Dinner at Torisho Ishii Hina
I happened to have my travel schedule aligned with someone I haven’t seen in a while in a recent trip to Japan. So I invited them to their first omakase experience in Tokyo which they agreed to.
Since it was a plan under short-notice, I thought yakitori would be a good choice to ease a first-timer into the experience, unlike this guy right here who had his first omakase in Tenzushi Kyomachi.
So then, I found across Torisho Ishii Hina while looking around. It’s an offshoot branch of Torisho Ishii, which is a well-regarded places in Osaka that’s very hard to get reservations at. Torisho Ishii Hina has the apprentices taking helm, though the head chef of Torisho Ishii may show up once a month with no clear way to tell.
Accolades wise, the place has earned Tabelog Bronze Award with rating above 4 stars, so I had high expectations of this place.
Torisho Ishii Hina- Booking
Reservations can be made via Omakase. Difficulty wise, it’s relatively easy with open schedule in the same month and the next few. However, there’s 2 guests minimum here, so solo diners unfortunately won’t be able to make a reservation.
The price before drinks and add-ons is 15000 yen which is a fair price for high-end yakitori. There’s two dinner slots available from 5:30PM or 8:30PM, and I chose the 5:30PM one.
Torisho Ishii Hina- Location
The restaurant is located in a residential area of Minami-Azabu. Azabu-Juban Station is the closest metro station, but there’d be some walk to get there. Depending on where you come from, bus can be another option, like from where I was in Takanawa Hanakohro.
Torisho Ishii Hina- Yakitori Omakase Experience
The restaurant’s interior also feels modern with smooth wooden finish and a bonsai tree in the background. The skewers of the day were already in place.
In front of me, garnishing like lemon and pepper were prepared for your preferences. Then, consomme came to start the course.
The first two pieces are chicken breast & thighs seasoned with salt. The breast had wasabi garnishing. Both were very juicy.
Then, the gizzard. Rubbery, but that’s to be expected.
For the drink, I opted for Royal Blue Tea’s Hana Jasmine Tea. I had it in Sushi Sakai and was glad that this place had Royal Blue Tea selections! The Hana has a striking flowery fragrant that I enjoyed. A must try for jasmine tea lovers!
Then, the first vegetable, brocolini.
The karaage was interesting. It had more crunch than a typical karaage and had seaweed taste on top. I liked it!
The next piece is the neck. Very soft!
The chicken wing had the crispiest skin! The bone was very hot to pick up at first.
After that, turnip soup to cleanse the palate.
The chicken tails were very soft to be expected!
The staff then showcased the mixed rice that would soon come at the end of the course.
The negima that comes after had skin flap that were so large when they were raw. It’s surprising how small they shrinked after grilling.
The roast duck was a pleasant surprise! It was cold, but tasted sweet and tender.
Then, the tsukune or meatballs with tare. It was piping hot inside, but good nonetheless.
Finally, my most anticipated piece, the chochin. It’s the most interesting one where everyone takes their phones out to take pictures and videos with the chef posing. He knows they’re the main attraction of the night, and it’s fitting as the last skewer of the night!
This was my first time trying chochin. They’re basically grilled chicken ovaries and fallopian tube. Chochin translates to “lantern” which is reflected by the egg sacs and their bright colors.
This one in particular added livers at the end.
The egg sacs just burst in the mouth once bitten. Explosions of flavors inbound, and it was amazing!
After that, the mixed rice came. It has minced chicken and pepper. Very light and savory.
For the final dish, I chose the oyakodon, which means “mother & child bowl” since there’s both the egg and the chicken in the bowl. A pretty grim translation, but I’ve always liked this Japanese dish.
The other choice would be chicken ramen which I think I would’ve loved due to the very clear broth shown on pictures. But, I’ve had a nice shio ramen in Tokyo on the same trip before so I wanted to try a rice dish instead.
After the final dish, add-ons can be ordered, and the pieces available can vary depending on the day and can range around 200-800 yen per order. I didn’t order any extra as I was quite full!
If finished, dessert came which was just shaved ice with pineapple. It was good and light, but thought it was too simple.
Everything in Torisho Ishii Hina tasted great! The pieces with skin definitely stood out with their crispiness and smoky flavors. The atmosphere in the restaurant was sophisticated, but lively which was great! I was also glad to finally try chochin for the first time! For the price, it’s relatively good value.
However, I’m not in a hurry to go back to this place as there are many other yakitori places that are relatively easy to book in Japan. I’m still interested in the yakitori genre and would like to explore more of it.