Tori Shin

Address: 1193 1st Ave, New York, NY (between 64th St & 65th St)

Phone: 212-988-8408

I have tried chicken sashimi twice, once at Yakitori Totto long time ago and the second time was at Tori Shin just recently. Raw chicken or chicken sashimi does sound scary, but believe it or not, it's actually really delicate and delicious, taste almost like fish sashimi!

The trip to Upper East Side for Omakase yakitori dinner at Tori Shin was made possible by our friend Nick from Boston. His Japanese chef friend hooked us up with the chef-owner of Tori Shin, Shu Ikeda and it was one of the best yakitori dinners I have had for a long time. Everything the chef prepared were divine: we had chicken meat balls, chicken gizzards, chicken oysters, duck with scallions, mushrooms etc. My favorite dishes that night were the chicken sashimi, grilled mushrooms, chicken oysters and minced chicken over rice. There were some very interesting courses such as the cheese course; the miso flavored cheese especially was delightfully creamy and a great way to cleanse the palette before the creme de la creme, chicken oysters.

Chicken oysters is the soft meat shaped like an oyster between the backbone and the thigh of the chicken. It's widely considered as the best part of the chicken, just like the cheek meat is for a fish. The chicken oysters were very moist and the chef "insisted" that we eat it in one bite. The bite explodes in your mouth, filling it with both the warm juicy chicken juice and the softest chicken meat I've had. The meal that night was like a professorial thesis on chicken parts. Chicken liver, chicken gizzard, chicken neck muscles or tendon, and the various parts of the chicken meat. As simple a protein a chicken may sound, there's all the delicate intricacies in the different parts of the chicken meat. Why haven't I noticed how interesting chicken could be?

Tori Shin is one of the great hidden gems in the city. It wasn't even listed in Urbanspoon until I requested for them to list it. If not because of its location at Upper East Side, I think I'll go there more often as I am hooked to their minced chicken over rice dish!

Chicken Sashimi

Chicken Meat Balls

Grilled chicken thighs

Homemade tofu with cheese (one miso flavored, one mixed with minced chicken)

The grilled mushrooms were so fresh, juicy and springy!

Shredded grilled chicken (dried for a few days). Almost like chicken jerky. Very flavorful!

Grilled duck with negi (scallions)

Minced chicken with yuzu with chicken soup on the side. This was our final dish and it was truly amazing!

I think Gan found his favorite Oyako don. This is a special version. The organic raw egg ties the yakitori style chicken with the rice perfectly.

This Daiginjo from Niigata was one of the best sake I've tasted. Chef Shu Ikeda mentioned that Tori Shin is an exclusive carrier of this particular brand. Glad that the chef insisted that we try!