As you walk through the narrow Kimberley Street in TST, you may just blink and miss Mokutan, a new Japanese restaurant that opened doors earlier this month. But if you do keep your eyes peeled for this hole-in-the-wall cuisinary, you’ll find yourself well rewarded with an authentic Izakaya experience – the Japanese equivalent of American taverns or Irish pubs.

Done up with a deliberate dose of minimalism, the interiors are at once stark and sleek. In contrast, however, the menu is expansive, boasting, apart from the a la carte options, three set Omakase menus.

These include a nine-course option featuring the chef’s choice of appetiser, meat and vegetable skewers, simmered dish and soup; or a 13-course menu showcasing more lavish dishes. However, for a complete Izakaya experience, we’d recommend the sumptuous 18-course menu, with an appetiser, six meat skewers, six vegetable skewers, a simmered dish, a soup, a grilled dish, seasonal seafood and rice.

What stands out at Mokutan, however, is the efficient way in which almost all parts of the animal are used in the cooking process, ensuring minimum wastage. Take chicken, for example – using the bird’s tail, heart, kidney, neck and skin, the chef extracts the maximum flavours from each part of the bird, presenting guests with a range of unique, juicy skewers that are completely different from each other.

Meat lovers can enjoy classic skewers like minced chicken, Angus beef short ribs and a selection of seafood highlighting Mokutan threadfin, water eel and yellowtail, while vegetarians have a vast menu of seasonal vegetable skewers to choose from such as onigiri, ochazuke, onsen tamago with black truffles and cheese mochi.

Of course, no traditional Izakaya experience is complete without sake, and Mokutan’s bar seems particularly well stocked in that department – with premium sakes such as Daina, Born and Dassai on offer. Those looking for an aperitif can also choose some luscious plum wine from Dewatsuru Kimoto Junmai. However, in our experience, not much aperitif will be needed to stimulate one’s appetite at Mokutan – the delicious aromas wafting through the air as the first skewer hoves into view should be enough to have you salivating!

Mokutan
Shop 2, G/F Empire Prestige,
8 Kimberley Street, TST, Hong Kong
(852) 2708-2009

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay