By Betty Richardson
The Place
In today’s modern world, where the practices of industrial farming and spiraling meat consumption have produced unsavory environmental realities, ‘nose to tail’ dining is high on dining agendas. Japanese yakitori-ya, informal charcoal barbecue restaurants serving grilled chicken skewers, have always been about off-beat offal, though most in Shanghai focus on conventional offerings.
Not so at Yakitori Torishou (鸟啸炭火烧酒场), a relatively new and trendy place with a reputation for 'rare parts' (read: things the chicken only has one of.) These items have a reputation for selling out early, thus we have booked an extra early reservation – essentially for the privilege of eating a grilled chicken anus.
The Food
Anuses are the least of our problems as we scan Torishou's tri-lingual menu, which as it turns out has more than one type of rare meat. It seems a little short, listing just chicken breast, tenderloin and liver... until the waitress politely points out this is just the raw sashimi menu.
For the record, chicken sashimi is relatively common in Japan, bacterial risks apparently negated by a 10-second sear on the grill. At any rate, they're sold out on our visit, sparing us the certain ridicule of chickening out at the last minute (pun intended.)
We will however, be venturing to try the next best thing: chochin, or, chicken ovaries, complete with dangling pre-formed yolks.
We grimace at first mouthful, but there's no doubt of its deliciousness.
Pleasantly chewy and richly flavored, the experience is enhanced by the pop of still-runny yolks, which to our relief taste the same as those in egg form.
This isn't the only thing Torishou gets right. Chicken anuses, to our surprise, are also good to eat: crispy on the outside, and meaty textured within – and none of the barnyard aftertaste we usually associate with intestine.
An equally fabulous mouthful is to be found in the five-layer pork belly, which is brought to a new realm of pungent and fresh flavor by a heavy dousing of scallions.
Blistered shishito chili peppers are a fantastic counterpart to the fattiness of the meat, some mild and some ferociously hot.
And as for carbs? Look no further than the chewy, crunchy textures of grilled rice cake.
Perhaps the standout, however, is the tskune: minced chicken meatball with egg yolk dip. Glazed with more of the addictive tare sauce, the tskune is beautifully flavored with finely chopped shiso leaf, and tiny pieces of chicken cartilege for texture. Dipped in the glossy egg yolk and chased with ice cold beer, it's everything you could want from yakitori.
There are a few underwhelmers. Chicken skins wrapped around garlic sounded like the best thing since, well, yakitori, but the still-raw cloves within rendered it inedible for fear of alienating all within a 500-meter radius. Insipidly watery chicken stock congee and bitter-tinged chicken liver skewers also constitute Torishou's lesser stabs at brilliance.
Happily, these are anomilies among what is otherwise a carefully executed menu.
Food verdict: 2/3
The Vibe
Smack dab in the former French Concession, Torishou's location comes at the expense of space, of which there is little. Expect to sit elbow-to-elbow at a kitchen facing bar, or if with a group, call ahead and reserve one of the cozy private rooms. Service is brusque but friendly, with coats taken, drinks offered and orders fulfilled with reassuring efficiency.
The casual, bar-like ambiance teems with activity, with incoming orders and outgoing skewers flying from the kitchen at a dizzying rate. It's definitely not somewhere you'd go for a slow dinner. Come instead for lively and perhaps drunken dinners, and come early if you're on the hunt for rare parts.
Vibe Verdict: 2/2
Total Verdict: 4/5
Price: RMB150-250 per person
Who's going: young locals and Japanese expats
Good for: casual dining, cheap eats, dates
Yakitori Torishou, 133 Fuxing Xi Lu, by Wukang Lu 复兴西路133, 近武康路 (6433 4261)
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