Yaki-ty Yak
When it comes to Japanese grills, Johannes Pong knows his yakitori from his robatayaki.
In the pecking order of Japanese grilling, yakitori is the most ordinary and down-to-earth. Tori means “bird,” and yakitori places are usually raucous, no-nonsense holes-in-the-wall or street stalls that specialize in grilling all parts of the chicken. Next comes kushiyaki, barbecue skewers raised to an art form. And then there’s robatayaki, the Aston Martin of grilling.
Japanese Kebabs
Kushi means “skewer,” and at a fancy kushiyaki place the skewers aren’t ordinary wooden sticks, they’re well-designed slivers of bamboo, carved, weaved or branded with the restaurant’s insignia. Ingredients are simple but refined: think homemade meatballs, slivers of pork belly, gingko and quail eggs expertly grilled to a crust on a cast-iron skewer grill, narrow and rectangular so the ends of the bamboo are not exposed to the heat.
Most Japanese restaurants around Hong Kong serve kushiyaki, but Kushiyaki Sesson is a specialist. Step into its white, futuristic corridor and you feel like you’re entering the "Deep Space Nine" canteen. Chefs use charcoal from Kyushu to give their skewered morsels a delicate smoky flavor. Order a set dinner to get a taste of everything, and then try a bowl of udon – the best bowl of hot, chewy noodles we’ve slurped lately.
Robatayaki is the new Teppanyaki
Japanese grilling is hardly new to Hong Kong. Teppanyaki has been the choice of seal-the-deal diners since the 80s. But for the Noughties, outright opulence has been replaced by the rustic simplicity of kushiyaki and robatayaki. Refined rustic simplicity, of course. Teppan denotes the pristine metal hotplate, and robata means “hearthside”.
When it comes to drama, robatas rival the flare of a well-executed teppanyaki ceremony. For robatayaki at its most theatrical - and what is it without the theatrics? - head to Tokoro, where you can get your order it fired up right before you by an equally fired-up crew of hollering chefs. Of the robata riches on offer, we recommend the Kobe beef, which comes closer than one might think to literally melting in your mouth. Also good for the grill is the quail.
The restaurant aims to bring the spirit of Tokyo’s classy, upscale Roppongi district to Mongkok, and to this end it’s located in the upscale Langham Place Hotel, where the rich decor chimes with Tokoro’s own arty interior. Hip Tokyo pop art and sculptures scream from every wall and corner, while the aqua-themed bar area dazzles with its mirage wall of water and tanks of tropical fish. Other walls are lined with a colorful range of rare whiskys and sakes. The latter can be especially conducive to conjuring the illusion of Roppongi.
But for genuine robatayaki try Zuma, which uses lump wood from China instead of gas for that true smoky flavor. The robata counter of this uber-trendy restaurant from London has two separate pits, one for meats such as beef, lamb and pork, and the other for seafood. Sous-chef Reagan Porteous says the grill masters monitor the heat meticulously, moving and stacking the charcoal to provide three different temperature zones for different ingredients. Come for the fabulous cocktails, modern Japanese izakaya items, as well as the skilled grilled. Once you get a taste, you’ll know it’s not your regular barbie.
Yakiniku, Korean Style
