Dinner at Aburiyatei

This is a post that I started writing 2 weeks ago, but have been working way too hard ever since. I was in China for a week (more posts on that to follow), and wasn't able to post anything from there since they've banned blogger.

We had a really good dinner at Aburiyatei before I left for China. So far, we've always been coming for the occasional nibble and drink izakaya fare, and not for a full meal. Since both of us were stressed and tired and in need of a good meal plus alcohol to lift our spirits, the husband suggested trying their dinner set ($75 for 2 people), which we had seen on previous visits and thought was really good value for money compared to the a la carte menu.

First up: edamame

And a salad - we got to choose any salad from their menu.

The starter of fresh veggies and miso dip....really nice! Did a good job in whetting the appetite.

Edamame and draft beer - who could ask for anything more

The Seiniku Balsamic, or the chicken thigh with basalmic sauce. I was initially apprehensive about the basalmic sauce, but to my surprise it balanced the chicken very nicely, perhaps even better than the traditional sweet sauce.

Seiniku shio, or chicken thigh with salt.

Chilli powder. It's surprising how a little bit of spice can make everything taste better!

Naganegi, or Japanese leek. Probably the least exciting part of the menu.

Shitake mushrooms with shio (salt). The leek and mushrooms come with the option of shio, tare and basalmic, and we decided to go with the safest option.

The original menu has liver, which we don't eat, so I managed to swop it for nankotsu (cartilege) which the husband doesn't eat, but which I absolutely love. Some places in Tokyo cook it without any meat attached; but I liked the little bits of meat which made the chewing more interesting.

Negimatare (chicken leek with tare). By this time we were starting to realise that we were on a really good run - the chicken was consistently fresh, tasty and tender, no matter how it was cooked.

Teba shio, or chicken wings with shio. A definite winner. Crispy, well-cooked, not too oily and really really good with beer.

Tsukimi, or burger with half boiled egg dip.

The meatball/burger had a very interesting flavour and texture, and the egg dip was excellent.

You also get to choose either rice or chasoba - the husband went with the soba

...and I went for the rice (ontama gohan). A warning though - get the rice served upfront, otherwise you end up with a bowl of plain rice, a half boiled egg, and nothing else to eat it with. Like I did.

The egg was good though. Brought back good memories of Sushi Yoshida's set lunch starter.

Ice cream was a choice of green tea, sesame and one more boring flavour (either chocolate or vanilla). The green tea ice cream was very nice and mild, while the sesame was also pretty good.

The dinner came up to just below $100, including 2 alcoholic drinks and taxes.

Aburiyatei reportedly gets their free-range chicken from a farm in Johor, and the quality of food at the restaurant is evident in both the freshness and cooking. Nothing was burnt or undercooked. The only extremely minor gripe I have with this place (and this is only after thinking really hard) is the service - the waiting staff are attentive, but young and relatively inexperienced. But they are keen, pleasant and polite, which is good enough for me.

Aburiyatei Yakitori
60 Robertson Quay
#01-10 The Quayside
Tel: 6836 5370
Open for dinner until late.