flavor, and caramelization from proper grilling were noticeably absent. The meat patty had been overworked, with the chef compressing it before cooking. This made the patty overly dense. The burgers were bland and should have been lightly seasoned just...