Most people think of Japanese restaurants as posh establishments serving up fancy food with a very light taste. But the Japanese grill shop 12 Yaki offers you juicy meats in rich and strong sauces washed down with beer or sake in a cozy atmosphere. It is the perfect way to drive away the winter cold.
The popularity of Taipei's Japanese-style grill houses has been growing rapidly. This has largely been the result of the "all-you-can-eat" and "do-it-yourself" concept "yakiniku" restaurants where you grill sliced meat at your table. 12 Yaki is a "yakitori" restaurant, which, although it sounds the same, is a different kettle of fish altogether.
PHOTO: YU SEN-LUN, TAIPEI TIMES
In Japan, yakitori is a synonym for Japanese pub-style cuisine. Office workers visit yakitori shops after work to have a few drinks. The food is generally strongly flavored to meet the tastes of drinkers.
"Yakitori" means grilled bird in Japanese, so it is no surprise that chicken is the main dish, with just a few red meat dishes and seafoods thrown in to fill out the menu. Food is grilled on skewers in the kitchen and then served.
Restaurant owner Wang Wei-shun (
In his small restaurant, tables are close together and it is easy to mingle. Wang knows many of the guests personally. He has even been matchmaker for a couple who met there and are now getting married. More recently the already popular restaurant gained still more fame as the place Chu Hsiao-tien (
However, it is the food that 12 Yaki is really about. tulip chicken wing (
There are two popular fried dishes: seafood croquette and crispy crab. The former uses cabbage to wrap shrimp and fish which is then coated with egg and bread crumbs before being deep fried.
The latter is a very complex dish to prepare, requiring that the meat is first removed from the shell, seasoned and then put back. The whole thing is then deep fried until crispy. On a Friday night, this dish is in such heavy demand that it quickly runs out.
Reservations are recommended not simply to get a seat, but also because you are treated to a free cold dish if you reserve a place by phone.
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