A note on the words: tori-sashi is chicken sashimi, served here using fresh Mitsuse chicken from Saga Prefecture with salt, sesame oil and wasabi. Oni-yaki is chicken thigh seasoned with sweet Korean chili before grilling on a tabletop brazier, and kosou-yaki is herb-seasoned chicken thigh grilled and dipped in garlic oil. Oni-oroshi is coarsely grated daikon radish, and yose-dofu is soft, unpressed tofu. The shop grills its chicken on a tabletop brazier rather than serving it on skewers. Bijin-dori is the name of the otoshi soup, and sudachi is a small green citrus.
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Kitsune on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Hearing that there was a place serving yakiniku-style yakitori that isn’t put on skewers, I headed to Ikebukuro. Going straight down Tokiwa-dori from the west exit, tucked away quite far back, is Kitsune. Looking at the map I thought it looked fairly far, but once I started walking it was right there. I suppose this stylish lamp serves as the landmark.
Apparently it has only been open for about a year, and the door looks practically brand new.
Kitsune set for one — 2,800 yen
Assorted grilled vegetables — 400 yen each
Four-cut tori-sashi — 2,980 yen
This restaurant uses what is known as “Mitsuse chicken” from Saga, which they say is low in fat and healthy yet packed with deep umami. It was a brand I hadn’t heard much about, so I was looking forward to it! This time we decided to order a few things centered around the Kitsune set.
Now then, drinks come first, of course!
I ordered a highball.
In front of me sat a shichirin (a small charcoal brazier), or rather a tabletop burner. The charcoal was ready to go.
Apparently it is a soup made by simmering Mitsuse chicken thigh meat that has been marinated in Shaoxing wine. The chicken flavor with a gentle aroma of Shaoxing wine was very nice.
Oni-oroshi (coarsely grated daikon). It is great for picking at between bites of chicken. Splashing on a dash of soy sauce makes it so refreshing!
I had no idea, but they said this is chilled yose-dofu made with tofu from Omomo Tofu, a famous tofu shop in Ikebukuro. Apparently it is the kind of place where people often line up. They recommended eating it with salt, so I sprinkled some salt over it and tried it; it was delicious. An exceptionally creamy, rich tofu. Salt really does suit it well.
And here it came! Tori-sashi.
From top left is momo (thigh), top right is mune (breast), bottom right is kimo (liver), and bottom left is sasami (tender). First, the liver. I had the liver with salt and sesame oil. Yes, delicious. Fresh and rich in flavor. All of them were wonderful, but my favorite was probably the breast. It felt like textbook chicken sashimi, and paired perfectly with wasabi. It went down so easily.
By the way, while the restaurant noted that they naturally use thoroughly vetted chicken for the tori-sashi, they cannot say it is 100% safe depending on a customer’s physical condition (which is true enough, ha), and the fact that they properly checked whether I was feeling well today and had any concerns was reassuring!
Sunagimo (gizzard), hatsu (heart), and liver.
We grilled them on the shichirin from earlier.
The grilled vegetables we ordered along with it: eggplant, baby corn, and king oyster mushroom.
They grilled up nicely.
The liver took on a fragrant char and was delicious. All the offal cuts were great. Grilling over charcoal makes it even better.
Here it came! The centerpiece of this restaurant.
Chicken thigh oni-yaki and kosou-yaki. The oni-yaki looks fiercely spicy, but because it uses Korean chili — the sweet chili used in kimchi — it is only mildly hot! For the kosou-yaki, they told us to set the shiso aside while the meat grills, and then dip it into garlic oil before eating.
A bit like ajillo?
Just look at this. Doesn’t it look amazing?
Taking a bite, it truly was delicious. The oni-yaki was, just as they said, mildly hot. If you don’t handle spicy food well, knocking off a bit of the chili might be a good idea, but for me it was very easy to eat! There is no way spicy food loaded with garlic wouldn’t be good. It went great with drinks and was delicious!
By contrast, the kosou-yaki felt a bit like ajillo. Coating it in garlic oil gave it a punch of garlic flavor, while herbs like shiso added a clean freshness that made it delicious. Grilling both until the skin is crisp and lightly charred makes them taste great!
This was really so delicious, it’s something you simply have to try!
The ramen for the final shime!
This was really good. The sourness and slight bitterness of the lemon made the clear chicken broth feel wonderfully refreshing. The pairing of tender chicken chashu with the broth was incredible! Even though I was pretty full, it went down effortlessly. By the way, was it sudachi pepper for changing up the flavor? Adding that changed the impression of the soup quite a bit.
All in all, it was great being able to eat so much! Drink-wise, I think the sudachi highball I ordered toward the end was my favorite. It was so easy to drink that I felt I might have had a little too much, ha. Even though it sits tucked quite far into Ikebukuro, quite a few customers seemed to keep arriving while I was eating, so it clearly is a popular spot. I definitely felt it is best to make a reservation before going.
Kitsune (Chicken dishes / Ikebukuro Station, Kanamecho Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.7
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
