Seafood Teppanyaki in Phuket

We’d spent the day snorkeling and sun bathing on Phi Phi and a couple of other beaches and were pretty knackered by the time we got back to the hotel. Kabuki was just downstairs so it was an easy decision for dinner. Plus we were celebrating Anjali and Vipuls’ 20th anniversary.

It’d been a while since I’d had teppanyaki and it was Pooja’s first time. We were really looking forward to it. Anaya, our niece, was not a happy camper as she had had it up to her gills with seafood and was just a little cranky but did come down with us. An ice cream promise had to be made but was she glad that she decided to come to dinner with us!

They seated us on a smaller table since we didn’t want to share and it was shielded with curtains on two sides. Nice and cozy setting.

We started with some warm sake for Vipul and I and of course Pooja just had to try mine. She did love it and just maybe has converted. We also had some Miso Shiru soup with seafood, grilled mushrooms in a pepper sauce and a platter of assorted sushi to go with.

Sushi Platter

It was nice to say the least but we were all just waiting for the “show” to begin. We had settled on a the Teppenyaki Salmon and Akami Tuna for our main courses with garlic fried rice. The sake was really helping while we waited for the chef to finish his prep and setup. Anaya of course sat and sulked all this while.

The chef started with a little show of his knife skills and suddenly Anaya showed life! As soon as the eggs came out she was hooked. The chef was a young fellow and obviously good with kids. He got Anaya to do an egg toss – man was she kicked!

Anaya – Egg Toss and Egg Drop Art

The sake was half way down now and a warm feeling was settling in. The mushrooms had disappeared as had the sushi and the soup. And the show started. He had to start the fried rice and the egg was the first step. He decided to play a game of catch.

He made a small little omelette on the side and chopped a little piece to toss and expected us to catch it with our arms folded across the chest. Childish? Maybe but it was fun. And… I did catch it!. Chef tossing the egg on the left and you can see the piece of omelette just entering my mouth on the right.

And then out came the Salmon and Tuna. Gorgeous. Fresh. Stunning. He started with the Tuna. A quick sear before smoking it

A quick sear before plating. It really was fantastic to watch. But all of that paled in comparison to the taste. I can still taste and we’re already almost 2 months past.

It definitely looked pretty and appetizing, But we were not prepared for the sheer flavour bomb that hit our palates. Crunchy vegetables with a beautifully cooked tuna steak brimming with a deep smoke flavour. Wow! Simply Wow!

The Salmon fillet was seared skin side first to get it all nice and crispy and then a short sear the other side to finish.

This salmon was as fresh as you can get. It was juicy and the crisped skin added just that bit of crunch you always need. The mushrooms added a really nice earthiness to round it off.

It will be remiss of me to not mention the garlic fried rice. I am not a fan of rice. I could not stop eating this dish. The garlic was fried just enough, the egg was blended in just enough, the rice had bite yet yielded easily and it was moist enough without being mushy. Brilliant.

Good quality produce, especially seafood, doesn’t need a lot of cooking or ingredients to make a great dish. This chef used a few interesting techniques and very basic condiments but came up dishes that all tied in nicely together. The teppanyaki style just added to the drama and made the evening so enjoyable.

I think all four of us were really happy that we decided to make the effort to come down for this meal and not order-in after a longish, tiring day. Anaya, by the end of the meal, was actually amped and ready to take on the world. We settled for ice cream.

The promise of ice cream had to be fulfilled. Anaya was adamant. So was I. Off we went to get some, quickly followed by the others, who, were making the mandatory noises of “control yaar”.

It was a perfect end to a long, tiring yet fun filled day.