Harbourview Teppanyaki
Seamus is learning Japanese, so it’s only fitting that we go to a Japanese restaurant while he’s here visiting. Harbourview is located in a new development area overlooking the Lagan River and the Waterfront Hall. On a drippy, dismal afternoon, we were only too glad to step into this warm and welcoming place, where we were quickly ushered into the ornately designed lounge area for some drinks and a chance to peruse the menu. The theatrics of Teppanyaki is a must-see for anyone who hasn’t experienced it before, so we had to pick that option, eschewing the many sushi and sashimi platters on offer (which were pricier anyway). The lunch set menu for Teppanyaki offers you a salad to start, followed by your choice of salmon, king prawn, steak or chicken then vegetables, fried rice, and tea or coffee, all cooked right in front of you (except the tea and coffee of course!) by a highly skilled chef.
The first thing the chef did when we were finally seated in front of his hot plate, was cook up an astonishingly large mound of chopped garlic, which he served with some vegetables and two dipping sauces (the ginger one was especially good). Then it was a toss here and a twirl there of the salt and pepper shakers, liberal dashes of what the chef called “Japanese Coca Cola” (soy sauce), and spoonfuls of garlic butter to finish off the cooked seafood. He flipped a few eggs in the air and caught prawn tails in his hat, and pocket, but didn’t have us catch bowls of rice as they do in many restaurants we’ve been to in Sydney.
Everyone agreed it was a good experience, and Seamus even tried his hand at requesting for the bill in Japanese, but unfortunately the waiter was Chinese and so didn’t understand what he was saying.
Harbourview Teppanyaki
1 Lanyon Quay,
Belfast, BT1 3LG
Tags: N. Ireland 2006
warr said,
October 14, 2006 @ 12:44 pm
haha. teppanyaki restaurants can be fun, though as you say, if you’ve been to a few, you notice when they _don’t_ do something you’ve seen before. Do you have Benihana’s in Sydney? pretty big chain here, i’ve been to ones in Hawaii, Alaska, LA, several Cali cities, etc….
ordering in Japanese but having a Chinese waiter is funny too. I said something in Chinese to the waitress here in town only to have her be Korean.
Y said,
October 16, 2006 @ 8:15 pm
Haven’t heard of Benihana, warr! But then again, I’ve only been to maybe three teppanyaki places in Sydney. The best one was in Crows Nest (don’t think it’s there anymore), and I like when they serve up the crisped prawn tails as well as the meat of the prawn.