FOOD - Hawaii, Tanaka Of Tokyo

Aloha, and welcome to Beary's Den!

Today I am going to introduce to you a restaurant in Paradise, otherwise known as Hawaii. Some people would probably dispute the Paradise name, but let's save that for some other time :)

This restaurant is "Tanaka of Tokyo", a "Teppanyaki" style Steak and Seafood restaurant with 3 locations in Waikiki. Teppanyaki means cooked on a "teppan", which means a metal plate. Don't really get the picture? Well, here you go:



The cooks literally just cook all the food on a heated piece of, well, I'm guessing iron and copper and whatever else they put in to making that sheet of metal. Of course, only the center is heated, and the sides of the teppan is usually used to keep materials that is not being cooked yet.

When you go to one of these places, expect to have a table full of strangers sitting together in front of one grill, unless you are with a group that'll make a table full. Usually, they cook will not start until the table is full, but that's only during peak hours. If you go really early, at opening time, you might even be the only people at your table! That's what I like to do, since I don't especially enjoy having uncomfortable conversations while being concious that the people next to us can hear everything. But eavesdropping problems aside, the food is to die for!

Okay, maybe I probably wouldn't kill someone to get a seat, but I might get pretty close! Even though the seasoning is simple salt and pepper with soy sauce, the power of the grill, plus quality materials, and a touch of the right balance of the spices, create a most flavorful meal. And even though it's a grill, since it doesn't involve any charcoal, you won't have to taste any! Hooray!

Assuming that you've ordered an actual meal, instead of just one item, they usually begin with an appetizer of shrimp, and some vegetables (onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, bean sprouts, etc.). Then you'll move on to your meal, whether it be sirloin, teriyaki, ribeye, salmon, scallops, shrimps, and lobster. And while all this is going on, you will also get salad, rice, pickled vegetables and miso soup.

Afraid that you'll get bored and fall asleep before your food is done? Don't worry! The cooks are usually equiped with little tricks and jokes that'll keep you awake while your food is being prepared. The popular ones are the flying shrimp tails, the "egg-roll", the flaming volcano, etc. They also like to show off their juggling skills as well as their knife skills.

Even though there are a lot of teppan places, I recommend Tanaka of Tokyo because they seem to have the best raw materials (you REALLY want this when you are having seafood!), and their food just tastes really, really good. Of course, it is a little pricy, but hey, somethings are just worth the money! Beware though: if you get caught with a bad cook......ugh. Just hope the shrimp tail doesn't fly in to your cocktail!

If you want to know more about them, you can visit their website at http://www.tanakaoftokyo.com.

Bon Apetite!

Beary out.