Japan: Kyoto – Yakitori typhoon special
On Wednesday, 6 October 2009, Typhoon Melor, the first typhoon to reach landfall in Japan in two years, arrived on Japan’s south coast. The next day, it hit central Japan, bringing heavy rain and winds, disrupting flights and train services and sadly causing a couple of deaths.
We were in Kyoto at the time of the typhoon, and while the rain was heavy, it didn’t really affect the Kyoto area. Thank goodness! But for dinner on Wednesday night, we went to a yakitori restaurant, where there was a typhoon special – the price of all dishes were 50% off!
From what I can ascertain, yakitori literally means grilled chicken, and is usually used to refer to skewered chicken pieces. On the menu at the restaurant was chicken, chicken and more chicken.
Alastair and I ordered a few dishes to share (actually, the ordering went along the lines of me saying, “How about we order this, this, this and this?” And he said, “Okay.”)
I ordered us chicken skin skewers – there was an option for plain (with sauce) and garlic. We ordered two of each. These are the plain chicken skin skewers – they were fantastic. Fatty, delicious, a bit chewy in parts. Oh yeah.
The garlic skewers were also good, although I did shake off most of the garlic. I love cooked garlic, but not such a fan of raw garlic. I hate how raw garlic refuses to leave the party.
We also ordered some chicken meat skewers with sauce. They were good, but the chicken skin ones were the way to go.
Next were some rather large chicken wings. The wings could be done plain or hot, to which we had no hesitation – hot please! They were only mildly hot, but had a good crispy skin and tender meat that came easily off the bone.
We also ordered two minced chicken patties. The patties were served with a raw egg for dipping. The patties were juicy and somehow worked with the raw egg.
I always try to ensure we eat some vegetables, even if it’s a token effort, so I ordered us a salad. It was quite a good salad, topped with fried lotus root slices, and I think that white item was deep fried chicken skin. Which pretty much negated the health factor. Buh bow. It was a losing battle anyway, with all that chicken!
Oh, and we noticed an interesting item on the menu at the restaurant – chicken sashimi. We didn’t order it. I’m a fairly adventurous eater, but can’t stomach the thought of eating raw chicken. Seriously, it makes me feel ill just thinking about it. Obviously that “raw chicken = salmonella” message has been drummed into me! Are Japanese chickens not at risk of salmonella?
Have you tried chicken sashimi? Would you?
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
January 20, 2010 @ 9:26 pm
A typhoon special sounds very tempting indeed 😀 You did the smart thing by ordering regular sounding items. When we were in Yakitori Alley in Tokyo we ordered gizzards and other oddities and went a bit hungry (but we were curious! 😛 )
mademoiselle délicieuse
January 20, 2010 @ 9:30 pm
I always say I'll try anything once, but not sure about the prospect of food poisoning!
3 hungry tummies
January 20, 2010 @ 10:43 pm
I'm craving for some good Japanese food now!
Conor @ HoldtheBeef
January 21, 2010 @ 4:53 pm
Typhoon special?! All yakitori must be sold!
Call me a gaijin, but I'm not so sure about the raw egg for dipping, or the chicken sashimi.
kata_kata
January 23, 2010 @ 12:06 am
Hi there. a first time poster from Japan.
It was just an accsident that I visited this blog. But good reads. It's good to know that there is at least one westerner who enjoyed not only typical Japanese cusine like suchi or tempra but also OKONOMIYAKI and TAKOYAKI!!
On the topic, I think you saw on the menu might be ササミ (sasami). I don't know what it's called in English but it's meat a part of chicken's chest and it should be cooked, boiled is a typical way.
@Conor @ HoldtheBeef
tamago kake gohan (boiled rice toped raw egg with soy sauce)= super yummy ;P
http://img.allabout.co.jp/Live/gourmet/cookingabc/closeup/CU20070716A/kaki1.jpg
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
January 25, 2010 @ 9:51 am
lol, typoon special with everything half off….thats priceless!!
I think the raw chicken puts me off too, dont think I could bring myself to consume that.
Agnes
January 26, 2010 @ 9:02 pm
Lorraine: Mhmm gizzards! I would totally order gizzards, but it would mean my husband would go hungry. He is not as curious as me, hehee.
mademoiselle: Hehee, me either!
3 hungry tummies: I haven't eaten Japanese food since we got back from Japan. I'm afraid I'll be disappointed!
Conor: Not even raw egg?!
kata_kata: thanks for stopping by and commenting! 🙂 Okonomiyaki and takoyaki are fantastic! And the chicken was definitely raw – we saw people eat it – ewwwww.
Maria: We certainly weren't complaining about the 50% typhoon special!