Torishou 鳥嘯 @ Shanghai

A chance for me to bring Princess to one of my favourite yakitoriya in Shanghai. I have been to the other Torishou, it’s time for me to try this other one in Ruijin Road.

Japanese yakitori-ya, informal charcoal barbecue restaurants serving grilled chicken skewers, have always been about off-beat offal and rare parts of the chicken, though most in Shanghai focus on conventional offerings. But Torishou sticks to the Japanese tradition and true to their mission, they have been offering rare parts since they opened in 2017.

A visit to thermal and cosy Torishou restaurant is a culinary exploration of an entire chicken, from neck to tail. The rare parts skewered on bamboo sticks, including chicken heart aorta, diaphragm and chicken eggs, are highly recommended. But, even if you miss out on the rare orders, choices are plentiful: chicken tights, tenderloins, neck meat, gizzards, liver, heart, chicken wings, white meat and meatballs are all recommended. I would still recommend that you call to reserve the rare parts.

白肝 White Liver 白レバー

Pretty much it is the fatty liver of the chicken and only 10% of chickens will have fatty livers, which make this a rare part and therefore given the name foie gras even though the chicken was not forced feed. Shiro Reba (白レバー) Chicken Foie Gras has less odour peculiar to chicken liver, and it has a sweet, mellow and creamy texture.

京葱鸡腿肉 Thigh with scallion ねぎま

A classic yakitori favourite, the chicken thigh with leeks (which they have wrongly translated to spring onion) or negima (ねぎま) is one of the most popular types of yakitori that was often screwed up completely. They executed it flawlessly; flavoured with shio (salt), the skin was crispy while the meat was moist and tender.

明太子西葫芦 Squash with mentaiko ズキニー明太子

The mentaiko mayo used was quite watery. Not a very eat, which could be better if it’s just the zucchini.

鸡胗 Gizzard 砂肝

Next on the repertoire, gizzard / 砂肝 sunagimo done in the traditional shio method. Perfectly executed, it had a crunchy texture that was cooked ala minute.

鸡冠 Comb かんむり

Interestingly, I don’t usually get this part in Japan, but it’s commonly available in Shanghai. And the first time I ate this was in a night market BBQ stall in BSB Brunei. I always enjoy the crunchy texture and fatty taste of the cock’s comb / かんむり kanmuri ever since.

茭白 Water bamboo マコモ

Lightly brushed with miso, makomotake マコモタケ wild rice stem was crunchy, sweet and absolutely beautiful.

鸡心 Heart ハッ

This part is easily overdone, but their chicken heart or hatsu was grilled perfectly, remaining crunchy and full of flavour. 

鸡尾 Tail ほんじり

Bonjiri ぼんじり Chicken Tail or the “Bishop’s Nose” is one of the most succulent parts of the chicken. It is often mistaken to be the anus of the chicken, but it is actually the soft tip of the butt. And if prepared properly, there would not be any funny smell. When grilled, it would be crispy and smooth at the same time.

白子 Testis 白子

In Taiwan, it’s called 鸡佛仔 (geh-hut), which are the testicles of the cock. In Japanese it is known as 白子 shirako, which the same as cod milt. But these chicken “balls” were pretty small compared to the ones we get in Taiwan. Not quite a good ingredient for yakitori though.

葱葱鸡颈肉 Neck せせり

This is a rare cut even though every chicken has a long neck. But to get a skewer of seseri せせり neck, a lot of necks need to debone and that little amount of meat extracted. I liked the additional sprinkling of chopped scallions and onions.

鸽腿 Pigeon leg

Again not a popular ingredient in Japanese, but almost every high-end yakitori-ya in Shanghai will have this 鸽腿 pigeon leg. Only one was left so I offered it to Princess. She loved it.

提灯 Chochin ちょうちん

It has been described as a lantern, but Cochin ちょうちん is basically unformed eggs still attached to the fallopian tubes of the hen. It was like eating a half-boiled egg yolk, very rich and flavourful. Tenderly grilled and glazed with a sweet and savoury tare sauce, it takes a lot of patience and skill to grill this properly which breaking the delicate yolk.

心边 Aorta ハツモト

Perhaps the most unusual skewer (apart from the spleen) we had that evening was the chicken aorta / ハツモト hatsumoto. You can actually see the arteries which is slightly unnerving but didn’t deter us from getting stuck in. Very flavourful with the tare, and if you enjoy chicken hearts (as we do), you’ll like these.

鸟啸鸡汤 Chicken soup チキンスープ

The chicken soup was packed with flavours from boiling a copious amount of chicken carcass, feet and neck into a rich consommé. But they used too much ginger to balance out the chicken taste, which I didn’t really appreciate.

Not the cheapest yakitori in town, but the quality and taste are assured. The chef here is heavier in terms of seasoning, so if you want lighter salt, remember to tell him beforehand. Reservation advised, and if you want to make sure you get the rare parts, call ahead.

Yakitori Sakaba Torishou 炭火焼き酒場 鳥嘯 by MIG
No. 75 Ruijin No. 2 Road, Shanghai, China 瑞金二路75号
Tel : +86 21 53829210

Visited Apr 2026