No excuses needed to visit Davis especially Saturday mornings for the downtown Farmer’s Market. When ramen boy was much younger we’d come for the pony rides and bouncy castle activities during the summer when we’d visit my folks. We have walked by Yakitori Yuchan a few times already but never ventured inside. Recently my husband heard that the yakitori was grilled the traditional Japanese way with binchotan charcoal which was a selling point for us and because we missed our favorite yakitori joint Kushiwakamaru in Tokyo. This particular charcoal doesn’t produce much smoke or flames but is hot as heck and adds something special to anything that’s grilled with it. I brought my parents to dinner thinking they’d appreciate eating Izakaya style and my mother given the opportunity loves to speak Japanese to the waiters and waitresses regardless if they speak the language. It’s very amusing because she expects them to understand her no matter what. Luckily we had a native speaking Japanese waitress who was patient and helpful taking our order and making some suggestions. The grilled meats and vegetables were succulent and delicious but the highlight for me was definitely the perfectly fried gyozas with thin but crispy skin and the yaki onigiri (grilled rice ball) nicely crusted and crunchy on the outside and moist inside. I hesitated to order the shoyu tonkotsu ramen only because I assumed ramen wasn’t their specialty but I was definitely pleased when it came out steaming hot with a milky broth and simple toppings of bean sprouts, seaweed, chopped scallions, half of a soft boiled egg and slices of chicken. The chicken was very tender and flavorful with a smoky depth to it. The broth didn’t have a deep flavor but had a slight oily tinge to it skimming the top of the broth and seasoned just right not too salty the way I like it. The noodles were thick, springy and filling. Yakitori Yuchan surprisingly serves a pretty good bowl of noodles and so I will definitely bring ramen boy here to try the tantanmen.
Yakitori Yuchan
109 E St
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 753-3196
www.yakitoriyuchan.com
