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| - Is Feng the best Japanese food in Pittsburgh? Well, no. But it's not bad, and they deliver.
We first visited last October, for a friend's birthday. Our large party took a while to arrive but once seated, service was prompt and friendly. My toddler really enjoyed the huge flames of the hibachi; the other little one at the table was decidedly not a fan. We had eaten at Ichiban at the Waterworks the week before, and both my husband and I preferred the hibachi at Feng. The shrimp was great at Feng - much sweeter and less frozen-and-thawed than Ichiban's. The steak and chicken were good; the salmon was overdone, but hibachi salmon always is. Feng's ginger and seafood sauces are both delicious, and the miso salad dressing is one of the best renditions I've tried. The iceberg lettuce and carrot curls? Well, those are par for the course.
The decor is mildly hilarious - the laser light show is hypnotizing after a huge meal. The servers and staff were amazing with the kids - they helped keep them entertained while they waited for we adults to finish eating. The laser lights, "dance floor," side rooms, and bridge with swimming fish gave them plenty to explore.
Last week, I discovered they offer delivery, and how could I resist? We shared a hibachi shrimp lunch (at $9.95, a bit overpriced for seven shrimp, a huuuuge portion of fried rice, a small side of hibachi veg, and soup) as well as salmon teriyaki. The shrimp, again, were pleasing for Pittsburgh shrimp. The salmon was again dry, but the teriyaki flavor was excellent and I loved the inclusion of grilled onions. The shumai are passable; I wouldn't go out of my way to order them again. However, the simple steamed rice was fantastic. Not sticky, not hard, each grain separate = perfect.
I haven't eaten their sushi; a California roll was included with our lunch delivery but I was way too full to even think about it. Maybe someday.
It's sort of the Japanese restaurant equivalent of the Cheesecake Factory, with a huge and varied menu and debatable "authenticity" (whatever that's worth), and most items of middling to good quality. Nothing achieves gourmet greatness, but it's not really meant to.
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