[Tokyo] Torikyuu 鳥九 - Traditional Yakitori

At night, we went to 鳥九 Torikyuu - a very traditional local yakitori joint in Shimbashi for dinner. Think Yardbird in Hong Kong but 100 times more traditional complete with Japanese salaryman surrounding you while smoking and drinking nonstop!

There was only 1 guy doing the cooking at this fairly small restaurant on this charcoal grill. We sat at the counter so we got to observe what the chef was doing as he cooked each of our course. The menu only consisted of a half course with 6 items or the full course with 10 items so we went for the full course set. I had to admire the guy for his excellent memory because he had to remember what dish everyone was at with their courses even though we had all sat down at different times. 

Sasami - the breast meat was served almost raw with wasabi while the outside was only lightly cooked. The center of the meat was very much still pink and it was very tender and juicy to eat. I guess some people are queasy about eating raw chicken but I have no problem with it especially in Japan. 

  

Chicken Gizzard - I love gizzards (especially duck's), but these were good too as they were super chewy and bouncy! The seasoning was light so we had to add our own shichimi. 

Chicken Liver - I'm usually not a fan of liver of any kind, but these were absolutely divine as they were so soft and creamy while delectably sweet. 

Egg - the eggs were just average though as the yolk in the center was still cold. 

Chicken with Negi - the seasoning from the sauce was a tad salty but the negi was super sweet and yummy to eat. 

  

Meatball - I loved the inclusion of cartilage for a crunchy texture but the texture of the meatball was too dense and dry overall. 

Chicken Skin - delightfully crispy and crunchy, what's not to like about chicken skin?

Chicken Thigh - the thigh was alright but didn't really stand out among the other dishes we had. 

Chicken Tail - the bonchiri was the best dish in the course! I think this is the equivalent of the awesome chicken oyster dish at Yardbird. As the fat had all dissolved away, all that was left was the super tender and succulent chicken goodness that just melted in our mouths. 

  

Chicken Wings - the final course was chicken wings which were just very crispy on the outside while the meat could have been more flavorful. 

  

With no tourists around, Torikyuu is a great place to go to if you want to immerse with the locals while chowing on all the different chicken parts you'd ever want to try!

Torikyuu 鳥九
2-8-14 Shinbashi Minato Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-3591-2686
http://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13002883/


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