The chicken izakaya Teketeke Takebashi Palaceside shop opened Friday, July 17, on the east first basement of Palaceside Building.
United & Collective Co., Ltd., which had run the hamburger shop the 3rd Burger (closed June 15), renovated and opened after asking what would better suit the building.
Teketeke is a brand with more than 20 shops, mainly in the city center—Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akasaka, Roppongi and so on. Its concept is “overflowing vitality”: eat grilled chicken and other dishes and “laugh off everyday gripes and discontents!” it says straight out, promising “food and service that fill not only the stomach but the heart.”
The insistence is on chicken freshness and cooking. The birds are “Haruna Umesodachi,” raised on ume vinegar from Mount Haruna, one of Japan’s leading plum districts. Fine, tender meat and a fragrant, juicy taste are the hallmarks. Direct from farm to slaughterhouse to shop, skipping wholesalers, the meat reaches the table about four days sooner than usual—hence the freshness and safety.
Signature dishes include “secret garlic-soy grilled chicken,” “house-style salted tsukune” and “proud Hakata mizutaki.”
You can of course enjoy the birds at lunch or over a drink at night, and boxed lunches are also offered at lunch. With a small simmered side and so on, they are 500 yen including tax (extra rice free): “teriyaki soboro,” “addictive fried chicken” (photos at right and above), “secret-sauce chicken nanban” (photos at right and below), and “house hand-kneaded hamburger”—four kinds.
On opening day, the 17th, 100 in all sold out in under an hour, before noon. I just managed to buy the fried chicken; the juicy, tender meat was very well done.
Yakitori is 86 yen each including tax, so I would like to linger over it at night.
For anyone who once lived in Kagoshima, “teketeke” has a nostalgic ring. The company site does not explain the name, but in Miyazaki people generally say “teketeke,” while Kagoshima rather voices it “tegetege”; some say it sits between “ke” and “ge,” a little nasal. The sense is “more or less,” “in moderation,” close, some say, to Spanish “que sera, sera”—go with the flow. Not a shrug of indifference, but a southern ease about not fretting over small things. Miyazaki and Kagoshima are major poultry regions, so the image overlaps.
Teketeke Takebashi Palaceside is open Monday through Saturday (closed Sundays and holidays), lunch 11:00–15:00, dinner 17:00–23:30 (to 23:00 on Saturdays).