Enjoy a Teppanyaki Restaurant Night Out

When you're looking for an extra-special place to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or another special event, a Japanese restaurant with teppanyaki style cuisine may be a great option! This cooking style provides entertainment plus wonderful food that your entire party will love.

The word "Teppanyaki" is a combination of two Japanese words: "Teppan," meaning iron plate, and "Yaki," meaning broiled or fried. So the combination of the two denotes a type of cooking (usually broiling or frying) which is performed on an iron griddle or plate. The typical Japanese chef will cook the food on a huge iron griddle right at your table. In fact, the seating is usually situated around the cooking area. Besides simply cooking the food, many chefs have some entertainment tricks which they pull out during the cooking time!

Japanese restaurants which feature this avenue of cooking are typically known as Japanese Steakhouses in the United States, since many of their meal options feature beef. It's interesting to note that the Americanized version of this Japanese cooking features many options which the typical Japanese native would not find in their native land. Even some of these restaurants which are located in Japan will cater to tourists, offering meats and food options which will allow an individual a Japanese cooking style with American food options.

A typical meal option includes an appetizer of soup or salad, sometimes both. Then the meal begins with fried vegetables such as onions and squash. Next, the patrons choose between a variety of meats, the most common being beef, chicken and shrimp. Finally, the chef prepares fried rice - a combination of white rice, soy sauce, oriental spices, and some vegetables like chopped carrots or peas. The rice also includes a fried egg. Some restaurants even offer a small serving of refreshing fruit sherbet to cleanse your palate and finish off your meal.

Since the food is prepared in bite-sized pieces, you may want to try improving your chopstick skills! Many teppanyaki restaurants feature both regular chopsticks and chopsticks that are bound together at the top, making them easier for inexperienced Westerners to use, but still get a flavor of the Japanese eating experience. Of course, you can always use a fork if you feel uncomfortable with an unfamiliar way of eating!

One of the best aspects to these restaurants is the entertainment factor as an experienced chef prepares your food. You'll enjoy watching him cut the vegetables at lightning speed, and then performing various acrobatics with his utensils and the food as it cooks. The rice is often formed into a creative shape - sometimes a smiley face with vegetables, soy sauce and an egg used for eyes, mouth and nose before the ingredients are combined into your fried rice dish. The meat will also be cut before your eyes, and once again, the food will be prepared with a combination of fun tricks and fancy maneuvers that will keep your attention through the entire preparation time. Teppanyaki restaurants are a great choice for your next night out!