Went to this Yawatahama #Yakitori place that Miyuki Kokubu @orangelecura knew of, doesn’t appear to be on any maps or online, called Tori Hei – a play on the name of the Onihei Hankachō #鬼平犯科帳 crime novels written by Shōtarō Ikenami. The bar is run by Yozuro Akio, at 70 years still feisty and cooking fiercely.
We started with #edamame beans and a grilled chicken wing, then a friend of chef Yozuro, a home brewer named Chimizu Youichi, came up to me with his latest sake test that he was warming up inside a wide raw bamboo pipe, and pouring me a shot into a cup he’d made out of more raw bamboo.
Then we had grilled chicken skin with sanshō #山椒 pepper and cabbage. Followed by grilled tofu with shaved bonito and ponzu.
After that, grilled chicken pieces dipped in a soy miso sauce that’s been on-the-roll for 23 years, a bit like a treasured sourdough.
Next, slices of the Yawatahama “special”, a ground whole fish paste called Jako-ten, not my favourite but infinitely better when chargrilled.
Finally we had balls of chicken mince on skewers, followed by what turned out to be a potential @yawatahama_marmalade_awards #marmaladefestivaljaan cocktails … #Shōchū #焼酎 with fresh squeezed #daidai or #sevilleorange, on ice rocks chiselled from a single block of ice, served in glazed stoneware cups. The business????
