Yakitori in the hood

One evening we decided to check out a new izakaya in our neighborhood with a heavy shade of doubts. Decent dining establishments have been few and far between near our home, let alone a Japanese restaurant, but turned out the place was far better than we expected.

Iburi was reincarnated from Chef Mori-san's (failed) attempt for a high-price Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant in the same site at the corner of Taikoo Place. The whole concept has changed from formal keiseki style cooking to something more casual at around half the price. The place specializes in Sumibiyaki, which literally means charcoal fire cooking, and the decor and set up reflected such, with an open kitchen with the binchoten charcoal grill and an L-shaped counter which could seat up to 12. 

There's no fixed menu for dinner and everything served omakase-style with daily specials that we could choose to add on top. The majority of dishes were various parts of chicken but there were also some other meat and vegetable dishes served over the course of the 3-hour dinner. The appetizer platter of edamame, vegetables with miso sauce and toast with chicken liver pate was quickly followed by the first course of Kanmuri, also known as comb or crown, served in a bamboo skewer. It's perfectly prepared with the crunchy texture and nice smoky flavor. 

Chickens are sourced locally and they did try to make full use of the whole bird, head to tail, including some of the "uncommon parts" such as seseri (neck) and saezuri (esophagus). I really love the crunchy texture of the piece of saezuri with the slightly sweet marinate. There were also the more traditional parts such as heart, kidney and thigh, or vegetables such as baby onions, cherry tomatoes and asparagus, all of which decent. Ox tongue was another of my favorite of the evening, done tender with a slightly crisped crust. 

A small bowl of junsai with vinaigrette was served as our palate cleanser before tsukune (minced chicken meat) with egg yolk and yaki-onigiri with tori paitan as our final savory courses. I like the crispy riceball dipped into the bowl of intensely rich chicken broth for a comforting zosui style dish. There's a choice of desserts, and both of us went for the purin, or egg custard flan with caramel which was the most typical dessert served at a yakitori restaurant. Love the wobbly soft texture and rich eggy flavor.

They did have an impressive line-up of sakes and wines plus cocktails, but then we also brought our own bottle so we ended up BYO. The Yamahai Gohyakumangoku from the legendary Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute has just the right intense flavor to go with the big and bold tastes from the grilled courses with the hint of sweetness cut down the fattiness. 

Good to have some place we are more than happy to go back to, not just a desperate last resort when we are too lazy to go anywhere far but a legit izakaya for a serious meal. 

When? April 5 2023
Where? Iburi Smoke Sumibiyaki Bar, Shop G01, Berkshire House, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Yaki-Onigiri with Tori Paitan
Drinks?
2018 Yamahai Gohyakumangoku Muroka Namagenshu, Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute, Ishikawa Prefecture
2018 農口尚彦研究所 山廃五百万石 無濾過生原酒 - 石川県 農口尚彦研究所
Web: www.taikooplace.com/en/amenities/dining/iburi