Spread the love

Hong Kong’s Bird Kingdom restaurant group is responding to Hong Kong’s craze for Japanese comfort food with a traditional Fukuoka-style ‘hakata-ku’ skewer bar in Tsim Sha Tsui called KIDO.

With convivial, communal ‘kaunta seki’ counter seating typically found around ‘yakitori’ chicken skewer grill cafes in Japan, KIDO is scheduled to open in mid-November in trendy Tsim Sha Tsui dining enclave Minden Avenue.

Just like ‘yakitori’ grills, KIDO is headlining signature Yakitori Chicken Skewers – from every part of the chicken. But in the tradition of Fukuoka-style ‘hakata-ku’ grills, KIDO is extending the menu to more diverse, healthy skewers, with a variety of meat, vegetarian and fruit ingredients.

Tempura-fried Chicken Nanban is another iconic specialty, with a famous recipe invented by KIDO Head Chef Kimura Junichiro’s father, who launched the dish at his family restaurant Ogura in Miyazaki on Kyushu in 1956. The iconic dish has since become a national treasure, imitated across Japan, with Ogura a mecca for the specialty and Chef Kimura’s father nicknamed ‘god of chicken’.

KIDO’s signature yakitori chicken skewers – from thigh, neck and skin to liver and brisket, along with homemade chicken meatballs and chicken with leek – are also a cut above the rest in quality. Bird Kingdom Group is exclusively sourcing prized female Yamato Nikudori chicken, specially reared for strong flavour and juicy texture at farms famous for the breed around Nara City in south-eastern Japan.

Grilling is also at top level – over odourless high carbon ‘binchotan’ charcoal made from Japanese oak, prized by chefs worldwide.

While typical ‘yakitori’ chicken skewers are signatures, KIDO is extending the grill menu to diverse, healthy Fukuoka-style ‘hakata-ku’ skewers with vegetables and fruits, including Kurobuta Pork with Fuji AppleAvocado and Sugar Peas ShootMozzarella & Cucumber RollChicken with CorianderChives with Cheese; along with vegetarian options including Fresh OkraThe Most Famous Oita Mushroom, Kagoshima Sweet Potato and Manganji Green Pepper.

Also on the menu are deep-fried ‘kushikatsu’ skewers, like Karatsu favourite Saga Beef Lean Lamb CubeAmakusa PrawnKaratsu White Eggplant; Tokyo Bay Abalone and Hokkaido Herring Roe on Seaweed; Osaka favourites with a French twist such as SardineWhite Asparagus with HamTile Fish and Sea Whelk with Mushroom; and Tokyo-style tempura skewers of Shrimp with Bitter MelonBaby Sweet Fish and Baby Onion with Signature Curry Sauce.

Completing the menu are appetisers including KIDO Home-made Crab Roe with Miso Dipping Served with Fresh Vegetable Sticks; and main courses of Grilled Rice Ball in Signature Curry Sauce and Cold Nikko Soba Noodles.

KIDO’s traditional small ‘theatre’ doorway is deliberately designed to symbolise ‘entering a new world’ beyond the ‘outside world’. Seating 43, the 1,000 sq ft interior is dark and mysterious with wooden fixtures contrasted by red and burnt orange accents. An entire ‘sake wall’ showcases liquor choices. Beneath a traditional Japanese tiled roof, the counter bar is strikingly featured by a hammered copper ‘exhaust’ structure over the grill.

Mr Eric Ting, Founder and CEO of Bird Kingdom Group, said: “KIDO is a fresh new hideaway concept introducing Japan’s timeless, informal yakitori grill tradition to one of Hong Kong’s trendiest backwaters for both locals and international visitors in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui.”

Opening in mid-November 2019, KIDO is located at G12-13, 8 Minden Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.