Yakitoritei

I came to this place on a Thursday night. Even at 11pm, it was still very packed. I passed by this place at least a dozen times already. Each time, the smell of seared meat always perfumed the air surrounding the restaurant which left your mouth watering for a taste.
This restaurant is very small, maybe 7 spots at the bar and a few tables. The ambiance feel as if you’ve walked into a dark yakitori joint in japan. Beer is abundant as it’s probably the best pairing for the fiery grilled meats. I ordered separate items as unusual as I can get it, and as per warned by Janice T. I passed on the sliced cabbages.
Chicken hearts, and Gizzards were over seasoned. Too much pepper on the heart and the gizzard tasted as if it’s been soaked in salt for days. Although cooked perfectly, the over seasoning completely ruined the dish. Arrived next was the Chicken liver and Capelin. The liver wasn’t that fresh, and it could of been cooked perhaps 30 seconds longer. The slightly smokey Capelin however, was very good. The seasoning was on point. Grilled to perfection. The roe in the fish gave a satisfying pop every chew. As I happily finished my two fish on a stick, the Japanese green pepper and ox tongue arrived. Both… very tasty. The peppers were fresh, perfectly spicy and the skin was beautifully charred. It was also topped with bonito flakes which added an extra kick of smokey savoriness which complimented the peppers very well. The ox tongue was juicy and tender, cooked just to the point of being well done. Arrived last was the highlight of the meal. Okra wrapped beef. My goodness I could eat more of this but for $ 30 a pop, I couldn’t bare to order another. The okra was cooked just right and the beef seared to perfection. The fat of the beef rendered into the okra creating a moist smokey barrier that absorbed the seasoning perfectly. So good.
Two people manned the grill, clearly only one of them knows what he’s doing. Service was mediocre, but not unexpected considering the amount of people was there. (full house) For the price, I probably wont be coming back anytime soon. However, I do have my eye on the grilled mochi. Until then, bon appetit.

Another local joint in Happy Valley. It is one of those restaurants that people would actually specifically come to Happy Valley for. I can understand why people close by would come but overall, i don’t think it is worth traveling far for.
This restaurant is small, when you first walk in, it actually feels like you went to yakitori restaurant in Japan. I like the décor, it’s dark, woody, a nice long counter where most people sit, and a few tables.
We chose a set menu, which is comprised of basically all of their signature yaki tori dishes. I think for yaki tori, it is a bit overpriced. It came to nearly $ 700 per person including a sake between the two of us. It isn’t somewhere I will come on a regular basis just because of the high price point, but once in a while, it’s okay.
Because of the size of the restaurant, you tend to need to book ahead of time.
Some of the highlights of the dishes included the duck breast with onion. It was pretty juicy, the chicken with onion, mushroom, asparagus wrapped with bacon — i think this may be my favourite.
What I didn’t appreciate about the restaurant was that they sneakily charged us $ 20 for 2 slices of cabbage. it was served upon sitting down so we didn’t expect we had to pay for it. The service was also not so much japanese — meaning, the service was not as courteous as we would have expected. Improvements could be made there.