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2009-06-15
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I have actually walked past this shop a few times before but the shop signage with its faux timber stuck-ons look didn't really notice its shop's name nor did it really catch my attention, although in reality it has a Japanese name engraved in smallish writing. On 1 night when I came to 山林道 again waiting for a friend, a street which is filled with more than 10-15 Japanese shops but mostly operated by Hong Kong owners, I firstly visited 新大寿 1st to have a revision of its menu, then decided that I
After reading reviews that this Yakitori shop is one of the best around in Hong Kong and operated by an 'all females' team, I have wanted to get a seat here for the past half a year... Boy was I excited! Had the following:
BAD:
Chicken Meat with Wasabi (sabi) -
Similarly grilled as the above dish, this was also a little dry, too thin, and had almost no chicken taste compared to 五味鸟 or some other shops for that matter. Like 五味鸟 too, this doesn't have a lot of 焦味 from grilling either and obviously no 碳烧 flavour due to obvious reasons in Hong Kong - to me, this is important in a yakitori tei. This was further spoiled by the over-application of Tubed Wasabi which was so 攻鼻. (As a side note, this really did use tubed 牙膏 Wasabi, even though on Openrice most of the 牙膏货 people refer to is Powdered Wasabi). Not impressed.
AVERAGE:
Chicken Meat with Japanese Leek
This chicken was a bit dry to be honest, but it was cooked to the right degree. It even had 3 pieces of Japanese leek rather than only 2 pieces as normal in other similar shops! I love those Japanese 大葱 as its milder than normal Leek. The seasoning however was way off, it had lots of grainy salt on top and little of anything else. It was overly salty and also on certain patches/spots rather than spread evenly. Apparently, the default sauce used here for this item is S&P rather than a smoky Teriyaki sauce, which is opposite to most Japan shops.
Panfried Mushroom with Chicken Mince
This was cooked on the pan rather than on the grill, same as 五味鸟. The 五味鸟 version however was really great with a lot of mushroom and chicken meat taste. Here, it lacked both and that's a bad omen. Not recommended, and would prefer it if they grilled it on the grill rather than pan fry it.
GREAT:
Chicken Mince with Cartilage -
Luckily, this was amazingly good! Little did I know this would become the best dish of the night. Here, it had a lot of chicken mince as well as breast bone cartilage. This particular grilled item is in fact better than a lot of Tsukune's in other Hong Kong shops, which often carry too much 'dough' and little 'cartilage'. The thick smoky sauce on top was correct as well. Better than 石山, 五味鸟, 元气一杯 and 樱's versions surprisingly, for once we're beating the Japanese. Quite similar to 和民 but obviously better here! Love it.
Horumon Yaki -
This was Beef Small intestines 粉肠, laden with some remaining fat. I thought this was grilled quite well and it carried a bit of the natural intestine's taste, albeit chewy. Ironically, quite different from 达 and 五味鸟's more chinese spicy sauce like version.
Shishito 青椒 -
One of my preferred vegetables. Comes with finely chopped bonito flakes, unfortunately 1 skewer was more cooked than the other but it all tasted fine nevertheless despite having a slight burnt smell. This was not as good as the ones I've had in 五味鸟 and 樱 but it was close enough that it rates as a Great!
Beef tongue
Cooked with Salt and Pepper style rather than the 'sauced' 五味鸟 style, this was less chewy than the latter but slightly thinner and was medium tender. I thought this was above-average but the seasoning was again a bit off with grainy salt crystals detected on spots. I've had better at 一番 and 樱, but this ain't bad at all, just too thin.
Yaki mochi
Not an item that goes wrong easily. This was also great but not the best. I've had better at 石山 (which has some great, some really bad grilled items). Seaweed was slightly crispy, mochi had a good soy basting and even slightly crunchy on outside and molten on inside. Most shops do this well though.
QUITE STRANGE BUT GOOD
Mentaiko Yaki Onigiri - with Yellow Radish pickle
Yaki Onigiri - with Yellow Radish pickle
The famous 烧饭团?
This certainly proved a popular item as every table ordered a few serves of these. Are they the best in Hong Kong? Yes and no in a way.
When I devoured half of the Mentaiko one and then a whole of the normal one, I knew this tasted a bit strange despite having a great crispy texture & Japanese pearl rice inside which weren't overly sticky but just right and seasoned with a soy based sauce well. But, IT WAS SO DAMN SWEET! I am utterly surprised no one ever mentioned/noticed this to give others a warning, as it had a Sugary/Malty glazing skin on top to give it the advantageous crunch over its rivals in town. I thought the texture and grilling was really spot on, but the TASTE was strange somehow as the coating was way too sweet for my palate. The pertinent question is, did we like it? I liked the Mentaiko version better than the plain version, as the spicy/saltiness of the Cod Fish Roe managed to 'counter offset' the sweetness of the external skin. Having said that, this was a very well prepared Onigiri albeit a bit different from an expected Japanese versions. I would say its the best I've had in Hong Kong so far, but that's only because other Japanese shops can't make a good enough one compared to Japan.
DRINKS
Beer - Draught.
Ordered a beef on tap after seeing the Asahi logos but when it arrived, it was a San Miguel. And it was rather flat and therefore overly sweet due to the lack of bubbles. I wasn't happy with the beer, it was left unfinished as it became warmer and sweeter again.
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INGREDIENTS = mid to high '5'
GRILLING SKILLS = low '5'
SEASONING = low '3', not even enough and flavours slightly Hong Kongnised.
Unfortunately, I have yet to encounter a shop in Hong Kong which sells top quality Kushiyaki/Yakitori. 五味鸟 was a little bit more 'authentically Japanese' in preparation but that also lacked the required 'Grilled taste' and it had hardly any Seasoning. Here, the grilling was 'better timed' but the seasoning was so uneven and kind of off the normal expected taste being either too grainy salty, sweet or wasabi hot. 南X亭 outlets and its off-shoots such as 醉烧亭 or 烧鸟亭 meanwhile use a lot more finer salt and especially garlic powders, destroying the natural tastes a bit more?
I have not had the chance to try all shops in Hong Kong yet but I must say, so far it left a bit to be desired, as Australia's Sydney and Melbourne regions also have a fair bit of Yakitori shops operated by Japanese/Koreans and those are a bit more truer to the Japanese taste and seasonings despite carrying less range, perhaps helped by the fact some of they have Charcoal Grilling, some even use 备长炭 and also being much better grilled to perfection, almost like an art. (In fact a lot of Japanese food in Australia are better executed than Hong Kong, even though having less food ranges.)
I definitely liked here better than 五味鸟 however, that shop was plain, under-grilled and under-seasoned. Here the food was quite good and service was excellent, the lady serving us was so friendly and it made us felt comfortable. I think I will try the local 备长, Hoka Hoka and Shanghai based 炭姬 soon as a comparsion, but I will definitely come back here as it had a lot of 诚意 presented.
张贴