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| - I love the layout of the restaurant and I love the authenticity. There are traditional floor seatings in the back for larger groups and I highly recommend taking advantage of this unique offer for the whole feel. Our waiter was super friendly and helpful in explaining the menu. For someone who is unfamiliar with Japanese cuisines, like myself, the foreign names on the menu could be a little daunting.
For appetizers, we got the "Takoyaki squid balls" ($7), recommended by the waiter. I love that the squid balls were actually filled with chunks of real squid. The order came with 6, drizzled with some teriyaki sauce and sprinkled with fish flakes.
The next item we tried was a noodle dish, "yaki-udon" with beef ($11). The udon had a nice chewy texture and smoked flavor, but it was too ordinary. Tasted like something I could throw together myself.
Next to arrive was the "okonomiyaki pancake" Hokkaido mix with squid, shrimp and scallops ($12). In my opinion, this was the most bang for your buck. They were super generous on the seafood and the portion. It was made fresh and still sizzling as it arrived at our table.
Like every dinning experience, there are hits and there are misses. In honor of spring, we decided to give the seasonal menu a try with the scallops and shrimps "hoiru-yaki" ($12, seasonal). The description called for a creamy basil sauce, but what we got was a bland and watery liquid mixed with basil. The presentation lacked sophistication in that thrown-together, crumbled-up foil tray. The whole dish was just bleh. I would never order this again in the future.
For dessert we inhaled the green tea mochi ($2), which melted away all my sorrows, and the lychee sherbet ($3), which was packed with flavors.
Despite the misses, my dinning experience here was phenomenal. For those seeking a more authentic dinning experience at very reasonable prices, I highly recommend giving Teppanyaki a chance. The service was top notch and the food was quality. If you are a noob to Japanese food like myself and is overwhelmed with the menu, I narrowed down my favorites: the "takoyaki" squid balls, "okonomiyaki" pancakes and the green tea mochi.
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