Sticks, chicks and beyond

MANILA, Philippines - Yakitori or “skewered chicken” is a charcoal-grilled dish that has always somehow come in second to sushi in terms of popularity, but if you think about it, it’s the Japanese style of cooking closest to what Filipinos love to eat. Our love of street food and inihaw can attest to this. There’s something about a slight charring on meat –– chicken, pork or veggie –– that makes it that much more appetizing. Those craving the distinct flavors of Japanese cuisine but who prefer a tastier, heartier alternative to raw fish will enjoy it. And if this craving happens to strike at street food-free Bonifacio High Street, worry not: there’s a wide selection of yakitori dishes at the newly opened Nanbantei of Tokyo at BHS Central.

It’s no surprise that one of the restaurant’s most prominent design features is the wooden sticks. Yakitori is their specialty, after all. The serving technique vaguely echoes the style of connecting and angling sticks in ancient Japanese architecture, a system that has seen a revival in some modern structures in Japan. Polished concrete floors and a high, exposed ceiling renders an industrial feel to the space that doesn’t take away from its Zen calm. But it also encourages leg-stretching, hearty laughter and leisurely hours of dining.

Pork garlic yaki with sweet corn on the cob at Nanbantei of Toyko, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig.

Luigi Vera, managing director of Nanbantei of Tokyo, says, “Nanbantei offers a fun dining experience. With every place that you create, we always try to make it conducive to kuwentuhan and always offer diners something new.” Luigi’s group also brought Chili’s to the country, so they know something about making diners feel at ease. “Maybe because, when I eat out, I like going to places that I’ve never tried before. And of course, who wants to visit a restaurant that feels sad or too stuck-up? ‘Yung masyadong tahimik; bawal tumawa,” he quips.

The tables are moved outdoors at night and people can dine on the laid-back food in a more relaxed ambience. “Each eating experience is not 30 minutes, not 45 minutes. It’s usually more than an hour, sometimes two. We encourage longer meals,” says Luigi. Of course, I had to ask — since it’s a yakitori place and it seems like a good spot to ruminate over life with friends over drinks — do they serve beer? “We do actually offer beer per bucket now at P360. People have yet to associate Nanbantei with beer, but it is a nice place to drink. Masarap pa pulutan,” he says.

Can’t say no to a potato-bacon combo. Photos by MANNY MARCELO

This pulutan Luigi speaks of can be pretty much anything on the Nanbantei menu, which more or less mirrors the Nanbantei menu in Japan, minus some lamb chop and oyster dishes. “We stick to their menu as well as their methods. We use the same sauces and we don’t try to change them to suit “Filipino taste.” We don’t marinate the chicken because then the meat tends to burn faster, so we cook the chicken first then put the sauce on top. The Japanese like a clean palate. You will really taste the flavor of the chicken.” Yakitori dishes are available à la carte, at two sticks per order (but you can also order per stick), or as a platter. They also serve beef, pork, seafood and vegetable yakitori, as well as sushi, sashimi, desserts, and a selection of sake.

Nanbantei of Tokyo, from dishes to design, is traditional-meets-practical, Japanese-meets-now.

Nanbantei advocates “culture through taste” and celebrating our love for grilled food through the yakitori tradition, by translating traditional Japanese cuisine into a language we can all understand and appreciate: nice place, good food.

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Nanbantei of Toyko BHS Central is open Mondays to Sundays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (for now, says Luigi). They also have a branch in Greenbelt 3, 3/F Ayala Center, Makati.