Yokohama Yakitori Koubou has been one of my favorite Japanese places to chill out with friends.
Sorry that I forgot to take pictures of the restaurant, as I was too hungry and excited to have dinner and catch up with my friends. The restaurant is actually not very spacious, but it was still comfy. There are bar seating where you can sit and watch your yakitori (skewers) being prepared, or there is table seating. They separate every two tables with screens that create privacy and intimacy. That creates a comfy space for people to eat and chat. (You could view pictures of their interior on their online gallery)
Their hours are 5pm to 2am, and most people came here for late night snacking with beer and skewers. They do offer rice and noodles, but don’t expect a bento combo or ramen.
My regular is the Tokusei Yakitori Don. Basically Chicken skewers with four quail eggs and sauce (which I believe to be Japanese sweet soy sauce). The chicken was cooked well, although occasionally they may overcook it a little, but not this day. To be honest, I love quail eggs, which was kind of a childhood memory thing, and this bowl come with 4 of them, but gotta watch out for the cholesterol. I thorough enjoyed the sweet yummy sauce with moist Japanese rice —- delish.
If you think this was too heavy, you may want to try the Torisoba for a lighter, healthier choice. It’s a chicken soba with buckwheat noodles, shitake and half an egg in clear broth. This is a great choice to balance the grease found with the smokey skewers (you still have to try them).
Lemon had the, (kind of forgot about the item name) but I believe it is the Chicken Meatball Soup. Apologize for the blurry picture because of the smoke. In the bowl of broth, there were chicken meatballs, egg, rice, and wonton skin (I think). The soup was real creamy, but not so heavy and greasy, and all the ingredients married well together. It was a satisfying bowl of soup-rice that left us happy.
Okay, onto the goodies!
Chicken gizzard (Sunagimo) is the one yakitori I always order. We actually ordered 3 of them that night. For $1.80 there were like 6 to 7 pieces per skewer, and that’s a lot for 4 person. Though it was slightly pricier than Yakyudori ($3 for 2 skewers), we think that the gizzard wins with the taste, and the size of each piece was more substantial. It was smoky, chewy, and juicy.
I was excited when my friend introduced me to this limited Jidori Chicken Nakaochi. The sauce was the best accompaniment. It was a tasty and barbecue-like compliment to the tender nakaochi.
Last but not least, we ordered Takoyaki (Octopus Fritters), $4 for 6 generous pieces. It’s a little different from what you normally get from Mitsuwa. It was on a softer side, while it was not too mushy. I quite like this version, as it was hot-off-the-stove, with generous piece of octopus in it and just the right amount of sauce. The Takoyaki itself hit the spot!
Yokohama Yakitori Koubou is definitely a great place to chill out and have chats. All the servers were polite and attentive, yet we didn’t feel overly disturbed. When they greet you coming into the restaurant, I always feel welcomed.
Yokohama Yakitori Koubou
3904 Convoy St, # 108
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 277 8822
http://www.yokohamayakitorikoubou.com/
[google-map-v3 width=”580″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”3904 Convoy St, # 108, San Diego, CA 92111{}restaurant.png{}Yokohama Yakitori Koubou” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]
