Intimate encounters at the hands of a skilled chef
Torishou has been a favorite yakitori outlet specializing in grilled chicken from when it first opened on Fuxing Road W. to its current location on Changle Road.
Now founder William Zhang has opened up another venue called “Torishou Beekan” with a different idea behind it.
Inside a house on Ruijin Rd No. 2, it’s a much more intimate space with just 20 seats. The bar counter at the center offers a close-up view of the chef’s preparation of each and every kushi over charcoal.
“I tried a yakitori omakase for the first time in Tokyo at one Michelin-starred Toriki and it is a true rarity which inspired me to open one of the first yakitori omakase here in the city, leading to the birth of Torishou Beekan,” he said.
Omakase means a fixed-price tasting menu according to availability on the day, leaving everything up to the skilled hands of the chef.
Torishou Beekan features an intimate space with the bar counter offering a close-up view of the chef’s preparations.
“However, it is rare to see a yakitori omakase so I wanted a customer to come to sit at the bar counter, get involved in interaction with the chef, and have a more engaging, satisfying yakitori experience,” Zhang said.
The fixed prices are 280 yuan (US$41.7) and 380 yuan. I started with salad, small appetizers presented in lovely box and moved onto the highlight — yakitori.
The grilled skewers use many parts of chicken traditionally not eaten in the West are served. Here, the kitchen team has created dishes using black-bone chicken instead of the normal chicken used elsewhere. Black-bone chicken features more tender meat with less fat.
The grilled skewers of black-bone chicken are signature dishes.
I particularly liked the black-bone chicken thigh with red dates. A bite of the perfectly tender grilled meat with the sweet dates gives off a surprising sensation. The rare parts of the black-bone chicken are also part of the omakase experience including black-bone chicken diaphragm, chicken shoulder and wing tip. Aside from the black-bone chicken skewers, the chef prepared other dishes such as the meatier part of a chicken wing, chicken liver and heart, miso ox tongue and some grilled vegetables.
Only eight seats are available for omakase booking on Monday and Thursday from 6pm to 7:30pm so you need to book at least one day in advance as the kitchen needs to prepare ingredients.
However, Torishou Beekan also has an a-la-carte menu every night that features a wide range of chicken skewers and appetizers.
Info
Opening hours: 5:30pm-1am
Tel: 5382-9210
Address: 1/F, 75 Ruijin Rd No.2
Average price: 280 yuan
