Go to Honoka for yakitori, Korean food, and Auckland’s wobbliest dessert.
“There are no chicken hearts,” the chef gravely announced when I first sat down. “One of our regulars has already asked for all of them.”
So began the curious adventure of eating at Honoka, the yakitori (grilled chicken,
“I was surprised when you asked to sit there,” he said to me at one stage. “Nobody ever asks to sit at the bar.” Well, they should. Most of the restaurant’s personality comes through banter with the chef, a likable fellow who runs the place with his wife. The couple are almost completely unassisted apart from the shadowy figure of his stepmother, who comes up in conversation more than you would expect.
“She used to run a London restaurant training one of the world’s most famous chefs!” he said. “See if you can guess who.”
“Gordon Ramsay?” I asked.
“No,” he said, a little glumly. “Jamie Oliver.”
She sounds like the real deal. Though her stepson has worked at a number of mid-profile Auckland kitchens, this is his first business venture, and her global experience has come in handy.
“When the health inspectors came I said ‘No! I need to call my stepmum! She set up everything. She will answer all of your questions’.”
That emergency call must have done the trick because Honoka passed with flying colours, and is now turning out A-Grade Japanese food from 5pm til … late. “If you ever want to come by with some friends at 1am just DM me,” he said. “This is my life, now.”
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The chef has put a lot of time and thought into his chicken skewers, beginning with a pot of yakitori sauce (stock, soy, mirin, sugar) that improves, he says, every time he dips something in it. The grill is electric, which may upset some purists, but he doesn’t skimp anywhere else, patiently waiting many minutes for the meat to reach tender perfection. I felt sorry for him when one dining group told him they wanted everything at once; what they actually meant is they wanted everything as soon as possible, and they were eventually forced to leave with doggie bags to make their theatre booking - presumably the only people in the front row that night who were sharing a hot kimchi pancake.
Anyway, it’s a big thumbs up from me on the food. The chicken thigh, Honoka’s signature, is juicy and delicious and if they’re all out of hearts again you could throw in a couple of rubber-crunchy gizzards - for the texture, mostly, because human teeth weren’t designed to have everything yield immediately to the bite.
The fried chicken burger shows off their Korean influence - with a spicy, wet gochujang-based sauce spilling out over everything the moment you bite in. Unfortunately, the buns were stone-cold and it wasn’t clear from the chef’s bemused reaction to my feedback whether this was an oversight or the house style. There was more fried chicken in the perfect, soupy, katsu curry which I took home and ate over the next couple of days.
Your biggest complaint might be a lack of variety on the menu although it’s worth pointing out that this isn’t inauthentic. Tokyo is full of places that specialise in one thing only - only in New Zealand do we sit down expecting to be offered dumplings, ramen, rendang, pad thai and beef pho all from the same kitchen.
As it is, Honoka does a good job of being a yakitori restaurant with a few random Korean options - I’ll go back for the bibimbap, and that kimchi pancake was delicious, if a little damp in the middle.
“It’s the fat and oils in the kimchi coming out in the batter,” claimed the chef when I mentioned it, though speaking as someone who ferments his own kimchi at home, I’m pretty sure there’s no fat in any of the ingredients - at least in the traditional recipe. I think he was probably just giving it a crack, which suits the vibe of the restaurant and didn’t offend me as an eater or a critic.
It sounds like they’ve had a couple of months of experimentation. His udon dish didn’t catch on and he was forced to throw out 20 litres of broth. No one ordered the liver so he threw out two kilos of that. He created a beautiful, viral-friendly dessert (“Auckland’s wobbliest!”) which you can see on their Instagram but they’ve had to take it off the menu partly because all the moulds they imported from China were broken.
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Advertise with NZME.But lots of things have gone right here too, and I think the restaurant has enough charm to survive. Despite the imperfections, I was very happy at the bar eating tasty food and sipping on a tiny cup of hot sake, and though some visitors might be surprised to get offered a drinks list with no wine on it, it’s the sort of singular decision that makes a meal at Honoka memorable, as well as delicious.
Honoka
Cuisine: Japanese yakitori
Address: 146b Karangahape Rd, central Auckland 020 454 6557
Drinks: Fully licensed
Reservations: Accepted
From the menu: chicken thigh $10.75, chicken gizzard $12.50, kimchi pancake $17.50, chicken katsu curry $26, chicken burger meal $29
Rating: 15/20
Score: 0-7 Steer clear. 8-12 Disappointing, give it a miss. 13-15 Good, give it a go. 16-18 Great, plan a visit. 19-20 Outstanding, don’t delay.
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