7
2
1
Level4
2009-03-08 378 views
Having tried 2 other Yakitori shops recently, during a vacuum period on Saturday, decided to have some snack here before a late dinner.This shop is certainly way better than Yakitoritei 焼鳥亭 in Tin Hau by far, which is why I did not bother to eat at the 焼鳥亭 also in Happy Valley.First of all - I was surprised that in fact, Nanbantei isn't that expensive. In fact it is cheaper than its late imitation rival 焼鳥亭. The large 660ml Asahi here is only $50/bottle. Over there its $65 (although they have bu
Read full review
Having tried 2 other Yakitori shops recently, during a vacuum period on Saturday, decided to have some snack here before a late dinner.
This shop is certainly way better than Yakitoritei 焼鳥亭 in Tin Hau by far, which is why I did not bother to eat at the 焼鳥亭 also in Happy Valley.
First of all - I was surprised that in fact, Nanbantei isn't that expensive. In fact it is cheaper than its late imitation rival 焼鳥亭. The large 660ml Asahi here is only $50/bottle. Over there its $65 (although they have buy 2 get one free promotion now). Or rice is only $8.0 here, but $12.0 over here. Most of the Skewers here are also slightly cheaper.
The FOOD is also much better here, although not without flaws:

GOOD:
- Cold Salad with Miso based dip - very good taste. Way better than the salty but uninspiring version at 焼鳥亭
- Beef Fillet - tender
- Chicken mince in Shiitake Mushroom - very good
- Cheese Mochi - very nicely done, wrapped in seaweed
- Unagi - great. slightly crispy skin, yet retaining its gelatinous state meat. Perfectly done.
- Plain Unagi (white unagi) - very good as well. Perfectly done, sweet. Best I've tried so far in HK. Under seasoned but its original taste was intact.
AVERAGE:
- Beef Tongue - too chewy, too much garlic powder. However flavour was not bad.
- Foie Gras Chicken Wing - wing nicely crisped on outside and still moist inside. Unfortunately the so called Foie Gras has little taste and was way over-cooked inside.
BAD:
- Chicken Yakitori with Negi (Negima) - Chicken had little taste and 1 piece has gone off/bad. However sauce is better than 焼鳥亭.

I will recommend here definitely, even though it has its flaws. Another good option is 醉燒亭 (Fortress Hill/Northpoint), which also serves great food (after they've now opened for 3 months and stabilised finally). Both here and 醉燒亭 have slightly better or worst skewers - although the seasoning method is slightly different. 醉燒亭 has more fine salt and pepper mix scattered on the sticks whereas here, its slightly under-seasoned but sometimes has more garlicky taste.
In fact I was surprised that this Nanbantei was slightly toned down from the Tokyo/Japanese version - probably to suit HK palates more as we drink and smoke less! But I'm sure you can ask the chef to adjust it to your liking, such as at 醉燒亭.


(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
Post
DETAILED RATING
Taste
Decor
Service
Hygiene
Value
Spending Per Head
$180