Drip Coffee Highballs and Plum Sauce Skewers Make Maizidian's Toratori-Ya a Must Try
Any Beijing foodie worth their salt has a favorite longstanding Liangmaqiao or Maizidian Japanese joint. You know the type: located on a quiet side street, low key, intimate, softly lit, replete with juicy skewers and frosty pints of Asahi. And, if you’re lucky, a strong selection of Japanese whisky. But more and more such restaurants are feeling the squeeze in Beijing – in everything from rising rent to a surge in mall dining, not to mention crushing licensing crackdowns.
Thankfully Toratori-Ya is going against that grain, as a Maizidian backstreet newbie offering old school Japanese vibes, bites and woozy whiskey highballs. A new venture by Japanese expat Daisuke Onishi (of neighboring VinVino and since-closed Vin Vie fame), Toratori-Ya is yet another winner from this seasoned Beijing F&B vet.
READ: VinVino Ups the Ante for Beijing’s Wine Bars
Onishi has readied a roster of reasonably priced, unpretentious and creative skewers for the intimate spot that suit late-night dining to a tee.
Be sure to try the tender RMB 10 chicken breast skewers, which are served with fruity plum sauce and a sprinkling of salty seaweed, or the equally delicious chicken meatball skewers (RMB 15 for a stick of three, each about half a mouthful). Then there’s the flame-kissed salmon fillet (RMB 38), which is impeccably fresh, and also the first we've seen in all of our yakitori forays. Finally, hearty and flavorful RMB 12 lamb skewers are exactly the right kind of well-priced snack to accompany a pint of icy Asahi.
Speaking of drinks: Onishi aims high with a menu of bourbon, single malt, and Japanese highballs. Yes, these drinks are certainly simpler than the cocktails that made Onishi and Moto Uchiyama local bar legends at their pioneering Er and Apothecary lounges about a decade ago (before Uchiyama went on to found cocktail behemoth Mokihi on his own, and then reteam with Onishi at VinVino). But that doesn't mean Onishi is settling for any old whisky sodas and rum and cokes. Whisky highballs are a very popular drink back in Japan, and Onishi honors his homeland's love for them accordingly, applying creative flourishes to many of the fifteen varieties at Toratori-Ya.
Prime example: the RMB 43 drip coffee option from the "creative highball" section of the menu. It features house-made Guatemalan Drip Coffee, bourbon and soda for a bitter delight. The RMB 43 Apricot Highball, meanwhile, is a must-try because of its house-made apricot bourbon. Among the time-honored highballs on the menu, be sure to try the Akashi Red (RMB 58), made with whisky from centuries-old Kobe brewer Eigashima Shuzo that has a distinctly spicy quality. And the RMB 48 Glenfiddich 12 highball features a fruity flavor that pairs well with Onishi's savory yakitori.
Together, these features make Toratori-Ya a winning combination for one of Beijing’s best purveyors of Japanese wares.
Toratori-Ya (虎鸟屋)
Daily, 6pm-1am. 1/F, 107, Bldg 2, 78 Maizidian Street, Chaoyang District (6595 9877)
农展馆北路麦子店街78号2幢1层107室
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