Our Yakitori Night Out

I believe our most frequent hang-out during the chilly winter nights in Tokyo was the smoky street of Yakitori shops within Shunjuku and a mere convenient 5 minute walk from our hotel. Safe from the hassle of commuting, we spent most of our late night suppers in these cosy and inviting Yakitori shops drinking cool 'Shochu' and chopping down sticks of good meats.

Yakitori stretch in Shunjuku - as the smoke suggests

The first of our many choices was a little shop with complete wooden interiors and furniture. Either we were too early, or this shop was very popular but at 8pm, the bubbly Master gesticulated for us to come back later and try our luck.

So one of the first few sticks we had was in a little 2 storey Yakitori shop ran efficiently by a little old man (taking orders downstairs) and old lady (upstairs). As I look around, the crowd appeared rather homogeneous. There weren’t many ladies around, most of the tables were occupied by groups of males drinking sake and being merry. Perhaps this is a typical after-work ritual where the women went home and the men went drinking.

Anyway, the menu is small and simple. We had a round of grilled pork and chicken and lamb kebabs before we branched into something adventurous - deep fried cheese. Heavy bodied, the soft oozy cheese was flavoured intensely with salt and a pretty yummy treat.

Deep fried cheese

Gyoza and Lamb Kebabs

To be honest the food wasn’t much to brag about so we finished off the last of the sticks and decided to try our luck at the first cruel stop of rejection. The initial reaction was another cursory wave to leave. But as we were despondently leaving, the master suddenly calls us back and hoo-ray!! - we have seats!

The minute we walked in, we knew almost right away why they were full. The grill and kitchen just next to the seating area was constantly emitting wonderful smells and the place was packed with a similar crowd like the first – drinking men – but they appear to be regulars. Well, any place with regulars and locals at that, couldn’t be bad. So we went about our pointing on the menu and waiting.

The beef, turned out to be mind-blowing and the calling card to the several return visiting after. Similar to satay, but a far cry in terms of tender and juiciness. Topped with fresh minced onions, the beef was absolutely heavenly. We must have ordered like 12 sticks in total, till the master told us he had run out!

We also had the ox tongue, chicken and pork which were above average though nothing near the beef.

Yummy grilled lamb - second to the beef

A new concoction we learnt - Shochu, Soda Water and lemon juice. Refreshing, light and super yummy for the heaty alternative fix of beer

Ox Tongue, Pork and Chicken - salted or bbq sauce. Both yummy

To cleanse our palette, we also ordered some vegetables and to vary the choices, we ordered some deep fried meats of some sort. That turned out to be a horrible mistake! We had ordered whale meat! I was pretty upset considering my adoration for whales and my advocate to save them from extinction, together with their shark and dolphin cousins. I refused to eat it, so I won’t exactly know how it tasted like. But according to L, the meat is slightly bitter and rather hard.

Clearly misunderstoond, they are no delicacy! So take note, I would most certainly not be recommending this.