Yakitori One opens at Suntec City, opens until 2am serving “mentaiko lollipop” and rare parts

Singapore definitely has no shortage of Japanese restaurants. 

We love Japanese food and new restaurants pop up every week — sometimes these are homegrown brands and sometimes, they’re popular brands hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun itself.

Suntec City’s newest opening is a bit different, though. Yakitori One, located right beside the entrance to Tower Two, is the newest branch of a brand that was conceived in Beijing in 2020.

As the name suggests, the brand specialises in yakitori and has built a following for itself with its binchotan-grilled skewers, opening a total of five branches on the mainland in the past four years.

Yakitori One’s Singapore restaurant will be the brand’s sixth-ever restaurant and also the first outside of China.

The local outpost follows the same blueprint and prides itself on its omakase experience, as well as offering unique parts.

On top of all that, Yakitori One runs until 2am from Monday to Saturday, which makes it a perfect hangout spot for the skewer-loving night owls amongst us.

Not just chicken

While yakitori is the headliner, Yakitori One’s menu contains plenty of other dishes. If you’re not sure what to try, the omakase (S$158) is a good way to get a taste of all the signatures.

The 15-course affair starts with two chef’s specials of snow crab (S$15.80) and chutoro (S$12.80, semi-fatty tuna) to prime you for the smoky skewers.

Crab lovers will enjoy the soft, silky shredded snow crab in the former, which is spruced up with a sprightly yuzu jelly.

Anyone who prefers heavier flavours, though, will be charmed with the latter, which has Yakitori One combining decadent fatty tuna and uni with a hail of grated foie gras for extra umami.

On the skewers front, guests can also find unique non-chicken sticks such as Yakitori One’s best-selling zucchini mentaiko (S$5.90), essentially a “mentaiko lollipop” with a layer of creamy torched mentaiko, blanketed over crunchy zucchini.

There’s also the refreshing pineapple (S$3.90), which is nicely charred and juicy tender with a good bit of tanginess — a delightful way to cut through the heaviness in between courses!

Besides those, the omakase also serves up a portion of the smoky nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) and sakura ebi don that features fluffy and moist rice punctuated by fragrant and crunchy sakura ebi.

The way to the heart

Still, Yakitori One is a yakitori specialist and the chicken skewers are obviously what draws customers in.

And they have some intriguing rare cuts that you might struggle to find, even at the best yakitori restaurants in Singapore.

For example, chicken heart is a common option at most yakitori restaurants, but Yakitori One offers the heart aorta (S$5.90), which comes with the main artery still attached.

Bouncy, chewy and tender all at once — this might win over many yakitori-loving hearts.

Other than that, Yakitori One also serves trachea, liver, gizzard, tails, and other off-cuts.

Although we enjoy off-cuts plenty, our favourite chicken skewer was probably the much-more-basic wings (S$6.90).

These might be simple, but the execution was on point, as each stick came with two wings, each boasting a delightful light crisp on the skin.

Speaking of the basics, Yakitori One also puts quite an interesting twist on a timeless yakitori staple, the tsukune (chicken meatballs, S$7.90).

While the meatball itself is quite standard, the key is in the accoutrements — the usual raw egg yolk is supplemented with a special sauce and parmesan shavings that endow it with a light cheesy sharpness.

It might not impress the purists, who would probably find the cheese inclusion unusual, but others might enjoy the creative flair.

And that might just be the reason you’d want to visit Yakitori One: The array of non-traditional items. 

Be it the rare cuts or the “mentaiko lollipop”, this Suntec City restaurant certainly exudes a unique charm that differentiates it from the other more “authentic” yakitori restaurants in Singapore.

This was an invited tasting.

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on our guide to Maxwell’s viral new hipster spot Kada and the futuristic new Japanese cafe with coffee and matcha on tap.

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Yakitori One at Suntec City