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Yardbird
Judging by the hordes of diners who flock to Yardbird, it seems like everyone in Hong Kong knows about this stunning restaurant. And there’s good reason for the mass popularity – Matt Abergel, previously of sushi temple Masa in New York and of Zuma in our own backyard, has meticulously put together a dining experience that works on all levels.
Yardbird is an izakaya/yakitori venue that Tokyo denizens wouldn’t roll their eyes at. The menu says come early and come often. People do. They come for the minimalist space on an unassuming stretch of Bridges Street. Small touches abound – jars to discard skewer sticks and a diner style drinks board. The diners come for the inviting bar, funky soundtrack, and the creative and accessible drinks programme. Order the El Chonie, a perfect marriage of beer and tequila. But most importantly, obviously, diners come for the food.
The chicken here is being treated no differently than the finest piece of toro, with love and care. And it returns the favour by donating literally every part of its body. The thigh, wing, neck, liver, tail or skin – all priced at $38 a skewer – would be a good place to start. Order them all. Smoky, salty, juicy and cooked to perfection. The liver is creamy inside, the tail fatty and gelatinous, presented as tiny little morsels that melt on the tongue. And the wing is boned just so, almost elegantly – moist meat with blistered skin. Speaking of skin, it’s reminiscent of a crunchy potato chip – one skewer is not enough. And who knew how much we’d love chicken necks, splashed with a spicy pepper sauce? Go for the oyster ($42) as well – and don’t say you can’t eat oysters, like the fashionista who sat next to us. They’re two round pieces of dark meat near the thigh, not the shellfish – and it was our favourite skewer of the night.
The yakitori is chicken-only and, as incredible as it is, so is the rest of the menu. The KFC (Korean fried cauliflower, $75) has already entered the Hong Kong food pantheon. Neither too mushy nor al dente, the crisp orbs bring a touch of heat thanks to the yuzu and chilli. Manganji peppers with honey and sea salt ($58) also pack a sneaky touch of spice behind the blistered skins, tempered by the sweetness of the honey. The liver mousse ($110) was silky and properly livery, served on milk bread so airy and light we wanted to make a bed out of it, with crispy shallots that were some of the best onion rings we’ve ever had, as miniature as they may be. The fried chicken ($140) with garlic and kewpie mayonnaise is the benchmark in town.
Were there any hiccups? Barely. A pickled Napa fennel ($30) overwhelmed by too much vinegar and a chicken meatball ($42) that was ho-hum were overshadowed by the bubbly and knowledgeable service (no service charge, a trend that we hope continues to gain traction) and every other dish we tried. We did curse ourselves for passing on a dish called chicken and rice – a ‘risotto-esque’ creation with crispy chicken skin and peas – after we saw another diner tucking in, so there’s more of this heavenly grub to sample in the future.
Yardbird is a game place. Hell, even the name is cool. Wyndham Street can have the cougars, we’ll be hiding out in Sheung Wan from now on with the chickens. Ryan Andrews
33-35 Bridges St, Sheung Wan, 2547 9273; www.yardbirdrestaurant.com. Mon-Sat 6pm-late. Closed Sun.
The bill
Korean fried cauliflower $75
Manganji peppers $58
Liver mousse $110
Pickled Napa fennel $30
Chicken meatball $42
chicken tail x2 $38pp
Oyster x2 $42pp
Chicken skin $30
Chicken liver $38
Chicken thigh $38
Chicken wings $38
Chicken neck $38
Fried chicken $140
Ten percent service charge $0
Total (for two): $797
14 Comments Add your comment
Yardbird is super fly! It's rocking! It's an experience of Pure Bliss...Call it what you want: from the first time I went there I was welcomed warmly and very well taken care of by the extremely attentive and equally friendly and very global staff. I am very happy to say that this is as good as it possible gets: Great atmosphere: check. Great service: check. Yummilicious food: check. Awesomeness going on in the kitchen by chef Matt: c h e c k. Close to home: check. Feeling the Love and the Passion in the restaurant and on the plates: check. Coming back all the time: check. What else can I say...? Matt, Lindsay & Co you guys are my heroes! I am so happy for you all! You deserve it oh so much!!! All the Love and Light, Joakim
If its good enough for Dolph, thats good enough for me :)
6pm till late? Aww..I was hoping I'd be able to hit it up for lunch, oh well..
The worst dinner experience that I have ever had in Hong Kong! As simple as that. extremely noisy, slow service, cheap ingredients at an outrageously high price, servers are very agressive and come every 2 minutes to ask you for some drinks. It was simply HORRIBLE. My rating is less than 0. TOTAL RIP OFF. If you don't believe, try it, you'll be extremely disspointed
I have to agree with Victoria about the price. It was a nice space, and the bar is fun and lively, but I was completely shocked that one small yakitori stick (ie one chicken wing) was around $40. We spent $1000 for two (2 beers each) and went away hungry. As much as I love the atmosphere I won't be going back, these guys have a freakishly high margin that shocked even me (someone who is used to spending heaps on dinner).
this is the kind of advertorial that renders time out and most of the other similar publications in HK fairly useless. please, please can you hire some reviewers that know how to cook themselves, and are able to assess what's actually on the plate instead of the surroundings? that will prevent them from being bowled over by a "cool" place that serves ridiculously simple and exorbitantly overpriced little chicken skewers. let's keep it real folks... there is essentially nothing wrong with yardbird's concept and execution, and it would have my full support if their margins were 50% lower.
foodie #3 is quite right - timeout you guys are useless at giving a realistic review. no mention at all about the price even though more than half a dozen of my friends who have been separately mentioned it was overpriced. Did they not give you a menu with prices on?
Thank you for your comments, we appreciate everything our readers have to say. As we state in every issue of the magazine all reviews are independent, anonymous and we pay for all meals. All prices are listed throughout and at the bottom of the article.
This was the worst dinning experience i've ever had, i went for dinner with a party of 4 which one person was held up at work, we were not allowed to sit at a table that was vacant and we asked for as we didn't have a "complete party"..we watched in disbelief when they marched other people to our table that we were standing next to, they refused to give us any menu's until our party was complete!!.. complete bullocks, i had an augment with my wife as i wanted to leave and my friends wife (who ran late) was upset as she felt as though she had ruined the night by not enabling us to be a "complete party" i have never been treated like this before and never wish to again, i am the one paying the bill here and want a restaurant to at least show respect to its customers, in the end, its just a chicken shop and expensive at that...There are many good restaurants in Hong Kong and competition for your business is stiff, anyone with half a brain would not let themselves be subjected to this ridiculous attitude. Just save your money and any angst by avoiding it like the plague...
Appallingly overrated. Fried Cauliflower has entered the HK pantheon??! Utter rubbish. Majority of the food is overtly oily and far from unique. Service was intrusive. Waitress even duly informed us that they had won awards for the service standards. Surely a sign??? Time Out HK shame on you for a stunningly inaccurate review.
Ignore the winers and cheapkids. This was yummy fun food of fine quality and this place gets 5 STARS from us. Japanese BBQ Chicken and done O SO right! Best meal of the whole trip.
Yardbird is number 1 restau in HK. try it then u will believe
really enjoyed this place...DELICIOUS. http://www.lu-loves-to-eat.blogspot.com/2012/04/yardbird.html
Just got home after a meal here. So very underwhelmed.... Sticks were expensive and not greatly seasoned. Other food was ambitious, but fell far short of the mark. Atmosphere was fun, but service wasn't great. Hated that every 5 minutes or so, a staff person came by to wipe off the sweat from the drinks, water from the table. Very distracting to have someone cleaning around you while eating. Also not sure what was going on with the exhaust system, but the downstairs was enveloped with smoke. I might go back for drinks, but don't feel the need to ever eat here again... For better Yakitori, I would recommend the place down the street on Stauton called Nan Tei. More authentic Japanese street cuisine..and a lot more choices. Overall flavor was much better there than at Yardbird.
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