A fun Japanese dinner for group dining usually featuring wagyu beef, prawns, teriyaki chicken and garlic fried rice, Japanese teppanyaki is an art you can find in these Japanese restaurants
Everyone loves a good ol’ barbecue, but the Japanese have it down to an art – a performance art at that! If you’ve had the luck of dining at an authentic teppanyaki restaurant before, you would’ve been baffled and awestruck by the chefs’ sleight of hand, breathtaking tricks (think juggling, tossing, speed-cutting and literally explosive theatrics), and charisma they bring to the table, or in this case, an iron griddle known as a teppan. Everything is grilled and served in front of you – beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables, even garlic fried rice – and it’s a Japanese food feast that’s perfect for celebrations or entertaining guests. Here are some Japanese restaurants where you can munch on teppanyaki in Singapore.
Shima
How do you know you’re getting the best at Shima? For starters, this Goodwood Park fixture is arguably Singapore’s first teppanyaki restaurant that’s been around since 1980. Its showy, flamboyant chefs – equipped with culinary acrobatics and teppan tricks – have been personally honed by Japanese teppanyaki masters, and they won’t rest ’til you’re stuffed from Shima’s popular, all-you-can-eat teppanyaki buffet lunches.
Shima, Lvl 1 Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road, Singapore 228221, p. 6734 6281. Open daily 12pm-3pm, 6pm-10.30pm.
Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei
The 12th dining concept of the Keisuke Ramen franchise – known for Tonkotsu King and Tori King – is a real treat for teppanyaki fans, and it specialises in, you guessed it, hamburg steaks. The Keisuke outlet at Peck Seah Street takes this concept one step further, by stuffing its patty – if you order the Special Prime Beef Hamburg – with three types of melted cheese. Seriously, it doesn’t get more decadent than that.
Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, 72 Peck Seah Street, Singapore 079329.
Hide Yamamoto
The eponymous restaurant of the Globel Chef Award recipient tucked within Marina Bay Sands, Hide Yamamoto offers private teppanyaki rooms that can seat up to five or eight guests. A teppanyaki dinner course here can set you back as much as $398 per person, but you’re getting your money’s worth with delicacies like abalone steak, foie gras, lobster, and Japanese wagyu chateaubriand. A la carte is also available.
Hide Yamamoto, #02-05 Marina Bay Sands, 8 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956, p. 6688 7098. Open daily 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm.
Mikuni
The dim, intimate décor of this City Hall Japanese restaurant makes the fiery, animated theatrics of the teppanyaki chefs stand out even more. Mikuni’s teppanyaki items include seafood like king prawn with golden sauce and miso-marinated cod with asparagus and shiitake mushroom, and meats like Australian tenderloin with garlic soya sauce, crispy garlic and bean sprouts. Also, the garlic fried rice here is so addictive, you’ll be asking for seconds!
Mikuni, Lvl 3 Fairmont Singapore, 80 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189560, p. 6339 7777. Open Mon-Sat 12pm-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm, closed Sun.
Tatsu
We were worried that this renowned Japanese rendezvous would disappear after CHIJMES’ major renovation. But thankfully, you can still find this teppanyaki restaurant serving grilled signatures like slipper lobster ($26), wagyu ox tongue ($32), lamb rack ($32) and seafood fried rice ($13). Opt for the decadent wagyu beef ($168) if you’re willing to splurge.
Tatsu, #01-08 CHIJMES, 30 Victoria Street, Singapore 187996, p. 6332 5868. Open daily 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm.
Teppan-Ya
Loosely translating to a “teppan house”, this resto at Mandarin Oriental doesn’t let its namesake down! A la carte teppanyaki items here include scallops ($28), cod fish ($33), chicken ($32) and USDA beef striploin ($63) – all grilled and flamed right in front of you with dexterous stunts that will make you go ooh and ahh. The view here ain’t half shabby too!
Teppen-Ya, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 5 Raffles Avenue, Singapore 039797, p. 6885 3595. Open daily 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10pm.
Yaki Yaki Bo
Teppanyaki isn’t necessarily a fancy concept found in ritzy hotels; you can even find it in the heartlands too. Sizzling things up from the Serangoon neighbourhood, Yaki Yaki Bo still serves the full teppanyaki experience with live chefs wowing diners with their grill skills. Chow down on Japanese-inspired dishes like black pepper chicken, teriyaki salmon and buta shogayaki; it’ll all be worth smelling like a BBQ for!
Yaki Yaki Bo, #B1-78 Nex, 23 Serangoon Central, Singapore 556083, p. 6634 4838. Open daily 11am-10pm.
Keyaki Japanese Restaurant
Juggled pepper shakers, flipping knives, flashy fireballs – when you’re in the trusty hands of a trained teppanyaki chef, your dinner entertainment is one-of-a-kind. Keyaki’s teppan chefs whip up a performance as engrossing as the feast they lay in front of you. Order the Ten set ($190) that features sashimi, wagyu beef sirloin, lobster, sautéed vegetables and fried rice.
Keyaki Japanese Restaurant, Lvl 4 Pan Pacific Hotel, 7 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039595, p. 6826 8240. Open daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm.
Takumi Restaurant
The sushi rolls and robatayaki spread here are enough reasons to make a trip down to Keppel Bay Vista, but if you need yet another nudge, the teppanyaki dishes at Takumi are absolutely enticing. The grilled goodies lean more towards an unconventional approach; expect grilled scamorza cheese, Hokkaido scallops with uni, tuna pepper steak, and teppan UK Dingley Dell pork chop. Remember to thank the chef when you’re done!
Takumi Restaurant, #02-01 Marina at Keppel Bay, 2 Keppel Bay Vista, Singapore 098382, p. 6271 7414. Open daily 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm.
Like it hot and grilled? Check out these best yakitori restaurants in Singapore, spots for best steaks, and where to get BBQ baby back ribs.
