Yokohama Teppan

While flipping through Melbourne's entertainment book one afternoon, I bookmarked several restaurants that looked promising, and I was surprised to find that Yokohama Teppan is in Glen Waverley, one of our favourite (and nearby!) areas of Melbourne. I must have walked past Yokohama Teppan half a dozen times without registering it in my pea-brain. Still, it's better late than never to discover something new, and we made plans to take an evening off and have a meal there.  

I didn't know this, but according to J, the traditional Japanese chef-style approach to Teppan was to cook and serve with little commentary, perhaps just a suggestion or two on how to best appreciate the flavour of each dish. Other than that, you're pretty much left to enjoy the food and have a conversation with your friends. In the Western adaptation, be prepared for a display of knife skills, magic tricks and juggling to fill the time between each course. 

Here he is tossing a whole egg in midair before catching it square with the sharp end of his spatula.

I had the 150g Eye Fillet from the ala carte menu ($29.90), which came overcooked and slightly tough, since I asked for medium rare. Our chef kept it on the fire the same time as R's  Sirloin (200g - $28.90), which would explain why hers came out more tender. The beansprouts were lovely with the sauce though.

Two of us wanted fried rice ($6.50), but even though J and R didn't want any, the chef gave us two more complimentary bowls for them, which was really sweet of the restaurant.Can I say that the star of the restaurant was the Fried rice? 'Cause it was.

The verdict: A decent place for a meal, though the price makes going there a little prohibitive.