[sumo]

We are just new to NZ so were surprised at how cheap this cuisine is here compared to home so were eager to try.

Surprisingly Teppanyaki is just a new cuisine, the originator is the Misono restaurant chain in Japan, only started in 1945. We visited this Taranaki St establishment on a Friday and was surprised to find only 2 tables around the BBQ partially full.

We started with the Assorted Sashimi appetiser, which was delicious and served beautifully. I like sashimi to be served quite cold, which is was, it was also good value for money at only $13. The raw slices of salmon and tuna was accompanied by wasabi and soy sauce.

For mains we had the "signature dish" of the Fujiyama Set. This started with a small salad of lettuce, red cabbage, tomato and dressing. Followed by an excellent Miso Soup.

It was then the BBQ chef appeared and cooked the most delicious prawns on the massive iron hot plate. They were simple and cooked to perfection, so tender. He was good at "flaring" making lots of noise, chopping around with his utensils, a good show.

Next was some fish, a little overcooked by this time as we were struggling to keep up. I would have liked to have known what type of fish this was being new to this part of the world.

The people were starting to enjoy themselves now as the chefs started to build the atmosphere with their show. The young men had a few tricks up their sleeves - egg catching, lobbing a bowl of rice for my partner to catch in another bowl - unfortunatly didn't go as planned, rice all over me :-)

We also tried 2 different types of sake, the cheap one ($7) and the more expensive ($13). Always a good thing to do side by side to appreciate what people are looking for in a good sake. There was definate smoothness and roundness of the more expensive one, both were served warm.

Next was a small serving of garlic chicken cooked on the hot plate, this we were told was to be eaten with the vinegar based dipping sauce. The teriyaki steak was a real highlight and highlighted the chef's knife skill as he sliced and diced it before our eyes, served with a nut based sauce. This was followed by mixed vegetables (cabbage based) and fried rice. This too was another opportunity to lob pieces of omelette into the crowd for mouth catching.

All this fun for $34 a head, what a bargain on a Friday night.

We didn't want the fun to stop so a call was made for a Strawberry Panacake. I was amazed the same chef came back, washed down his hotplate and cooked it right infront of us. He poured out the batter, as it puffed up he preened over it like it was a new born baby. Only when sufficient bubbles had surfaced did he flip it to perfection. Straight off the hot plate, on to a serving dish infront of us, served with fresh strawberries and ice-cream, a real delight!

The service was very attentive but non-obstrusive. I would have liked a little more time to appreciate the food before the next wave of tasty morsels arrived. The bill was totalled correctly and even nicer they called a taxi for us so we could wait inside away from the wind.

Overall a fun night, good value considering the cuisine, will return with friends next time to enjoy the great tasting food.

[T2DMan]

Thanks for your review, and welcome to New Zealand. Sounds like you are enjoying the restaurant life. I look forward to seeing more reviews as you try out other restaurants.