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2014-06-08
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Yardbird is a restaurant I’ve been wanting to visit for a while. They call themselves an izakaya but most of their dishes have a slight western flair to it.The restaurant is located in Soho close to Sheung Wan, but we made the mistake of walking up Ladder Street to reach it. Steep stair cases under 30 degree weather is no joke…Since it was a Thursday we got seats pretty easily. They don’t take reservations so I’ve heard about how difficult it could be to get a table on busier nights. We even got
The restaurant is located in Soho close to Sheung Wan, but we made the mistake of walking up Ladder Street to reach it. Steep stair cases under 30 degree weather is no joke…
Since it was a Thursday we got seats pretty easily. They don’t take reservations so I’ve heard about how difficult it could be to get a table on busier nights. We even got a table at bar which I was very happy with!
The bartenders were very nice and chatted with us as soon as we sat down. Although they were busy with their many drink orders they still took time to explain the dishes to us.We got some drinks to start -
On the left: my friend’s ‘Bloody Kim Jong-Il’ which is a spicy version of a Bloody Mary. Sounds weird but it was surprisingly refreshing! My friend ordered a virgin though so I’d think the alcohol version would be more exoticOn the right: my ‘Jolly Rancher’ [Ume/Shisho Infused Rice Shochu & Watermelon]. I ordered this mainly because I was sweating bullets from the long walk up the stairs but I found this drink more sweet than refreshing. Not bad, but nothing too extraordinary about it (unlike the Bloody Kim Jong Il)
Before the visit I actually wrote down a small list of things to order here (since their dishes are tapas-style I had quite a long list). The bartender/waiter chuckled at my list but took our order anyway. He also suggested half orders for some of the dishes since he thought we wouldn’t be able to finish it. I really appreciated that as we didn’t even know half-portions were available!
Sweet Corn Tempura
As you can see the presentation was very impressive. I couldn’t tell how they managed to bind the loose corn pieces together, but whatever they used it was very lightly used so I didn’t get any doughy pieces inbetween the corn. The corn was fresh and tasted very sweet so not much seasoning was needed (they mentioned only salt and pepper on the menu).Speaking of seasoning, I have to say their house made shichimi powder is very good. It isn’t the regular shichimi blend so there is more depth to the flavour. Fortunately they sell these by the bottle at their grocery store (Sunday’s Grocery) I’ll be sure to buy a bottle next time!
KFC – ‘Korean Fried Cauliflower’
This is one of their signature dish, and very deservingly so! While the crust is more bready than what I’d prefer, it went well with the sticky sweet spicy glaze. Perfect for people who don’t usually like cauliflower!
‘Meatball’ – Tsukune and Egg Yolk in Tare sauce
This is a more classic Yakitori dish with traditional preparation. The chicken was moist and did not feel greasy, but what made the dish for me was the delicious sweet tare sauce with the rich yolk. While it feels a bit wasteful to me (from restaurant’s point of view) to serve one yolk per skewer, it definitely worked in elevating the dish.‘Oyster’ – which is really Chicken Thigh meat
I believe they named it Oyster because the idea is to make chicken meat so tender & succulent it should resemble eating an oyster. And they definitely managed to achieve that! While it looks like a simple grilled chicken skewer, it was cooked JUST RIGHT with the skin crispy & smoky. The thigh meat was juicy as expected and I had no trouble eating the two morsels all at once.Rice Cake – with furikake & seasme
We ordered this as a filler dish as we were worried that eating skewers alone wouldn’t fill us up. This certainly did the trick and I was VERY impressed by it. The rice cakes were coated by a thin layer of caramel so it is slightly crispy when I bit into it. The texture was phenomenal! Crunchy skin with gooey rice cake center for every single piece. Also using furikake was a good choice – prevented the dish from being too sweet and I couldn’t stop eating piece after piece.Unfortunately my friend had a weak jaw and thought this dish was too chewy and tiring to eat -.-
Brussels Sprouts with black garlic & crispy garlic
Brussels Sprouts are usually a hit or miss, and this was a definite HIT! I LOVED this dish, perhaps mainly because they were generous with the garlic. The brussels sprouts were grilled to perfection so the sweetness came out. While the sprouts were a bit charred, it did not taste bitter as the aromatic black garlic offset any burnt taste. The crispy garlic added some crunch which I loved. Awesome dish!The total came out to be $621 without any service charge. But since their service was very attentive and thoughtful we decided to tip them 10% anyway.
Funny story – when we were leaving I chatted with a touristy-looking woman in the bathroom. Turns out they were in HK for a few days and found this place by googling ‘hipster Hong Kong restaurant’ LOL
Anyhow, I highly highly recommend this restaurant. Their dishes are simple but the executive is excellent! Not to mention good service and just generally a great vibe all around. Only complaint would be the location and it could be difficult to get a table. I will definitely be back!
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