assumes the erstwhile location of Patois (Est. 2014) on Xingfucun Lu. Kind of feels like after Patois didn't work, someone took a little stroll up and down the street looking for a genre of food not already being done. They settled on yakitori, it being the last available option. And so there you go -- for the last week or two, Zui The Yakitori Bar has been soft open, slinging Japanese skewers and cocktails up on Xingfucun -- and with that, all the cuisines in the world are available on this street and no one should ever open up anything else here ever again... A Japanese import, "yakitori" loosely translates to "getting hammered with your co-workers while eating food on sticks", and that's exactly what it is -- boozy group-eating, with your meal consisting of meat and veg on skewers, re-upped on from the kitchen as much as you want. Add gallons of beer and / or shōchū to taste. Here's the menu. Skewer options on the left with just a few more substantial mains on the right. There's lots of variations on what comes on said sticks, but chicken is a big part of traditional yakitori, and every part of the chicken at that. Zui adheres to that traditional aspect of it, offering virtually every section of a chicken possible on a stick. Everything but the beak. Chicken gizzard, chicken heart, chicken liver, chicken skin, chicken barbeque (With welsh onion? What?), chicken ball, chicken cartilage, "chicken", chicken wing, chicken leg, phew.... Here's the "Waygu Beef" [sic]: Wagyu Beef 25rmb Wagyu Beef: the money item. Yeah, not too bad. But a little overdone, though, and therefore not as tender and succulent. Gingko nuts (10rmb) Yep. These are always tasty. Pork (6rmb) Mmmmmm bacon. Japanese quail eggs (10rmb) Nice, bold charred egg flavor. Shishamo Smelt (10rmb) Hey, they're good for you. Osaka Fried Chicken (28rmb) Something from the signature dishes menu -- Osaka Fried Chicken. Eh. Was alright. A little bland, though. Black Pepper Chicken Ramen (18rmb) Another of the specialties -- a simple ramen. This was actually pretty decent. Nice and simple. Great noodles. Nice black pepper seasoning, with an egg on top. And for drinks... Here's what they've got for saki and shōchū. Not a lot on offer but probably enough to work with if you're not over thinking it. We got pretty heavily into their cocktails menu, though, which is basically all saki and shōchū-bases. They're listed here on the left. 38rmb. Fok Mi Fok Yu Get it? Fok Mi Fok Yu? Actually, the highlight of this one was getting the waiter to repeat it back to me several times. Kabuki Not a lot going on with this one. Was a little like a weak gin and tonic. Drunken Sumo Hey, pretty good. Tasted like that kind of Japanese gum that tastes like soap. I like that taste. Ume Manhattan Pwar, just a glass of straight hard liquor. Strong but decent. Lychee Special Really great. Sweet, refreshing, and tasty. This was the best one for me. *** So. Zui The Yakitori Bar. Well. It's rough around the edges. Both food and drink were pretty inconsistent, and other structural issues came up as well (one of our orders never arrived, we got charged for another order that never arrived, and service as a whole wasn't great). At this point, it feels a little underdone. It feels half-hearted and, therefor, poorly executed. But it's a great idea and the area could definitely do with some more Japanese options of any variety. Won't give up on it this early, but there's work to be done, definitely, to interject a little passion and originality to the place. One reason to go: they're having an opening special, which is 50% off your final bill. It's dirt cheap. Dirt. Cheap. Really. Got all this you see here, all the food and cocktails, for 150rmb. Worth a shot if you live in the area. With the discount, the drinks are worth it for sure... Zui The Yakitori Bar is at Just Make Building (Jiezuo Dasha), 55-3 Xingfucun Zhonglu, right next to Hercules.