In addition to six to eight yakitori pieces, guests at Yakitori Yamahashiru will enjoy another six or so dishes of chicken sashimi, fried foods, and others, a belly-filling bowl of ramen or rice, and a refreshing serving of fruit. The dishes are determined by deliveries, the season, and the chef’s whim. You might be treated to a European-style tomato and cheese salad or a deep-fried tofu dumpling topped with lusciously starchy crab sauce. The total lack of experience in the culinary world allows Sato to pursue his own theories and conceptualize unique dishes only available here. The only constant is that every dish is overflowing with the chef’s spirit of originality.

The opening lidded bowl dish is intended to warm guests’ tummies and prepare them for the meal. It typically combines chicken and bonito dashi with a meatball of chicken flesh lovingly worked in a mortar until smooth and mixed with seasonal vegetables like lotus root, bamboo shoots, and white scallion. Floating in the broth might be orange napa cabbage and wild maitake mushrooms. Not a single drop of soy sauce or mirin is used; all the savory flavor comes from the ingredients themselves. It is followed by a rare chicken dish, such as chicken thigh tartare in a luscious salty-sweet sauce containing sesame oil accompanied by herbs and edible flowers.

The first yakitori piece presented to guests is the scarce part called harami. Equivalent to skirt steak, there is only a very small amount in each chicken, so it is almost impossible to find. Still, the chef has secured plenty of thick, meaty portions, which he prepares for the perfect balance of toothsomeness and tenderness. Next, Chef Sato grills chicken hearts, basting them all the time with a savory sauce based on chicken broth. If it is not heart, you might be treated to the parson’s nose, gizzard, or neck meat – all sumptuous.

The chicken thigh yakitori dish has become the chef’s signature. He does not cut it into bite-size pieces nor skewer it; it is grilled whole and dunked into cold water multiple times throughout the cooking process. When cooking over hot charcoals, the surface cooks and blackens but the heat does not pass through to the middle. Dunking in cold water cools the chicken at the surface level to better regulate the temperature and ensure even heating throughout. With the skin removed midway, the resulting chicken thigh is incredibly tender and juicy, and when you sink your teeth in, you will be wowed by the chicken’s delicious umami. The final savory dish of the course at Yamahashiru is a bowl of ramen, rice porridge, or rice cooked with an array of ingredients. To make the ramen, a whole chicken carcass is simmered constantly for a week to make a deeply satisfying soup, which wraps itself around homemade durum wheat noodles with a springy texture that makes you want more. The only thing is, the ramen is not always available, so if you find yourself here on a ramen day, you should count your lucky stars!

INGREDIENTS
The critical ingredient of chicken may be Matsukaze Jidori from Hyogo Prefecture, Awa Odori from Tokushima Prefecture, and six or so other pedigree varieties from western Japan that offer the best flavors each season. After delivery, some are used immediately, others are rested for intensified umami, and some are returned to the supplier if they do not meet Sato’s quality standards. When it comes to the chicken thigh yakitori, he is devoted to always serving up the same flavor, texture, and aroma to his guests. Many vegetables and herbs are supplied by Hiroshima’s Kajiya Farm, supplemented by quality items Sato has discovered during his visits to the countryside, like okra from Kumamoto and persimmons from Okayama. He wants his guests to enjoy the produce at its best, only when it is at its best, so the passing of one season means a guest will not encounter an ingredient until its season returns the following year. Specialty premium ingredients include Italian truffles and Yoshida Farm cheeses.

The wine selection is where Sato’s overseas experience shines: he has many rare varieties of French, Spanish and American champagnes and wines in a beverage lineup that also features beer, shochu, whisky, and fruit liqueurs. He makes special purchases of sake, fruit wines, and fruit juices.