When a photo of yakitori chicken liver popped up on a chef friend’s Instagram feed hashtagged Birdie, I immediately did some research on this new restaurant, found the phone number on Facebook and booked for the next night. It’s a good thing I acted fast, because now that the word is out, it’s getting a little harder to get a reservation. We were seated at the counter around the open kitchen, where we had a bird’s-eye view of the chef grilling dishes over binchotan charcoal. Because the place was so new (it was before last week’s grand opening) there were several empty counter seats, and not all the tables were full. The person who took my booking had the foresight to mention that they did not have their liquor license, and that we could bring our own alcohol, without a corkage fee. That thoughtful service continued throughout our meal. Birdie was opened by the 298HK group, which also has two yakiniku restaurants, 298 Nikuya Room and 298 Nikuya Kitchen, as well as the tonkatsu-focused, Porker. As you can probably tell by the name, Birdie specialises in chicken (near the entrance is a fake movie poster of a film called Cocky, starring Slyrooster Stallone, Chick Meredith and Carl Feathers), specifically yakitori (grilled chicken skewers). The yakitori selection is quite limited, but had many of our favourite parts, and we liked everything we tried. At many yakitori restaurants in Japan the customer is given the choice of seasoning the skewers with just salt, or with the tare sauce. We weren’t asked our preferences, but the chef used the tare on the richer cuts, which is what we would have done. We knew the food would be good from our first skewer. Gizzard (HK$38 per skewer) was excellent. Too often, this part is overcooked and therefore very chewy; here, it was moist and bouncy. Mild, crunchy soft bones (HK$38) came with some of the white meat still attached to the cartilage, and went well with the yuzu kosho (yuzu chilli paste). Whole hearts (HK$45) were meaty and intense, but even better were the fattier pieces of hatsumoto (HK$45), which (google tells me) is the connective tissue and blood vessels next to the heart. Sound appetising? Probably not – but this was one of our favourite skewers. The delicately fatty tails (HK$38) was another dish we enjoyed, as well as the crisp skin (HK$38) that had been brushed lightly with tare sauce. An onion-y tsukune (HK$45) – the classic chicken meatball – was succulent and roughly textured. And that liver (HK$45) that led us to Birdie in the first place? It lived up to our expectations; it was soft, moist, perfectly cooked, and so delicious we considered having a second piece each. Of the non-yakitori dishes, we loved the pork belly and lettuce roll (HK$45) which was light and a nice option to the more common bacon and tomato roll (which was unavailable). Grilled ginkgo (HK$35) were nicely charred and intense, and shishito peppers (HK$35) were also very good. The manager, who took our order, recommended a starter of celery pickle (HK$55) which was crunchy and refreshing, and a refreshing foil to the meatier dishes. We ended the meal with yaki onigiri – grilled rice ball – (HK$40) that had two fresh shiso leaves pressed onto it, and a light chicken soup (HK$35). Birdie, 9/F H Code, 45 Pottinger Street, Central, tel: 2789 2881. About HK$500 per person without drinks or the service charge While you’re in the area: New restaurants in Hong Kong: Shè in Central – hit-and-miss contemporary Chinese New Hong Kong restaurants: Old Bailey serves superb Chinese dishes in Central New Hong Kong restaurants: Madame Fu – delicious dishes in Tai Kwun, Central