Soho vs Marylebone yakitori face-off
Disclosure: the primary of my meals at Junsei occurred throughout the discounted smooth launch interval. I had thought the smooth launch had ended as I choose to keep away from them at any time when potential and proceeded solely to keep away from inconveniencing my eating companion.
In the event you’ve ever learn something about eating places in Tokyo, there’s inevitably a line about how town has extra eating places per person who every other main metropolis. Brandished as some kind of proxy indicator for high quality, bellowers of this factoid normally fail to say {that a} substantial variety of Tokyo’s eating places are tiny within the variety of covers they will serve and extremely specialised too – an earthly pair of info that assist clarify the massive variety of eating places.
The extremely specialised nature of eating places in Japan is a high quality that’s usually lacking from most Japanese eating places within the UK and far of the western world. Right here, eateries try and straddle the complete pantheon of Japanese dishes from sushi and sashimi to ramen and tempura – usually to drab, lifeless impact.
That has began to alter considerably in recent times, most notably with eating places devoted to ramen, and now – tentatively – with yakitori. Each Humble Hen in Soho and Junsei in Marylebone are among the many few London eating places focussed on these grilled skewers of assorted rooster cuts. Each serve their dishes as omakase or as a la carte. However regardless of which approach you order, there are some odd similarities – and variations – between the 2 eating places.
Omakase at Humble Hen
Occupying the previous website of the unique Barrafina, the bar/counter seating of Humble Hen ought to lend itself nicely to omakase – the model of ordering the place you permit your self totally within the arms of the chef – as you cannot solely see the cooks at work however chat to them too (the course of the pandemic allowing). Relying on the place you’re perched, you actually get a fantastic view of the charcoal grill laden with skewers.
However Humble Hen’s omakase feels extra like a budget-minded set menu than a chef’s reasoned number of what they assume is the perfect of the perfect, which is the omakase ideally suited. For instance, together with a skewer of rooster breast felt like a wasted alternative on condition that it’s normally the blandest of all a rooster’s elements. The neatly trimmed breast right here was fairly tender and moist, however would handed virtually totally unnoticed if not for the probably ponzu-based garnish which added a zesty zing.
The meat parade picked up with the arrival of the wing with its crispy pores and skin and smoky, springy flesh. If solely all rooster wings all over the place had been as multilayered and pleasurable.
Humble Hen tends to be playful when glazing its yakitori, the exemplar of which was the thigh. The umami and sweetness of the glaze got here on thigh meat that was bouncy and agency, then tender with an virtually offaly earthiness.
With the achilles a part of the thigh, the kitchen seemingly tried to mix the crispness and smokiness of the wing with the mouthfeel and nuanced tasting glaze of the opposite thigh skewer as detailed above. It was solely partially profitable although, leaving me wistful for extra thigh as an alternative. When your omakase solely consists of 5 dishes, having two iffy ones appears particularly wasteful.
Kofte-like tsukune was finely floor, however packed the crispness of spring onions in addition to touches of smoke and char into its moist meat lozenge type. Its multifaceted qualities had been enhanced by the dipping sauce, a tare that was extra eggy richness than soy and thus all the higher for it. I’ve had a couple of tsukune in my time and it was right here at Humble Hen that I lastly noticed what the fuss was all about.
A la carte yakitori at Humble Hen
The important thing to unlocking Humble Hen’s a la carte menu is familiarity – the much less generally eaten cuts of rooster (much less generally eaten within the Anglo-American world no less than) turned out to be essentially the most rewarding.
A number of offal had been fairly crisp and bouncy, their glaze imparting a calmly candy umami. Liver was unexpectedly mild, virtually extra like kidney, and daubed with a contact of mustard.
The shoulder’s charred bouncy crust was succeeded by a young comply with by way of, whereas the vaguely coxcomb-shaped garnish added an unexpectedly pleasant citrusy spicy pep.
Internal thigh was tender and juicy, however let down by a forgettable glaze. Knee and cartilage was a textural tour de drive with its bouncy, crisp snappiness. Don’t go for the ‘smooth’ variant of the knee and cartilage although. Whereas roughly similar to its sibling, it was extra muted in each approach.
Though neck wasn’t fairly as multifaceted in its mouthfeel because the knee and cartilage, it was nonetheless an pleasurable morsel. Its charred mantle had a crisp snappiness, giving method to a moist tenderness.
A succession of tails strung one after the opposite, virtually bulbous of their sphericality, weren’t solely visually hanging – they had been remarkably mouth pleasing too. Springy then crisp, with a little bit of crackle and a spicy hit that additionally squeezed in a drop of citrus. Its exceptional impression was lessened by a tasting on a subsequent go to the place the mouthfeel wasn’t wherever as electrifying.
Deboned ribmeat was virtually as springy because the tails, however with a young, meaty comply with by way of with the entire shebang appearing as a provider from a sticky, smoky, umami glaze.
Non-yakitori dishes at Humble Hen
Humble Hen has a couple of non-yakitori dishes, primarily starters, a handful of bigger main-sized dishes and naturally desserts.
A fleshy, briney oyster got here in a chawanmushi-style custard. It proved to be an unexpectedly complimentary pairing with the sunshine creaminess of the chawanmushi-alike enhancing comparable qualities within the bivalve.
Silken tofu was served chilled, its smoothness and nippy temperature contrasting neatly with a chunky fermented bean-style sauce bristling with warmth – each in temperature and in spice. The entire thing was braced by a crunchy wafer, reinforcing this dish of unusual but welcome contrasts.
Modestly punchy slices of mackerel had been outshone by the oily wealthy, peppery smokiness and umami of what gave the impression to be roe. Regardless of its efficiency, the roe by no means grew to become overwhelming and it was so completely slurpable that it may simply be forgiven for upstaging the fish.
Thinly sliced medallions of tuna would’ve been completely forgettable if not for the peppy citrusy hits of the marinade. Weak and unbalanced.
Humble Hen tried to be intelligent with their coin-sized foie gras tart, however they had been maybe too intelligent for their very own good. Moderately wealthy and buttery foie gras got here entombed below a mound of candy apple and fine-grained, mildly flavoured ginger crumb. The general impact was of a savoury apple crumble, the sweetness of the fruit largely, however not fully nullified by the foie gras and the crumble. It wasn’t inedible, simply baffling.
I wasn’t anticipating a lot from the endomame korokke, however this l’il morsel was unexpectedly winsome. Whereas the deep-fried shell regarded virtually fruit-like, its evenly and delicately crisp mantle was unmistakably savoury and unmistakably a murals. The moreish and vivid inexperienced pea puree inside had a daring moreishness enhanced even additional by the dipping salt on the aspect. Sure, sure and sure.
A serving to of pickles wasn’t dangerous, it simply wasn’t as deeply, subtly flavourful as the perfect examples of the pickled arts in Japan. There have been many variations on onion, starting from primarily uncooked and calmly candy to modestly tangy and snappy. Probably the most hanging factor right here had been the tomatoes with their virtually candied, fruit-like sweetness.
The perfect a part of the pork stomach was the yielding, richly tender and well-rendered fats. The remainder of the swine flesh was surprisingly uninspiring, absorbing neither the warmth of the mustard nor the umami of the dashi. The daikon was crisp, however that was neither right here nor there given the uneven nature of the pork.
Crispy rooster thigh arrived as a squared-off parcel atop a mattress of rice, earlier than being mashed aside earlier than one’s eyes. The theatricality did little to disguise the surprisingly meek, clean slate meat beneath the admittedly crisp, oil-free crust. One other small bonus was the smooth and fluffy small-grained rice. Even so, this was a let down.
The deconstructed strawberry ‘cheesecake’ was harking back to the various deconstructed Eton messes that scar the land. Milquetoast strawberries and whipped tangy smooth cheese got here pelted with crisp but yielding bits of meringue, crumbly crusts of biscuit and candy candied sheets just like Fruit Roll-ups. I shrugged.
The purin is Humble Hen’s tackle the Japanese model of creme caramel. The custard-like confection would simply have been my favorite dessert right here, its brown sugar notes melding simply with the sturdy style of burnt caramel, the general impact harking back to coffee-flavoured sweets. It’s due to this fact a disgrace that it wasn’t fairly as boldly flavoured on a subsequent go to. Consistency points abound, clearly.
A beneficiant heap of bracingly chilly and refreshing smooth serve ice cream lay on the coronary heart of the affogato. However it wanted higher companions than the overly crunchy granita and oddly brittle but lumpy biscuit chunks heaped on high. Whereas removed from dangerous, the one cause you’d select this ‘affogato’ over the purin is that if the climate exterior has turned swelteringly sticky.
Omakase at Junsei
Though Junsei’s omakase apparently options a mixture of each a la carte and particular dishes, the general impact was nonetheless nonetheless oddly harking back to Humble Hen’s formulaic and quotidian omakase.
The amuse bouche consisted of what had been in all probability radishes – plump, scarlet-hued, juicy and mildly candy radishes. They had been rapidly adopted by fairly moist and meaty rooster breast topped with surprisingly limp shiso and ume. An unimpressive begin to the poultry.
Purple mullet served as a short intermission, the fish managing a meaty, citrusy presence regardless of being finely chopped. Whereas served on a crisp cracker, the wafer largely stayed out of the mullet’s approach.
Extra breast appeared, however this was a greater effort – the delicately charred crust crimping and crinkling below tooth stress, giving method to a bouncy, meaty comply with by way of.
The wing was the perfect of Junsei’s omakase, the charred pores and skin crackling with smoke in addition to a crisp bounce. The juicy meat beneath didn’t break any of the charred pores and skin’s guarantees.
Although thigh is normally probably the greatest bits of a rooster, Junsei’s effort right here was surprisingly unmemorable. Whereas it was removed from dangerous given its crisp crust and fairly juicy flesh, it nonetheless failed to go away an enduring impression.
Sorry people, I forgot to take a photograph of this one.
That’s nonetheless a greater consequence than the ‘oyster’ minimize of rooster thigh which surprisingly tasted like a throwback to the charred breast, however not wherever as achieved.
Junsei’s tsukune was a finely floor heffer of a meatball. However it not solely lacked the textural dimensions of Humble Hen’s tsukune, it was additionally let down by the tare-yolk combo which proved to be disappointingly tame.
The savoury a part of Junsei’s omakase was rounded off by a pair of kushiyaki. Whereas removed from dangerous, the crisp and fleshy padron pepper and the smooth, fluffy potato weren’t actually distinctive sufficient to assist set this omakase alight.
Sorry people, I additionally forgot to take a photograph of this lot.
Finely shaved daikon acted as a palate cleanser, as did a cool and fairly refreshing granita flavoured with what was in all probability yuzu.
The kuzumochi-style dessert was a contact too runny, however it nonetheless had a lot to suggest it with its candy milkiness, the style of what might have been plum and a tofu-like wobble to its puddingy mass.
A la carte yakitori at Junsei
A few of Junsei’s greatest yakitori is discovered exterior of its omakase and solely on its a la carte menu. For a begin, there’s the bouncy and candy coronary heart, in addition to the agency and gently salty gizzard.
Then there’s the liver, with punchy earthiness coarsing by way of its slender squidgy body. In the meantime, crispy pores and skin had a fatty undertow that tickled my tongue. It wasn’t all golden although; the ‘tenderloin’ was a moist however in any other case plain jane minimize topped with unexpectedly limp wasabi.
Non-yakitori dishes at Junsei
Junsei’s pickles had been so unconvincingly pickled, they resembled crudites. Surprisingly, high quality picked up as soon as I ventured into among the seafood dishes. Scallop, regardless of being finely diced, had a salty meatiness that efficiently evoked the ocean. Swirled in had been equally nicely guillotined bits of mushroom, virtually equally as plump.
A meaty, citrusy sheaf of purple mullet with fairly well-crisped pores and skin got here served atop a mattress of unfastened, small-grained rice interspersed with flecks of chopped nori. Though I used to be sceptical at first, I used to be quickly received over by its many charms.
Small however fairly fleshy mussels got here wearing punchy miso and sesame.
Monstrously massive prawns, marinated in citrus and soy then served uncooked on a nigiri-style roll of rice, was virtually my favorite dish at Junsei – outclassing even the guts and gizzard yakitori. The quiveringly uncooked, curvaceously plump and teasingly agency our bodies had been additionally fruity candy and delicately moreish, but with a clear after style.
However solely virtually as there have been some consistency points. On a subsequent go to, the prawns’ beforehand many-splendored qualities had been far much less pronounced, from plumpness to flavour. Even the mouthfeel and aftertaste had been barely off, with a light however nonetheless offputting stickiness.
Fried mini-soldiers, however of tofu slightly than bread, arrived in a unfastened formation atop a salad of citrusy candy, umami tomatoes. Whereas the tomatoes had been pleasing, the tofu was too wan, dainty and fleeting regardless of virtually resembling sturdy Shan tofu.
There’s an entire part on Junsei’s menu dedicated to donabe. This appears odd for an ostensible yakitori specialist, so I didn’t maintain out a lot hope for it. If the rooster and mushroom donabe is any indication although, it’s nicely value exploring.
Whereas the mushrooms had been too bitty and smooth, the sticky small-grained rice was neatly accomplished sitting someplace halfway between fluffy smooth and al dente. It was a fantastic accomplice to the rooster, which was no strange chook. Cooked simply so, the sunshine but juicy and springy rooster had a delicate moreishness helped alongside by a even handed utility of spring onions and ginger. This unexpectedly very good dish was a minimize above your ordinary bowl of rooster and rice.
The Verdict
The face-off between Humble Hen and Junsei turned out to be way more evenly matched then I had anticipated. Each of their omakase performed issues far too secure, with way more satisfaction and multilayered pleasure to be discovered by selecting and selecting from the a la carte menu. Usually talking, with each of their menus, the extra uncommon the minimize of rooster the extra splendiferous it’s prone to be. Whereas Humble Hen’s yakitori reached headier heights than Junsei’s, the latter appeared higher in a position at sustaining a constant stage of high quality. Humble Hen, alternatively, was a bit extra wobbly. Though there’ll undoubtedly be variations in the usual of a grown product like meat, that’s what versatile menus are for, absolutely.
In relation to the smaller, starter-sized non-yakitori dishes, it’s a bit swings and roundabouts with neither gaining the higher hand. Each are able to knocking out belters and whimperers a like, however with Junsei showing to have consistency points right here. It’s a extra decisive affair with the handful of enormous mains-sized dishes – Junsei’s rooster donabe is just not solely leagues forward of Humble Hen’s effort, however might nicely declare a perch on this metropolis’s pantheon of rooster dishes which might be really value consuming.
It stays to be seen whether or not this miniature yakitori increase results in a everlasting poultry pole presence in London. Because it usually does, all of it comes right down to how a lot we actually worth variety in culinary experience and people who wield it. Cooks born in Japan might nicely choose plying their commerce within the House Islands which, regardless of its many challenges, no less than appear to worth their expertise. That could be preferable to the challenges of the UK, from the perfidious shysterism and drooling halfwittery of TripAdvisor ‘evaluations’ to the Kafkaesque indignity of hostile environments. International-born cooks, who study their craft both in Japan or from Japanese cooks, must weigh up whether or not they actually need to danger establishing a yakitori-ya, or certainly every other kind of Japanese restaurant, in a culinarily conservative nation that also equates the whole lot of Japanese delicacies with simply sushi.
Hen could also be a humble meat, however it takes actual talent to make it actually sing.
Identify: Humble Hen
What to order: The odder the minimize of rooster the higher; korokke; mackerel
What to keep away from: Pork stomach
Handle: 54 Frith Avenue, Soho, London W1D 4SJ
Cellphone: none listed
Net: https://www.humblechickenuk.com
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12.30-14.15 and 17.15-21.45, closed Sunday-Monday.
Reservations? extremely beneficial
Common value for one particular person inc smooth drinks: £40-50 approx. (£70 when you push the boat out)
Score: ★★★★☆
Identify: Junsei
What to order: The odder the minimize of rooster the higher; rooster donabe
What to keep away from: Tofu tomato salad
Handle: 132 Seymour Place, Marylebone, London W1H 1NS
Cellphone: 0207 723 4058
Net: http://junsei.co.uk
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday noon-15.00, 17.00-22.00 (donabe have to be ordered 45 minutes upfront). Closed Monday.
Reservations? in all probability a good suggestion.
Common value for one particular person inc smooth drinks: £50 approx. (£70-80 when you push the boat out)
Score: ★★★★☆
