The Drifting Table is a new yakitori joint that comes to you – it’s a portable operation for small events run by the charismatic Chef Yuki Maekawa.
Chicken. Beautiful, smoky, marinated, charcoal grilled chicken. That’s what yakitori is all about. Everything else is a beautiful accompaniment.
The skewers and tenderloins are all perfectly cooked without a hint of dryness, and the different seasonings complement the smoky charcoal flavour. Our favourite is the yuzu and pepper sauce – a fresh, green, spicy condiment that picks you up by the nose. Another top dish is the simple and flavourful chicken meatballs with ginger and onion.
Yuki has been a chef for over 20 years, and wanted to bring his skills to the table serving traditional Japanese yakitori alongside dishes with his own twist. In September he launched The Drifting Table and began drifting into lively household parties and corporate functions.
He turns up at the Cityscape offices and one hour later he is up and running in his black gazebo with a red-hot charcoal fire and a horseshoe of stylish woodgrain dining tables set around the grill.
Yuki carefully lays out plates with cold cuts and fresh starters for us to nibble on while he cooks the first round of food. The pâté is amazing, with tangy hints that really get the mouth watering, and the edamame tofu is to die for. It’s almost like a guacamole or dip with a smooth texture and subtle flavour. Yuki tells us that every ingredient in it is soy (turns out edamame beans are baby soy beans – who knew?).
The first hot dish is chicken gizzards and they are killer, cooked with Szechuan peppers that enhance and don’t overpower. This might not be everyone’s cup of sencha, so to speak, but Yuki likes to offer these authentic Japanese cuts and they are optional. As the meal progresses we also try chicken hearts, alongside the more standard cuts of chicken.
The vegetarian and vegan options are also fantastic. Some are served to the vegetarians in the group instead of chicken, and some served to everyone as a break between meat dishes. It’s hard to go wrong when expertly cooking over charcoal. We love the smoky, moist and delicious eggplant, the super flavourful cauliflower, and the crispy-skinned and soft-centred tofu that tastes almost like egg. The winning vegetable is the lightly charred yellow capsicum, which smells so sweet we struggle to wait for it to cool down before scoffing it. And the warmly toasted avocado is fragrant with the fresh cut-through of a homemade salsa. “I like mixing local ingredients and seasonality,” Yuki tells us. “Summer is a really good season for vegetarians.”
He chats readily to us without missing a beat at the grill, answering all our questions about the ingredients, cooking styles and Japanese food. When we’re just about to burst, Yuki asks “Who’s ready for s’mores?” Turns out we’ve all got room for s’mores.
Making the desserts is a performance in itself. Yuki toasts marshmallows over the embers, then squishes them between Japanese wafers pre-prepared with a dark chocolate coating. The result looks a bit like a biscuit oyster, and the marshmallow stretches like mozzarella when you bite into it.
The whole experience takes around two and a half hours, though Yuki tells us it can be quicker or longer depending on the pace (and inebriation) of the party.