Yakitori at its Loudest
We knew we were in for an eventful evening the moment we stepped into Hakkenden and were welcomed by the deafening greeting of every server in the restaurant. Once seated at our table, we realized we were going to keep hearing these ear-plug worthy shouts every time customers came or went. In addition to the noise, another minor drawback was the menu which had large and colorful pictures but no English translations to help clue us into exactly what we were ordering. We were much more at ease, however, once our ice-cold mugs of beer arrived (￥18) followed by the excellent array of dishes we'd managed to select. Our favorites were the beef skewers, tender with a delightfully sweet teriyaki flavor (￥12 per skewer), the fried cheese wontons (￥20), potato wedges (￥15) served on a sizzling plate with butter and salt, and the teriyaki chicken skewers (￥6 per skewer) which were far better than the plain chicken variety. A bowl of edamame (￥10) completed the meal. By the end of the evening, we were tempted to raise our glasses and join in with a hearty "Norm!" whenever the servers yelled. You'll find good Japanese yakitori here, but don't expect a quiet evening.

Dawn Carlson

Add: 242 Julu Lu 巨鹿路242号
Tel: 6217-5752