Yakitori Yurippi - Crows Nest, NSW

I really can't believe that it's been almost a month since my last blog post...I mean, how did they time pass so quickly? I guess life for us has just gotten that hectic that I hadn't had the time to sit down and reflect but I now find myself in a position where I can sit quietly and reminisce about the most AMAZING (I mean amazing) dinner I had for my birthday. Despite claiming not to have planned anything in celebration of my birthday, the Mrs had actually booked a table for the two of us to go to a place that I've wanted to go to for some time now: Yakitori Yurippi.

I love places like Yurippi...humble, homey and welcoming small eateries that offer amazing food for relatively little money. The decor is like any authentic Japanese izakaya and the eclectic crowd shows it...a family out for a nice dinner, a group of old friends catching up over drinks or a young couple (like us) flirting and enjoying each others company. Everyone is welcome and everyone will be able to find something they enjoy. We arrive relatively early for our booking and are one of the first guests seated. Immediately, I notice the extensive menu of drinks (I'm a sucker for Japanese whisky) and the small but concise list of savoury items you can order. At $2.90 per skewer (most skewers), every item is an absolute steal!

I start off with a glass of Mars on the rocks whilst the Mrs chooses to have the Oolong high. My Mars is crisp, sweet and oh-so-refreshing! I love the fact that so many places are stocking and appreciating Japanese whisky nowadays and it's even better when they serve it with an ice sphere. The Mrs Oolong high is still a bit too strong for her but it is very mellow. The distinct taste of the Oolong tea really helps smooth over the alcoholic content and brings out a very lovely characteristic.

 

Shortly after our drinks came, our food quickly started to arrive at the table one after another. First to come was the chicken karaage. Seriously, I kid you not, I've had my fair share of karaage but this, hands down, has to be one of the best. So juicy and flavoursome on the inside yet crunchy on the outside. It may have soaked up a bit too much oil in the fry but you don't really care because the marinade penetrated the meat so well that you are just overwhelmed by how moreish and delicious the chicken is. No mayo or citrus needed...just pure poultry indulgence.

Then after that came our dish of small oden items. To sample as much as you can, it's always best to order a little bit of everything and we definitely did not hold back. Eggs, chikuwa fish cake and radish with a rather nice broth, all of which were nice to have with a smidge of Japanese hot mustard.

As I said earlier, the items came quick, hot and fast and before we finished our first bite of the oden, our gyoza and first plate of kushimono came! The gyoza had just the right amount for sharing and as you can see in the picture below, had an amazingly crunchy skirt. The crackling-like skirt almost stuck to your teeth as you chewed which makes me suspect they used rice flour instead of plain flour for the gruel.

For the kushimono, we ordered pork belly, chicken cartilage and chicken skin. When ordering certain items, you have a choice of two flavours: salt or soy. We decided to try one skewer of each flavor for the pork belly and to be honest, though the soy was really nice with it's sweet yet savoury attribute, the salt really, really stole the show as the salt helped bring out the natural rich porcine flavour of the belly fat. The cartilage was a great snack as it offered a nice contrast of textures before moving on to the most desirable skewer: the chicken skin. Charred to a perfect crisp yet supple in some parts, each stretch weaved over itself to capture the oils and flavours in the nooks and crevices...if you visit, it is imperative that you order this.

On our second plate of kushimono, we had another skewer of the pork belly, some miso ox tongue and two skewers each of the chicken thigh. The miso ox tongue was really tender and beefy though it could have done with a bit more of the sauce. The way it was applied made it hard for the sweet and nutty miso sauce to stick to the meat. The chicken thigh was cooked really, really well: tender, juicy and so amazingly savoury...I could go all night, skewer after skewer and not be bored.

Then we had something that was surprisingly delicious and I seriously regret not ordering more: the pork jowl. Charcoal grilled until the exterior is crispy yet yielding a gelatinous snap, the three pieces of meat almost taste like pork flavoured butter when eaten as it melts and seaps into each of your tastebuds, overwhelming them with a sense of elation and momentary bliss before you realise...there's no more. Mental note to self: order more next time.

Another interesting skewer we had was the bacon wrapped mochi. Tasted like torched, unsweetened marshmallows wrapped in salty, smokey bacon. Though not my favourite item that we ordered, the Mrs thoroughly enjoyed it for which I am glad.

Another skewer that I had high expectations of but didn't exactly satisfy was the wagyu beef. Very, very tender and rich but...slightly lacking in meatiness and char.

Then came the thing that blew everything out of the water. A few years back, I'd visited Hong Kong and went to Yardbird. I was keen to try their chicken meatball (tsukune) but it was so packed that we couldn't get a table and it didn't work out. Since then, we've been fortunate enough to have many places borrow that formula and open up in Sydney. That said, until that night, I had still yet to try the famous chicken meatballs on a skewer. But when I did, oh man, there was no going back. Soft and juicy chicken mince (with some cartilage thrown in for good texture and measure) that's charred and smokey on the outside but so mellow and crazy delicious on the inside...served with this umami packed dipping sauce that has a 63 degree egg gently floating on top of it. Mix it all up so that the yolk, white and sauce cling onto the meatball...take a bite and literally ascend into chicken heaven. It was so, so, so good that I ordered seconds.

By this point, the Mrs and I were quite full so we ordered some last snacky items to round off the meal. Unfortunately, as they were getting quite busy, we had to vacate our table soon (we were part of the first round on a Friday night) but no biggie! We had so far thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the service was so fantastic that we didn't care. I do admit though...I would have wished I could have spent my whole evening there gorging away. But alas, our last few orders came and it was time to wrap up. The scallops with kombu butter were tasty but could be something saved for the seafood lovers and the veges (although cooked perfectly) could have been substituted for more chicken thigh and meatballs...ok, I admit it, the other items were amazing as well but I just wanted more time to enjoy the meat. The Japanese omelette though is a must order....so warming. Literally, the perfect way to end the dinner.

As I reluctantly left the establishment, I noticed that the outside had quickly formed a rather large line. Whilst I'm unsure as to whether or not the line was for Yurippi or the yakiniku place next door, I'm convinced that if I had such an amazing time there, the line must have been for Yurippi. I have never been more impressed with the decor, service, staff, quality of the food and the value that we recieved. Inclusive of the drinks and almost 40 items between the two of us, our bill only racked up to $140 so in retrospect, I should have gone HAM. No worries, after this experience, I'll take any excuse and any invite to go again *wink wink nudge nudge*