A short walk from Tsim Sha Tsui station takes you to KIDO, the newest traditional Hakata-ku-style skewer bar to hit Hong Kong. The set-up is simple and classic, with lots of exposed wood and an open kitchen with bar seating.
The food is cooked on high-carbon binchotan charcoal made from Japanese oak. The dishes are traditional, but with some twists such as fruit and veg injecting a healthier feel.
We started with the Fukuoka fruit tomato ($78). I’ve had these tomatoes before, and I love them; they are firm and very sweet and juicy with a slight tang, usually served peeled and sliced for easy eating. This was no disappointment – one great tomato!
We then moved onto some crudités served over shaved ice with warm homemade crab roe miso paste ($128). I really liked the crispness of the cold vegetables alongside the creamy warmth of the dipping sauce, and there was a good amount of crab flavour too.
Chicken skewers ($39/stick) were next – liver, heart, leg and chicken and egg meatball. All were really good, but my favourites were the meatball, which was delicious and juicy, and the chicken heart, which had a strong flavour and very firm texture.
Next up, Daimyo-style vegetable roll ($36/stick), garlic chive and cheese pork roll ($36/stick) and avocado and pork roll ($36/stick). I found the pork to be a touch salty and the chives a little fibrous to eat, however, I really liked the roll with avocado as I feel avocados do well with anything a bit salty.
We ordered a couple of main dishes to share. First up was the famous Miyazaki fried chicken with tartar sauce ($98). The tempura-fried chicken nanban was invented in the late 1950s by Chef Kimura Junichiro’s father, nicknamed the “god of chicken”, at his restaurant Ogura in Miyazaki. The chicken was very tender, and the tartar sauce was divine. I think the dish has been waiting at the pass a little while, as it wasn’t as crisp as I would have liked, but the flavour made up for that.
Along with the fried chicken, we ordered the charcoal-smoked Yamato Nikudori chicken ($218). Not for the faint-hearted, this dish is intensely smoky and literally smells like a bonfire – quite interesting and another lovely dish.
Verdict
I would recommend KIDO to anyone who loves this open-charcoal style of cooking. All the chicken skewers and dishes were delicious and cooked beautifully. The service was a little slow between courses at times, but all the staff were very nice and polite. Oh, and the lychee soda was superb!
Shop G12, G/F, 8 Minden Avenue, TST, 2104 6855
This write-up is based on a complimentary media tasting provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.
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