Tokyo 2012: Toriki Yakitori
The dining experience at Toriki Yakitori was probably the most fun and interactive one. Winner of 1-Michelin Star, the restaurant is small and unassuming. We were really glad to be asked to sit by the counter because that's where you can observe the chef at work. My dear hubby educated me that Yakitori is only meant for chicken and not other type of meat. So we spent the evening enjoying the different parts of the freshest chicken - skin, hearts, liver, gizzard, neck etc..
The chef himself is a wonderfully jovial host who speaks a little English. Quite a performer he is and obviously an expert of his trade, he skillfully cuts, debones and prepares the chicken pieces as they are ordered, much to our amazement and delight. It was so entertaining watching him cut and tear the chicken apart from the carcass while he’s cooking various pieces on the grill. Responding to our astonished reactions, he gave a hearty laugh. We chatted quite a bit and he smiled his appreciation when we told him how much we enjoyed his food. He even took a picture of us and at the end of the meal, went outside for a shot with us in front of his restaurant.
Apparently, Stvn found out that Toriki was featured in Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. He happily told me that where we were seated was where Anthony Bourdain did. Haha, cheap thrill! For those who are interested, you can watch the snippet of that episode here and see the incredible food and skillful chef in action.
It was undoubtedly the best yakitori that we have had. It's so incredible that the chicken can taste so good and all that was used was salt, heat and super fresh chicken. This is cooking at its best and it showed off the tremendous skills of the chef. What a wonderful, satiating and happy meal. Highly highly recommend it.
Tip: Go early to avoid disappointment as it fills up very quickly. We were there at 6PM and it was relatively full.
Address: 3-11-13 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Presenting the wonderful and jovial chef. Very very impressed with his skills.
The appetizer - nato with raw egg and some green onions. Quite delicious.
This chicken soup doesn't look much but it was so rich with flavour. Excellent stuff.
First up, generous serving of chicken liver.
Chicken sashimi - the chef kills and prepares the chickens himself every morning so they’re really fresh. We would have preferred the chicken sashimi without the sauce which to us killed the dish.
If I remember correctly these are the meat from neck of the chicken. It was so tender and juicy. Everything was perfectly seasoned and cooked.
Chicken gizzard followed by the heart. Loved the heart.
Here he volunteered to take the picture of us. Too bad it's a little blurry.
The amazing chef in action - See that fresh chicken there? He broke it down right in front of us and put it straight over the fire, just with a dash of salt.
Chicken thigh - Skin is crisped, meat is juicy, tender and pink in the middle. Extraordinarily good!
Momo tataki, which is from Toriki’s original menu- Outer layer was crispy, crunchy and sinful while it's sashimi in the middle. Outstanding!
And here is a mega drumstick!!
And hubby attacking it.
That's a piece of perfectly intact chicken skin. Even though we didn't order it, we know how good it tasted from the dishes we ordered.
One with the lovely chef.
The chef himself is a wonderfully jovial host who speaks a little English. Quite a performer he is and obviously an expert of his trade, he skillfully cuts, debones and prepares the chicken pieces as they are ordered, much to our amazement and delight. It was so entertaining watching him cut and tear the chicken apart from the carcass while he’s cooking various pieces on the grill. Responding to our astonished reactions, he gave a hearty laugh. We chatted quite a bit and he smiled his appreciation when we told him how much we enjoyed his food. He even took a picture of us and at the end of the meal, went outside for a shot with us in front of his restaurant.
Apparently, Stvn found out that Toriki was featured in Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. He happily told me that where we were seated was where Anthony Bourdain did. Haha, cheap thrill! For those who are interested, you can watch the snippet of that episode here and see the incredible food and skillful chef in action.
It was undoubtedly the best yakitori that we have had. It's so incredible that the chicken can taste so good and all that was used was salt, heat and super fresh chicken. This is cooking at its best and it showed off the tremendous skills of the chef. What a wonderful, satiating and happy meal. Highly highly recommend it.
Tip: Go early to avoid disappointment as it fills up very quickly. We were there at 6PM and it was relatively full.
Address: 3-11-13 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Presenting the wonderful and jovial chef. Very very impressed with his skills.
The appetizer - nato with raw egg and some green onions. Quite delicious.
This chicken soup doesn't look much but it was so rich with flavour. Excellent stuff.
First up, generous serving of chicken liver.
Chicken sashimi - the chef kills and prepares the chickens himself every morning so they’re really fresh. We would have preferred the chicken sashimi without the sauce which to us killed the dish.
If I remember correctly these are the meat from neck of the chicken. It was so tender and juicy. Everything was perfectly seasoned and cooked.
Chicken gizzard followed by the heart. Loved the heart.
Here he volunteered to take the picture of us. Too bad it's a little blurry.
The amazing chef in action - See that fresh chicken there? He broke it down right in front of us and put it straight over the fire, just with a dash of salt.
Chicken thigh - Skin is crisped, meat is juicy, tender and pink in the middle. Extraordinarily good!
Momo tataki, which is from Toriki’s original menu- Outer layer was crispy, crunchy and sinful while it's sashimi in the middle. Outstanding!
And here is a mega drumstick!!
And hubby attacking it.
That's a piece of perfectly intact chicken skin. Even though we didn't order it, we know how good it tasted from the dishes we ordered.
One with the lovely chef.