Yardbird - Hong Kong's hottest yakitori joint is smokin'

Chicken meatballs

I hate hype for the sake of hype. The bad thing about that is, once I smell hype, I think, "uh-oh, this could be horrible". I don't know why my immediate thought isn't, "oh wow, so many people are raving about it, maybe it really is awesome". I think it's a terminal illness they call cynicism.

Hachibei, yummy yaki - Fukuoka, Kyushu

Yakitori! Lots of smoke, but no mirrors

For work, we did an interview with Chef Matt of Yardbird, dubbed "Hong Kong's 'it' restaurant" (well...), and one of my questions was, "What are some of your favourite places to eat in Tokyo?" to which he replied that he actually thought food in Fukuoka was better. This was a few days before I was about to set off to Fukuoka - Helloooooo Lady Luck - so I asked my boss to kindly find out where exactly his fave restaurants in Fukuoka were. Of course, Matt's super busy, but he did manage one name - Hachibei. (And no, I don't think those questions appeared in the Q&A in the end.)

Growing up sucks

When I was younger, this was one of my family's favourite izakayas. They've now moved up the street and look like a sad Hongkie style Japanese restaurant instead of the rustic/lived in izakaya it once was. The food is still pretty decent, but the service was a bit blunt and their last order is at 11pm - not very izakaya-ish in my books...

Chopped tuna and cucumber roll (6 pieces, but I was too hungry...)

The spring onion was perhaps a little overpowering, but then again, it's sometimes normal at izakayas, where the drinking is just as important - the logic being you need flavourful food to go with the robust beverages.