Yakitori Totto gets 'em yacking
Chunks of chicken breast grilled on a skewer? Sure, but you really ought to try the tail
The bird on its logo tells you that Yakitori Totto is a place for chicken lovers, but here the skewered and char-grilled meet is way above the usual street fare. It’s all in the grade of chicken, the quality of the charcoal and the grilling technique.
The homey Thonglor eatery lets nothing go to waste either, doing wonders with the neck, liver, gizzard, skin and tail as well as the wings, thighs and breasts.
The jidori chicken it uses is raised on all-natural grain and no hormones or steroids. Only female chicks around 11 weeks old are selected, to ensure flavourful, full-textured meat. It’s never frozen.
The meat is grilled over premium binchotan charcoal made from ubame oak. It burns longer with a pleasant odour but less smoke.
“The temperature is generally about 900 degrees Celsius,” says co-owner Nisamanee Bhirombhakdi. “We use two long braziers to char the meat gradually without burning the skewers. Each portion takes about three minutes to cook perfectly. Then the chicken is drizzled with Okinawa sea salt and Ginjoshu sake to create a delicate aroma.”
Ryuichi “Bobby” Munekata opened the first Yakitori Totto in New York in 2004. Bangkok’s edition – launched three months ago by seven Thai pals – is the first overseas outlet.
Nisamanee explains that fellow co-owner Kanthalas Dhanasarnsilp had lived and worked in New York and “guaranteed its delectable taste, so we all agreed to bring these dishes to Bangkok diners, who are always eager to try new things.
“If chicken’s not your thing,” she adds, “we also have scallop, shrimp, pork and beef and a variety of vegetable dishes.”
A chicken breast and shards of scallion on a stick cost Bt70, the wing – crispy outside and soft inside – is Bt75, and the liver is Bt65 and cooked almost well done by Thai standards but medium rare for Japanese.
At Yakitori Totto, fattier might be better. Lots of folks are ordering the fatty tail, which is so scrumptious it doesn’t normally come with dipping sauce. Thai diners will nevertheless appreciate the fiery hot sauce made just for them from chilli paste and Japanese herbs.
Another pleasing choice is the Chicken Meatball (Bt70), which is sprinkled with sea salt and teriyaki sauce and served with a raw egg for dipping into the yolk.
A heavier meal is the Yakitori Don (Bt210), which is three skewered thighs, a poached egg and shredded scallions atop a bowl of rice.
Then there’s Chicken Nanban (Bt210), fried and topped with tartar sauce and sweetened, peppery nanban sauce, along with steamed rice and green vegetables on the side.
For a light meal, start with Kyona and Jyako Salad (Bt260) with crisp-fried and salted silver fish, bits of cream cheese, shredded seaweed and a half-raw egg. You beat the egg until soft and pour it over the salad.
Mizore Gake (Bt160) is deep-fried eggplant and mochi with sweet-and-spicy sauce containing grated daikon and chopped spring onions.
The must-try appetiser is Yakumi Zaru Tofu (Bt170) – home-made curd served in a bamboo basket with a seasoning dish of spring onions, ginger and toasted sesame seeds. You pour soy sauce into the seasoning dish to dip with the soft and chilled tofu.
On top of all this you’ve got draught beer and sake and, at the end, several tempting desserts. If you love panna cotta, try the creamy Apricot Kernel Tofu (Bt90), a bit sweet and with a hint of apricot.
But you have to sample the Japanese version of affogato, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with sweetened red beans and mochi topped with a shot of hot green tea (Bt100).
THONGLOR TOTTO
<< Yakitori Totto is on the second floor of the J Avenue mall on Soi Thonglor 15.
<< It’s open daily from 11.30am to 10pm.
<< Call (02) 712 7001.
