Gandaria City is one of our favorite shopping malls in Jakarta and we feel that whenever we go there, we always end up eating in different places (which is good!). Honestly there are so many options of culinary stops, and this time, we chose to try this good-looking restaurant named Toridoll Yakitori, which is located on Ground Floor, just beside Bakerzin and opposite to Maison Tatsuya.
From outside, the restaurant doesn’t look THAT big but behind the open kitchen and counter, there is another seating area which is quite spacious. We were quite surprised actually, but the first impression was absolutely great since the place feels very inviting and comfortable. We chose to sit in one of the booths, which can fit up to 6 adults.
Toridoll is a Japanese-style Family dining yakitori pub where people can enjoy eating and drinking at the same time. Helmed by Chef Nozaki, the open kitchen style allows customers to enjoy the live cooking experience. The live kitchen itself is gracefully built in the middle of the restaurant, as we think there is no better idea than this, since watching the dishes are made in front of us is already an entertaining process for the guests.
Like the name suggests, Toridoll specializes in yakitori or grilled chicken (and parts) but the menu covers various Japanese dishes -some rarely found ones here in Jakarta, including kamameshi: a type of Japanese rice dishes cooked in iron pot. It is a great opportunity to give this a try if you have never tried it before, because they have various options for the toppings.
OSAKA SET (10 Kushi Moriawase) IDR 115,000
For the yakitori, we can choose a la carte or assorted options, but it’s recommended to read the descriptions of each parts carefully (or ask the staffs) before your order. Japanese uses almost all parts of chickens to be grilled and not everyone love eating livers, or gizzards for example. FYI, they also serve beef and seafood skewers.
We chose OSAKA SET which contains of 10 skewers of 5 different chicken parts (each are given 2 skewers): Torimi (thigh), Tsukune (minced chicken), Kimo (liver), Sunazuri (gizzard), and Negima (thigh & green onion).
We love the taste (even without additional sauce), they were already well-seasoned and perfectly grilled. Portions were quite small considering the price, especially the livers and gizzards. I mean, they are very cheap and “unwanted” in the market, but I don’t understand why they have to cut the gizzards until THAT small. I personally am a gizzard person rather than liver, so I was fairly disappointed upon seeing the gizzard portion like that.
The other skewers were super nice, meaty, and tasty. I probably will order a la carte next time I come here!
Chicken Namban IDR 48,000
Crunchy fried chicken served with tartar sauce and light-dressed vegetables by the side, you’re gonna need a bowl (or more) of rice to accompany this! YUM.
Karikarijyako Ebi Kamameshi IDR 75,000
An impressive kamameshi with small fish sardines and shrimp for toppings. Love the authentic presentation of this rice dish, although the color was fairly light and less appealing. The rice was fragrant but very bland, fortunately they provide separated condiments made from soy sauce, chili and others to enhance the flavor. I think eating the yakitori with this rice was also very enjoyable, so why don’t you give a try? 😉
Ebi Tempura Curry Rice IDR 75,000
Again, lovely presentation especially the square-shaped rice. Sometimes the flavor doesn’t really match the looks, and sadly to say, the curry was a major failure. Very runny to begin with, it was seriously lacking of flavor, and according to Mr. K (who is an avid curry lover, BTW), this tasted more or less like a children’s curry in Japan.
Omusoba Ebi IDR 55,000
Have you tried any Omurice before? Omurice is one of Japanese specialties where they put rice inside omelette and it’s enjoyed by people of all ages. Here, they serve soba instead of rice, so they name it Omusoba. Cute, isn’t it? 🙂
At the first glance, this Omusoba looks like a hybrid between omurice and okonomiyaki, especially because of the brown sauce and swirls of mayonnaise on top. When you cut it open, though, the content is yakisoba (fried noodle) and we can also choose the topping (we opted for shrimp here). Served on a hot pan, this omusoba is definitely a feast to the eyes and drool-worthy especially when it has been cut open. XD
I must say I love this dish. The yakisoba was fragrant, juicy (I don’t know whether this word can be used to describe fried noodle, but who cares!), and well-seasoned. Don’t forget the perfect looking omelette with soft and smooth texture, it was simply beautiful. We also appreciated the benishoga (red ginger) on the side, if you eat it together with the omusoba, you’ll taste the authentic Japanese yakisoba like you commonly find in Japan. *thumbs up*
Our visit to Toridoll Yakitori was short but memorable in one and many ways. We certainly think that the food are enjoyable, place was incredibly comfortable, but the service needs improvement. Will we return to this place? Definitely YES.
*All prices are subject to 5.5% service charge & 10% government tax.
*The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
** This review is written based on our visit on 11 March 2016.
CONTACT US BY:
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TORIDOLL YAKITORI
Gandaria City Ground Floor MG-07
Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda
South Jakarta
Tel. +62 21 2923 6819
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun 10AM – 10PM
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