Yakitori in Tai Hang

We came across this izakaya while wandering in this Tai Hang neighborhood looking for a place to eat. What caught our eyes first was this place seems to be relatively packed while most other places looked like half deserted, so we figured that's a good indication of the food quality.

All the tables were booked up for the night so they seated us at the counter directly facing the open kitchen. There's a good variety of dishes available on the menu - all of them prepared in the open kitchen behind the bar counter and most of them served in skewers. There's a decent selection of drinks too, mainly sake but some shochu or whisky choices as well - my only complaint was they insisted on serving bottled water.

Over the course of the evening we managed to try on a number of different dishes. The skewer dishes were predominantly different parts of chicken but there's some seafood and meat selection too. The grilled local chicken was excellent with tender and well-seasoned meat and slightly smoky flavor from the grill. I also liked the mentaiko-stuffed chicken wings with the crispy skin.

The tsukune - classic chicken skewer made with minced meat - was on the crunchy side with more cartilage added in to the minced meat mixture. It's said to be served in okonomiyaki style which I had no idea what exactly that meant, and it's curiously served with a half-boiled egg rather than just the egg yolk, which I thought gave it a washed down taste.

The ox-tongue served on the skewer was fine with a firm texture, but strangely in uneven portion with one piece significantly bigger than the other. The yellowtail fish head was simply grilled on open fire with a generous sprinkle of salt and is perfectly done with the crisped and charred skin and the delicate meat underneath.

We finished with a couple of onigiri - mine finished with a dab of truffle butter and hers with miso glaze. I like mine with the nicely done crust. This is a decent place that we would definitely come back.

When? August 8 2019
Where? Moto Yakitori and Sake Bar, Shop A, 21 Brown Street, Tai Hang, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Meitaiko-stuffed Chicken Wings
Web: www.facebook.com/motoyakitori/