Teppanyaki revisited

CEBU, Philippines- It had been years since I last dined on Teppanyaki style Japanese cuisine and it was a wonderful opportunity to refresh my memory with an invitation from Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino for dinner at their Mizu Japanese restaurant.

The term "teppanyaki" is derived from the words "teppan," meaning a metal plate or griddle, and "yaki," which means grill or pan-fried. The griddle is made from cast iron, aluminium or stainless steel, though in more ancient cultures it was made from clay or stone. Modern teppanyaki uses flat surface griddle which is heated by gas, and food such as meats or seafood are cooked in front of customers.

This method of cooking is similar to Mongolian barbecue, which also uses a flat surface metal plate. But for Mongolian barbeque, the metal plate used is much bigger and cooking temperatures are higher (300 °C). Related cooking methods using an open grate design (similar to our barbecue screen) are the Yakiniku or meats grilled on specially designed tabletop called Hibachi (barbecue grill like our barbecue stand), Teriyaki, in which food is grilled or broiled with sugar, soy sauce and mirin (Japanese vinegar) or the Yakitori (in which food is skewered with metal or bamboo stick).

It is believed that the origins of these cooking methods can be traced back to the nomadic tribesmen like the Mongols or the Huns who also used their weapons of war to cook their food. An overturned metal shield could have been used to grill meats, inverted metal helmet used to cook soup, and the razor sharp sword that cut down enemies, excuse me, the perfect kitchen knife.

At Mizu Japanese restaurant, Japanese Master Chef Ken Imamura with his assistants, Teppanyaki Chefs Rey and Jojo prepared eight dishes for the media briefing but later into the meal my lunch partners opined that seven dishes were more than substantial. The following dishes were served: Fresh Sea Scallops, Jumbo Prawns, Fresh Salmon - all with veggies in ginger sauce; Hambago Steak, US ground beef, with veggies in onion sauce, Japanese Kobe Beef with veggies in garlic sauce, Aigamo Rose, Imported Duck, with veggies in garlic sauce; and Teppanyaki Ice Cream.

Veggies, real fresh and perfectly grilled, accompanied nearly all the seafood dishes and your favorite food reviewer ate nearly everything (but I had to slow down with everything else in order to make room for the meats). Lately, I had been avoiding salmon because of the fish's oiliness, but the Chefs Rey and Jojo were able to handle the fish perfectly, neutralizing the oils with ginger sauce.

I had not eaten a Hambago Steak before and I did not know the standards of this dish, though I knew it was made from US ground beef. The ground meat was super tender and it felt like I was eating cotton candy! Japanese Kobe Beef was an item that I rarely encountered in my steak adventures and there was always an element of anticipation every time there was an opportunity to taste this luscious marbled meat. It had to be cooked medium rare and the great teppanyaki chefs grilled it to perfection.

The Aigamo Rose, Imported Duck was also good but my taste senses were already satiated with the Kobe beef and I looked forward to the close of the wonderful lunch for a taste of the Teppanyaki Ice Cream. The cone for the ice cream was a crepe-like material cooked on the hot grill, a scoop of vanilla ice cream put in, the crepe was then folded and served. Very innovative!