Yakitori restaurant Yardbird has garnered a cult following among Hongkongers since its opening in 2011. Known for its extensive menu of more than 20 types of skewers – grilling local “three-yellow chicken” from neck to knee and tendon to tail – the Sheung Wan izakaya was once identified on weekends by its queue outside due to its walk-in-only policy. Rest assured, tables can now be booked, but that hasn’t stopped diners from spilling out of Yardbird’s doors. Owned and operated by entrepreneur Lindsay Jang and chef Matt Abergel, Yardbird is a family-style neighbourhood restaurant that combines quality food with good drinks, great service, and a fun and friendly environment. The restaurant might be centred around chicken, as its 2018 Chicken and Charcoal cookbook suggests, but for those on the hunt for veggie dishes, Yardbird doesn’t disappoint. Its menu also consists of rice and noodles, soup, smaller sharing dishes (like the Yardbird caesar or eggplant salad) and bigger sides. This is where the famous sweetcorn tempura can be found, and it’s a good representation of Yardbird’s signature style, says co-founder Abergel. Abergel describes their way of cooking as “using good techniques to let people taste an ingredient in its fullest essence”. This is exactly what the tempura delivers. Using fresh sweetcorn sourced locally, the kernels are cut from the cob using a circular Japanese technique called marugiri. “This allows us to take off the corn from the cob without too much of the juice getting out and without taking the bottom of the kernel, to avoid it popping in the oil,” Abergel explains. Mixed and made to order, the cut corn is then simply coated in flour and combined with small amounts of tempura batter until sticky. “We then cover our hands in flour and form about 110g of corn into a ball, and drop it directly into a 180-degree fryer. We fry for about two and a half minutes until golden brown on the outside and just cooked on the inside. We then season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately!” Abergel’s career as a chef began in Canada in Japanese kitchens, followed by New York restaurant Masa, under Masayoshi Takayama. When Abergel moved to Hong Kong in 2009, he was “stunned at the quality of sweetcorn available all year round”. He then took inspiration from Masa’s golf ball-sized tempura of Japanese corn and summer truffle and gave it his stamp: “I did a more maximal version, and just focused on what’s pretty much a cob and a half worth of corn in every ball.” Whether you’re booking a Friday night table or just swinging by for a drink, the sweet and crunchy tempura balls go perfectly with a whisky highball and as many yakitori as you can manage. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yardbird (@yardbirdyakitori) Anatomy of a Dish Name: Sweetcorn tempura Restaurant: Yardbird Price: HK$130 Main ingredients: Locally grown sweetcorn, tempura flour, tempura batter, hot oil, salt and pepper. Presentation: Fuss-free, the tempura balls are piled high in portions of four – or more, if you ask – on a simple white tray. Served for you to bite into them like an apple, impale them on a chopstick, or delicately nibble your way through. Flavours: The tempura is a light yet moreish snack that manages to keep the fresh juice from each kernel intact, bringing out the corn’s sweetness alongside the deep-fried batter – the ideal balance of sweet and savoury.