Teppan – The Japanese Dining Experience

Watching Lord Beerus and Whis from Dragon Ball Super downing plates of delicious Japanese food had me tempted to try some myself. So after a day’s worth of research on restaurants serving Japanese food, I decided to go with Teppan, because Japanese cuisine in Chennai is extremely expensive when you dine A-La-Carte, so I will get to taste a variety of dishes. Teppan has a collection of dishes under a “set menu”, so people can have a taste of different dishes while paying a considerably lower price when compared to dining A-La-Carte.

Locating Teppan is no biggie, it is located beside the road and is very hard to miss. There is however very limited parking space, so plan ahead if you are bringing your car.

The ambiance of the restaurant is exceptional, the dining area has a dimmed down lighting to set a calm and pleasant mood. The walls are decorated with traditional Japanese pots and vases with Japanese inscriptions on them.

During our visit we ordered the “set menu”, it cost a cool Rs.1800/- for two people. The dishes were exceptional and very unique, they were unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. The quantity of the dishes served was a bit less than the expectation, but I’m not complaining about it.

We started off with  Tori Sarada, a tempura styled grilled chicken salad containing iceberg lettuce, carrots mixed with spicy mayonnaise, this was exceptional, I wasn’t expecting tempura styled deep-fried dish for the salad, this took me completely by surprise. The flavor even though it was mild, it was very well prepared.

Next, we were served with Tori Nambanzuke, they are fried marinated chicken wings. These, however, are not the top of the list. They were ok-ish.

For the 3rd course, we were served Naruto Maki (they are named after the famous whirlpools in the Naruto Straits), I tricked my friend into trying the wasabi *evil laugh*. The Naruto Maki had fried sea bass with onion rolled with seaweed paper and sushi rice. The outer layer had a tempura crunch to it.

Next, we were served Miso soup, I’m not a fan of this dish. But its just my personal taste, and considering this is my first time tasting Japanese food, I can’t comprehend the nuances of a dish like a native can.

For the main course, we were allowed to choose any two of the four choices. Since there were two of us, we ended up ordering all four of the dishes. The dishes were Chicken Leg Meat, Beef Tenderloin, White Fish Fillet, and Prawn. All these dishes had the same base. My friend was delighted with the Fish fillet, it was so fresh and tasty. I liked the Beef Tenderloin, it was juicy and tender, and considering that the Tenderloin is one of the more expensive cuts of beef, the flavor packed in it was exquisite.

Along with the main course, we were served a Japanese styled preparation of Chicken and Egg fried rice. This went really well with the main courses.

And Finally for the dessert, we choose 6 dishes (3 for each). The desserts were nothing too special and kinda seemed like a let down after enjoying the delicious before. It would be nice if Teppan could redesign their dessert menu (a few Japanese styled desserts would be a welcome change).

The overall dining experience was exceptional, the waiters are extremely friendly and are by your side whenever we need them. They even allowed me to take a set of chopsticks to take home.

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Hospitality: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

Pricing: Expensive