i read the paper (yes, the actual dead trees printed paper) about 5 out of 7 days of the week. every Wednesday they have a food section - it talks about trends, recipes, restaurants and all kinds of stuff. so one day, i'm reading the paper, and they talk about this newish restaurant called Yakitori Yoshi. they've got grilled food on sticks (yakitori, hello), and other items in an izakaya style set up. i say: "grilled food on sticks?! i'm in!" heres some visual aids for your drooling pleasure.... my advance apologies for the blurry quality of the pictures. i'm no Lebowitz. SAKE: it comes in some really cute glass ware.... this place being Japanese, obviously has sake. they also have beer, wine and the regular soft drink stuff. SKIN: yes, they have skin.... and i'm pretty sure its chicken skin. (just kidding, of course its chicken skin.... right?) note, they also have chicken heart, gizzards, cartilage, and more. you might think, "you can eat all those things?!" - yes, you can. i'll try just about anything once, so i was pretty excited about eating here. SWEET POTATO CROQUETTE: this is not made with Okinawan sweet potatoes. i thought it would be, but alas.... its yams. that doesn't mean its not good - its good. just be warned, if you're expecting that purple sweetness to come, you'll be let down. but, try it anyhow, its still pretty good. BEEF TENDON: if you like the soft, squishy texture of tendon, you will love this. tendon is not for everyone. some people can't get around the texture thing. but, if you scoff at food textures, and will eat anything that is oozing flavor, than this is the dish for you. this came out hot, and had a delicious thick broth full of collagen. it also was accompanied by nishime ingredients like potato, carrot and konnyaku jelly. TAKOYAKI: yes, under all that bonito are takoyaki balls. I FRIGGIN LOVE TAKOYAKI. i can't fully explain why, but i can tell you the takoyaki at Yaki-Yoshi (yes, i'm resulting to shortened nicknames now) is good. they politely place the mayonnaise on the side, instead of on top, but i would have eaten it either way. its not takoyaki unless that delicious eggy Japanese mayonnaise is involved. mmmmmmmm i drool now. CHICKEN HEART: yes, i ate a heart. it was small, and meaty, and delicious. i've never actually seen a chicken heart, and they're both surprisingly, and unsurprisingly small. i say both b/c when it comes out, you revel at how small it is. you question, "is this really how big their hearts are?" and then you realize, "well, of course thats how big their hearts are, what was i expecting? a softball?" - yeah... it goes something like that. the flavor is slightly chickeny, but the texture is more beefy. its interesting. MIXED MUSHROOMS: if you've ever had the mushroom medley at Gyukagu, then this one simply does not compare. they have a similar mix of mushrooms here (enoki, shitake, button), but the flavor is just..... different. i think i'm used to the one at Gyukagu more. i really shouldn't compare (but i'm going to). you see, at Gyukaku, they put butter, or salt, or crack cocaine in their mushroom mix, so it is delicious and tasty. here at Yaki-Yoshi, i think they just let the mushrooms speak for themselves, and put little to no seasoning in there. yes, the mushroom flavors are there, but no seasonings are - i guess its just a matter of preference for this one. should you drown them in butter, or let the natural flavors take precedence? hm....... BEEF TONGUE: i love beef tongue. it's such an overlooked meat/dish. many people can't get around the fact that it is a tongue, but i'm like HEY, at least its better than eating things like kidneys or liver.... those are filters, and in my mind, kinda dirty. a tongue is just another muscle. here at Yaki-Yoshi, they don't slice it thin enough for my liking, so you end up chewing forever.... the flavor was good, but they should slice these thinner. i guess they think they're doing you a favor by making them thick? meh. SPICY MISO GRILLED MUSUBI: these would have been better, had they not been grilled for so long..... to me, there is a difference between CRISPY and HARD. the outside of these musubi were HARD :( the miso had a really great flavor, but i could not get around the hard texture of the musubi outsides. this dish has lots of potential, if they grill it less....... BEEF SKEWERS: garlic. ponzu. beef. sticks. yes - you must stop after saying each word to get the full effect. these things were some of the best food i've ever had on a stick. the garlic ponzu sauce is delicious, and the meat is so tender that it makes chewing a pleasure (unlike the musubis :P). you could probably get away with swallowing this thing whole, but then it would spend less time in your mouth..... BACON WRAPPED ENOKI MUSHROOMS: i love bacon, i love enoki mushrooms, but i'm not sure that i love them together. this dish represents mixed emotions for me. enoki mushrooms are usually served lightly cooked, or raw, so when you deep fry them too much, they become very chewy, and not entirely easy to eat. i understand that it was necessary to fry them for a length of time in order to cook the bacon properly, but, i think in this dish, they should have used a different type of mushroom. also, b/c the way enoki mushrooms are bunched together, they collected a lot of oil, so when you bite into it, you get a gush of oil.... not exactly the dish i'd like to enjoy. i wanted to like this, but found it difficult :(
we also had some other items, which, in my rush to stuff my face, i forgot to take pictures of.... some of those items include fried cheese in eggroll style wrap, ramen, and probably a bunch of other stuff i forget eating. geez - we had a ton of food. now...... for the horror story: as we're just finishing dinner, my friend is talking to me, and i notice something moving....... i look up, and to my horror, there is a huge B-52 (for those of you who don't know what a B-52 is, it is local slang for BIG ASS ROACH) sauntering into our room. i calmly say...... *OHMYGODWHATTHEFUCK!* (sarcasm, yes), and point it out. we all are literally backed into a corner, and feebly yelling for our waiter to come and take care of it. yes. all 4 of us adults, that are a hundred times bigger than this roach, we all squirmed in the corner trying to get the hell away from it. i was considering putting a picture of a roach here, but my INTENSE ROACH PHOBIA just wouldn't let me. i tried, and nearly vomited. i hate roaches. now - it could have come from outside, accidentally. OR, it could be the result of a less than clean establishment. i cannot know for sure. what i can say is, the food here is just "ok", and not spectacular. you can try it, just to see what you think, but just pick wisely b/c the dishes here are hit or miss. also, if you're not paying attention, it could get expensive (per person, we paid about $40 each - YIKES). ******************* Yakitori Yoshi 1427 Makaloa St Honolulu, HI 96814 (808) 941-6891
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |