Woah – so late on the Friday post. Maybe I shouldn’t schedule travel days over the weekend anymore…my head wants to die after 4.5 hours sleep last night.
But back to business – there’s a certain type of friend that will traipse around a city with you, standing in eager anticipation in front of a restaurant before it has even opened. To me, that person is JYSL (sorry, I realised the initial J was already taken by a certain JG…). Sure, you get weird looks when you’re snapping away at the facade of Yardbird in Sheung Wan (an up-and-coming area of Hong Kong), but if you’re lucky the owner will see you doing so and come out and have a friendly chat with you. What a great way to start an evening!
Yardbird is a restaurant specialising in yakitori but there are also many other fun things on the menu. The concept is simple, as outlined on their website:
No reservations.
Come early, come often.
All items are limited.
No service charge. [rare in HK!]
Sharing is caring.
I love this honesty – no fuss food is often the best food. The menu is divided into 5 sections: Smaller, Yakitori, Bigger, Rice and Soup. We started off with 3 dishes from the Smaller section: Sweet corn tempura – salt, pepper (HK$85 for full portion, but we had a half portion), Maitake Mushroom – tempura (HK$120) which may also be served grilled and Cucumber Salad – sesame, miso, pine nuts (HK$80) to balance out all that deep fry. The Sweet corn tempura was definitely a highlight of the meal – I didn’t expect it t be presented in balls at all! Super tasty – definitely try it. Also, because most things are grilled/fried/tempuraed on the menu, definitely get a more ‘cooling’ dish like the cucumber salad, or maybe some pickles.
Next up we dug into the yakitori. You only get one stick per order, which kinda sucks… but JYSL and I have different tastes and preferences in food so we had the opportunity to choose different things. As a big fan of liver (see the main I had at Orso in London) I had to get the Yakitori Liver – sansho, tare (HK$38) – legit one of the most tender specimens of liver I have ever tasted. The light seasoning also works in the favour of the meat.
JYSL went for the Yakitori Inner Thigh – salt, pepper (HK$38) – it’s cool that they have the specific cuts of meat on the menu! By all accounts this was great too; tender and the minimal seasoning is also a plus. We decided to get two servings of Yakitori Meatball – tare, egg yolk (HK$42) which was also served in an unexpected way! I guess it’s more of a ‘meat oval’ rather than a meat ball…the egg yolk is also cured, adding extra flavour. Without instructions, we just dipped the skewer into the yolk and sauce at our pleasure. I’m not a huge fan of runny yolks so this irked me a little, but this is definitely one of the signature dishes at Yardbird!
As a sucker for pork belly I also had to order the yakitori special: Pork belly – ponzu (HK$42). The meat was a bit chewy and I was a bit bummed that the garnish on top (spring onion?!) wasn’t advertised. Probably wouldn’t have gotten it if I’d know. To finish off – another Yardbird signature dish: KFC – Korean Fried Cauliflower – yuzu, chilli (HK$85 for full portion). Big props to Yardbird for offering half portions at a lower price as well – makes eating for two easier and you get to try more things! The KFC was definitely unexpected as well – quite a heavy dish so best not left til the end when my stomach is already 90% full.
Yardbird was fun – with such a large menu, I’d definitely go again. However, it’s not a cheap, considering the yakitori skewers are quite small. But hey, go there for a treat! You won’t be disappointed. Special mention also goes to the all-male waiter ensemble, full of charismatic, friendly, chatty and generally visually pleasing young men.
Yardbird
33-35 Bridges Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
http://www.yardbirdrestaurant.com/
