JICHUAN Robatayaki is a Japanese izakaya with a front entrance adorned with numerous fortune cats inside, beckoning for people to come in. Thanks to the peppy display, Jichuan Robatayaki is now known as the cutest Japanese restaurant in Shenzhen.

Open only for evening and nighttime diners, the restaurant presents specialty dishes made with secret recipes, including salt-grilled cuisine, juice-grilled cuisine, charcoal roasted eel, and more.

The unique salt-grilled cuisine, one of the most recommended dishes, is created and produced by chef Wang.

Set apart from chefs at other traditional Japanese restaurants, Wang combines salt-grilling and juice-grilling skills, using the hybrid salt/juice-grilled method to broil them in his dishes.

The result is cuts that are tender on the inside with a crispy crust, fresh and sweet. The first taste is unforgettable.

The other remarkable specialty dish is robatayaki, originating from medieval Japan, when only samurai were permitted to enjoy it.

Robatayaki is made from fresh fish and shrimp cooked on burning coals using a sand tray with steel skewers at 900 degrees Celsius and the entire thing is seasoned only with sea salt. Robatayaki must be made from a whole fish, and every side must be cooked evenly. The result is an amazing meal.

Upon entering into Jichuan Robatayaki’s dimly lit atmosphere, one feels that they are at a Japanese midnight diner.

In this space, stories, people and food interweave together. A wall full of Polaroid photos record the smiling faces of diners who have dined there before. If you like, you can also take a picture and post it here. Next time you come, it will be meaningful to see it.(Chen Chujie)