丸万焼鳥本店 Maruman Yakitori @Miyazaki, Japan

Other than beef (still drooling from the unforgettable 宮崎牛 Miyazaki Beef), Miyazaki is also famous for chicken; in particular, チキン南蛮 Chicken Nanban and 焼き鳥 Yakitori Chicken are the 2 must-try dishes here.

丸万 Maruman was one of the highly-recommended restaurants to try the 焼き鳥 Yakitori Chicken, and we went to the 本店 original store to check it out.

We were led to the rooms upstairs because it was full downstairs (which also meant we were not able to see the chef in action 😦 ), which involved removal of shoes, and while there was only Japanese menu available, an English-speaking staff pointed to us which was the most popular dish, and also tried to explain what certain dishes were when we enquired.

In the end, we ordered:

• とり刺し Chicken Sashimi (¥700): We had tried chicken sashimi in Fukuoka quite a few years back, and it was actually cured chicken meat. The chicken sashimi here was 100% raw; it was that fresh 😮 It also did not have any of those raw chicken smell, and we could taste the sweetness and freshness of the meat. Definitely worth trying 🙂
• 砂ずり焼き Grilled Chicken Liver and Heart (¥500): Done perfectly, this was yummy, and a bit on the saltier side and would probably go very well with some cold beer 😀
• もも焼き Charcoal Grilled Chicken Thigh (¥1200): The Yakitori Chicken in Miyazaki was just seasoned with salt and then charcoal-grilled, and while the meat might not look too appetising (dark-coloured, almost burnt-looking pieces, on a metal plate), it tasted way better than it looked! It was oh-so-succulent, and definitely not burnt. Ours came cut into pieces (by default, I think), but it is possible to order it whole, as a local at the next table did.

とり刺し Chicken Sashimi

もも焼き Charcoal Grilled Chicken Thigh

砂ずり焼き Grilled Chicken Liver and Heart