Food & Drink Jun 8, 2019
In Seoul, authentic Japanese food inspires everyday happiness
by Min Jung Kim
The rise in South Korean solo dining culture and a desire to seek out authentic experiences is driving up the popularity of Japanese food.
Food & Drink Mar 23, 2019
Yakitori Souten: The artful power of organic collaboration
by Melissa Uchiyama
At Yakitori Souten, chef Teruaki Nakamata has been sourcing high-quality organic ingredients, especially domestic jidori chickens, and collaborating closely with farms and distillers for 15 years.
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Jan 5, 2019
Torioka: High-quality yakitori that's accessible ... for now
by Robbie Swinnerton
When it comes to premium yakitori, nowhere does it better than grillmaster supreme Yoshiteru Ikegawa's brilliant Torishiki. No place is harder to reserve, either. Which is why it was such good news when Torioka, his new offshoot, opened last autumn. Not only is the location ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Nov 3, 2018
Toridoki: Old-school yakitori near new Toyosu market
by Robbie Swinnerton
There are plenty of reasons to mourn the closure of Tsukiji's legendary wholesale market, and many more to bemoan its successor in Toyosu. Not least is the dearth of good, established restaurants out on that sterile landfill location. So it is comforting at least to ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Aug 4, 2018
Toritama: Beak-to-tail yakitori washed down with top sake
by Robbie Swinnerton
There are only two fail-safe ways to get through a Tokyo heatwave summer. One is to head for the hills, or anywhere else the nights are cool. The other is to self-medicate. Sake does the trick perfectly, especially when matched with good yakitori. That ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Apr 28, 2018
Ribatei: No pretension here, just satisfying yakitori
by Robbie Swinnerton
Ribatei might be located in a grittier part of Yokohama, but the yakitori third-generation owner-chef Tomotsugu Sakakibara serves is nothing to scoff at.
Food & Drink | KYOTO RESTAURANTS Feb 10, 2018
Torisee Takoyakushi: Kyoto yakitori shop a brazen ode to the bird
by J.J. O'Donoghue
A few years ago I was warned off torisashi (chicken sashimi) by a friend who, after eating it on a night out in Osaka, spent the following week in a very bad way. So when a dish containing thin slices of raw chicken breast ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Feb 3, 2018
Men Labo Hiro: Balanced ramen from a yakitori chef
by Robbie Swinnerton
Men Labo Hiro is far from your standard noodle counter. Squeaky clean both inside and out, with spacious tables by the door and enough room to squeeze in even a stroller or two, it feels more like a family restaurant than the type of ...
Food & Drink | OSAKA RESTAURANTS May 27, 2017
Sumiba Yakitori Enza: U.S. cinema meets grilled chicken
by J.J. O'Donoghue
It's not quite cinema-dark inside Enza, but it's not far off. Indeed, the cinema connection is apposite: In many ways Enza is as much about yakitori as it is about icons of American cinema. Framed movie posters line the walls, but the best room in ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Apr 1, 2017
Torikado: Elevating yakitori to an art form
by Robbie Swinnerton
Tokyo has no shortage of yakitori restaurants. They range from funky, smoky hole-in-the-wall grills to elegant emporia serving prime skewers of the finest fowl. But there's nowhere quite like Torikado. At the bottom of an anonymous flight of stairs, you push through a heavy wooden ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Feb 3, 2017
Yakitori Imai: A new grill pairs tradition with ambience
by Robbie Swinnerton
What better way to mark the start of this new lunar year than with yakitori? It's the Year of the Fire Rooster, so that calls for some good skewers — prime jidori chicken, of course, carefully prepared over proper charcoal. At Yakitori Imai that's ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Sep 16, 2016
Yakitori Ogawa: Traditional 'yakitori' served like high-end sushi
by Robbie Swinnerton
There's no mistaking the kind of cuisine offered at Yakitori Ogawa. All 15 seats in this compact, one-counter grill look directly onto the open kitchen where skewers of premium poultry are slowly, carefully tended to over glowing charcoal. Both the look and the location are ...