Wagyu does not always have to end up as steak. At Pantja Izakaya, its latest limited collaboration with Westholme Wagyu explores the Australian beef through slow cooking, yakiniku, gyukatsu and robata, with a few less expected appearances along the way, including beef fat in dessert and beef tallow in a cocktail.
Pantja has always been the kind of place that starts with good ingredients and lets the cooking take it from there. That makes Wagyu an interesting ingredient to work with, since different cuts can call for completely different treatments. Some spend hours cooking until tender, while others need little more than a quick turn over hot charcoal.
The Korean Short Rib is slow-cooked with daikon, shiitake and kimchi, allowing the beef to become tender and develop a deeper savoury flavour. The Gyutan takes a quicker approach, cooked yakiniku-style over direct heat to keep its natural texture, with kuro shichimi and lemon adding spice and acidity.
Rib eye gets two appearances, too. In the Gyukatsu Sando, the marbled beef is fried and tucked into soft shokupan with tonkatsu sauce. The Rib Eye Yakiniku keeps things simpler, with a quick cook over binchotan that lets the beef’s fat and aroma come through. For the Striploin, Pantja goes with a larger steak-style cut over the robata, using local rambutan wood for a gentle smoky note. Its firmer texture and pronounced beef flavour make it a good fit for this preparation.
Even the final courses extend the menu’s take on Wagyu, with Beef Fat Caramel combining beef fat with vanilla ice cream, sobacha and smoked sea salt. Over at the bar, Beef Tallow Godfather mixes bourbon with beef tallow, Laphroaig, koji and bitters for a cocktail with a twist.
The beef comes from Westholme, an Australian Wagyu producer operating across the northern Australian rangelands. Its Wagyu genetics trace back to Japanese bloodlines developed in Australia over several decades. Cattle graze native grasses and seasonal forage in their early years before selected programmes move into grain finishing, producing beef known for fine marbling, tenderness and a balance of richness and beef flavour. Westholme manages the process from breeding and genetics through grazing, farming and feedlotting.
Available at Pantja Izakaya for a limited time and in limited quantities, the Westholme Wagyu curated menu offers several ways to experience the beef outside the usual steak.
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PANTJA IZAKAYA
Sequis Tower Ground Floor #03-04
Sudirman Central Bussiness District
South Jakarta
