I recently had a unique opportunity to work in Japan for 47 days. Despite my busy schedule, I took every opportunity to visit some of the well-known restaurants in Japan. Some well-known among tourists and others well known among the locals.
I have so many restaurants to blog about but I wanted to start with some of my favorites. I'll start with Toriki, a Yakitori restaurant in the Shinagawa area which was featured on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" Tokyo edition. You can check out the short clip below:
If you've been following my blog you know Christine and I love Japanese izakayas, especially yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) so I was really excited to check this place out. We made our reservation through our hotel and they were gracious enough to provide us with a map as well.
Hatanodai Station. As you can see, a very quiet neighborhood.
Here it is.
I was surprised to find the restaurant 3/4th full. I was expecting a huge line or at least a packed house. He had a "Reserved" sign right in the middle of the counter and immediately recognized us as the guests from the hotel. Ever since the "No Reservations" airing, the number of foreign patrons exploded so the restaurant now has an English menu.
Natto as a welcome dish?! We're definitely at the right place.
If you're not familiar with natto, this is Japanese fermented soybeans. It has a very sticky texture and a strong odor. Definitely an acquired taste. It took Christine about a year to get used to the taste and now she LOVES natto.
Sapporo Draft
Cassis (Blackcurrant) Shochu
Owner-chef Kunio Aihara. He's been grilling chicken for 30 years. And you gotta love his enthusiasm.
As you may have heard from the short clip above, he literally cuts up the chicken as the orders are made and we had front row seats to the action.
Also mentioned in the clip above, chef Aihara prefers to use an electric grill vs a charcoal grill due to the consistent heat. I personally enjoy the charred flavor of the coals but I guess we'll trust a guy who's been grilling chicken for 30 years.
Yakitori Platter. On the menu, it's listed as "Grilled Chicken on a Skewer"
Look at the juicy meat!
So if you look closely, you'll notice that he used different parts of the chicken to make this skewer. This is unlike the other izakayas where the entire skewer is comprised of the same part.
This isn't listed on the menu but we asked if he had "nankotsu" which is chicken cartilage. If you've never had nankotsu skewers or fried nankotsu, I highly recommend you do. You know that part of the chicken leg that's really crunchy? It's that part with some meat attached to it.
And even better with mayo.
Another favorite of ours - "kawa" (chicken skin).
Aihara's method of cooking the skin flat on the grill vs on a skewer ensures that every part of the skin is grilled over direct heat, giving it a nice crust without overcooking it.
And again, even better with mayo.
Tataki (Griled Thigh). This is his signature dish.
Tataki is served with tare (sweet tangy sauce) that's poured over the meat.
Salty, sweet, tangy... mixed with the right balance of lean meat and fattiness of the thigh.
On the menu, there was a "Master's Secret Menu." Tonight's secret menu was chicken neck meat (sesemi).
Very similar to thigh meat but much fattier.
Needed another round after all that chicken. I loved how cheap Japanese beer was - not just here but everywhere in Japan. This glass of Sapporo would run about $10 in Korea but it was a whopping 500 yen (about $5).
Green Apple Shochu
At this point, I needed something other than chicken. Reaching chicken overload. Luckily, there are other things like this sliced cucumber and hiyayakko (chilled tofu with toppings).
Hiyayakko with Katsuobushi (dried fish flakes) and Green Onion.
With a splash of soy sauce. Very refreshing.
"Tebasaki" (Chicken Wing)
Other than being delicious, it was freakin' huge.
For our last dish, we ordered "kimo" or liver. It's better known as "liba" even in Japanese. I've never seen it served this way - pretty much in yo face.
Definitely not for the queasy but my fellow Koreans will probably love this as it is very similar to pig liver served as soondae (pig blood sausage).
The flavor was a bit strong so we used the tare sauce that came with the tataki.
There was another group of American customers and they apparently had a miscommunication and received an extra order of "chawanmushi" which is a Japanese egg custard dish. Lucky us - they gave us one to try.
Chef Aihara explained that the egg is mixed with chicken broth to make this dish. It was really rich and a bit salty but extremely addicting. I wish I would have started the meal with this dish.
Big chunks of chicken meat inside the custard.
I asked for a photo before our departure and he gladly accepted. Two thumbs up!
With his limited English and my elementary Japanese, we were able to communicate over couple things. I asked whether his clientele has increased since his restaurant was featured on Anthony Bourdain's show and he said that while the number of foreign customers has increased tremendously, his Japanese customer base has declined. And I can definitely see that happening especially in this neighborhood where foreigner encounters are rare and many traditionalists may dislike the fact that their local favorite izakaya is becoming a hangout for foreigners. I would hope that this is not the case and his business continues to flourish with both locals and foreigners because chef Aihara is genuinely enthusiastic about his cooking and wants to share it with as many people as he can.
시나가와 토리키 야키도리 (Shinagawa Toriki Yakitori)
3-11-13 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
03-3785-8472
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