Restaurant Review: Kobe Japanese Steakhouse — The Art of Fine Teppanyaki Cuisine

Maria in Vancouver

Kobe Japanese Steak and Seafood House at 1042 Alberni Street. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Around 200 years ago in the 1900’s in Japan, the fine art of Teppanyaki cuisine began. This particular style of Japanese cuisine derives from the words “Teppan”, which means iron plate and “Yaki”, which means boiled, pan-fried and grilled. Moreover, Teppanyaki is the fine art of culinary performance combining modern  cooking techniques and the ancient Japanese cooking techniques of grilling food on a teppan grill, which is a flat, griddle-style, solid, and profane-heated.

It is believed that the first teppanyaki restaurant chain that opened in 1945 in Kobe, Japan, was Misono. Shortly after the end of World War II in 1945, teppanyaki was introduced to the Western world. In the US, the first Teppanyaki restaurant chain was the popular Benihana, which opened in New York in 1964. In the Western world, restaurants that serve teppanyaki-style cuisine are known as “Japanese steakhouses” — cooking Western-inspired food on a large teppan grill in front of diners at the restaurants.

Kobe Bar/Lounge area. (Photo courtesy of the author)

In Vancouver, one of the firsts Japanese steakhouses to open in 1968 was the prominent Kobe Japanese Steak and Seafood House located at 1042 Alberni Street, in the heart of Downtown Vancouver. Fast forward to 2023, Kobe Japanese Steak and Seafood House remains to be Vancouver’s much loved destination for Teppanyaki cuisine. It is also the favourite place for birthday celebrations and other special occasions!

Kobe Bar/lounge area. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Together with my husband and son, we celebrated BC Family Day having a special family dinner at Kobe on a cold February Sunday evening. Upon our arrival, we were first seated at their cosy lounge/bar area located on the ground floor. It was a dimly lit lounge area with comfortable low sofas and matching low tables. We ordered cocktails, in particular, their famous blue cocktail, the Sapphire Margarita, which is a sinful concoction of Olmeca Tequila Gold, Blue Curacao, Lime juice and Simple Syrup. The cocktail was quite refreshing and it sure started the evening on a fun note!

Sapphire Margarita. (Photo courtesy of the author)

After 10 minutes of waiting at the lounge bar, we were called to follow the receptionist to the upstairs room. We were joined by six other diners. We were seated at a U-shaped table around the teppan grill that seats nine diners. The U-shape seating arrangement is done on purpose to ensure that all diners get to watch the culinary performance of their Chef for the night. It was a large dining room with possibly another five to eight U-shaped tables equipped with teppan grills. Having been seated with six other strangers, my small pocket of family and I found ourselves making polite, but thoroughly enjoyable conversations with people we’ve never met before. It was interesting to know that we actually have common and shared interests.

Shabu Shabu soup. (Photo courtesy of the author)

The hostesses offered us menus and we each chose our teppan dinners. All dinners included Shabu Shabu Soup, Garden Fresh Vegetables, Teppan Shrimp Appetizer, Rice, Bean Sprouts, and Japanese Green Tea. My husband went for the Seafood Combo (Giant Tiger Prawns with Sweet Atlantic Scallops, paired with their delicious ginger sauce); my son opted for the Steak and Tiger Prawns Combo (Tender Aged Sirloin accompanied by Giant Tiger Prawns). Yours truly settled for the Steak and Lobster Combo (Giant Imported Lobster Tail sautéed in sake, flamed in brandy, served together with a Tender Kobe Sirloin Steak). We also ordered Kobe Fried Rice as a side order to share. After taking our orders, we were immediately served with Shabu Shabu soup which came piping hot!

Teppan Chef Will. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Our Teppanyaki Chef for the evening was Chef Will — a teppan expert with such an über cool and funny personality! Chef Will didn’t waste any time, he greeted each of us warmly and immediately showed his superb knife skills — throwing his knives on air and catching them with such precision! Wow. Next, he showed us his flair for tossing, drumming, clanging, and flipping his tools (aside from his knives) such as his spatula and forks. He also flipped a shrimp tail into his shirt pocket! Then, he perfectly caught an egg with his chef hat!

Chef Will cooks the vegetables. (Photo courtesy of the author)

He starts pouring his two dipping sauces to nine individual sauce bowls and distributes these to his nine diners/spectators. The dipping sauces were made of creamy garlic sauce, mustard and ginger sauces. Chef Will proceeds to impress us with his chopping skills: he chopped mushrooms, zucchini and onions in a fast and erratic manner and chopped these into small and finely vegetables. Then, he cooked the vegetables with light seasoning. The piece de resistance was the white onions that he formed and arranged into a small fire-shooting volcano! He distributed the cooked vegetables to his diners’ plates.

The vegetables. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Shrimp appetizer. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Chef Will starts cooking the shrimp appetizers with garlic and wine seasoning. He playfully flipped and flattened pieces of shrimp into the mouths of the other diners. Again, he distributed the shrimp appetizers to our dinner plates. The prawns were seasoned to perfection and were fresh and succulent!

The tasty scallops. (Photo courtesy of the author)

The delicious lobster tails. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Lobster tails being cooked. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Next, Chef Will starts seasoning the scallops,  lobsters, and more shrimps with their special ginger sauce, a dash of salt and pepper and grills the seafood with soybean oil. He skillfully dices and chops the seafood, and then he quickly sets the grill aflame! Hmmm, delish! After cooking the seafood combo, he plates the assorted seafood according to the diners’ orders. My lobster was flavoured with rich and satisfying seasonings. It was meaty and simply delicious. My husband’s and son’s scallops were delightful! Their scallops were briny, buttery, slightly sweet with such tender texture.

Kobe steak. (Photo courtesy of the author)

The tender sirloin steaks. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Chef Will starts to cook the meat: fine cuts of Kobe beef which was both expensive and top quality. The beef cuts are tenderloin or choice sirloin. The tender and fine pieces of chicken breasts were also of top quality and were skinless. The beef and chicken are seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, salt, garlic, and wine. He cooked the meat with the combination of animal fat and vegetable oil. Once again, Chef Will quickly sets the teppan grill aflame! Indeed, it was a feast not only to our tummies but to our eyes: he delivered a feast that was both culinary and visually enjoyable and entertaining — a masterpiece of a performance! My Kobe Sirloin steak did not disappoint; it was tender, it was cooked medium-rare, and above all, it was not overly salty! My son’s tender age sirloin was also cooked and seasoned perfectly!

Teppan grill flaming performance. (Photo courtesy of the author)

The Steak and Tiger Prawns Combo. (Photo courtesy of the author)

The next dish that Chef Will cooks was the Kobe Fried Rice. He threw an egg in the air and split it with a spatula over the rice. Then, he proceeds to cook the rice with mushrooms, diced zucchini and more eggs! Again, he sets the teppan grill aflame one more time! After tossing and frying the rice with the vegetables and eggs, Chef Will artistically arranges the cooked fried rice into a heart shape before placing the fried rice to my husband’s, my son’s and my dinner plates. The fried rice was truly flavourful and I guess it’s because he used butter to fry the rice with.

Kobe Fried Rice. (Photo courtesy of the author)

The last and final dish that Chef Will cooked was the bean sprouts. He seasoned the bean sprouts lightly with salt and pepper and poured a bit of soy sauce all over it. Then, he places and arranges the bean sprout in an arrow shaped form. He sets the teppan grill aflame for one last time before serving the bean sprouts.

Bean sprouts. (Photo courtesy of the author)

We ended our teppanyaki dinner on a sweet note: we ordered different flavoured ice creams. I chose the Green Tea ice cream; my husband went for the traditional Vanilla ice cream and my son ordered the Mango ice cream. It was the perfect choice to end such a feast!

Ice creams. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Chef Will is a highly skilled Teppan Chef who is  an expert when it comes to cooking delectable dishes in a quick manner without sacrificing the quality and taste of the food and its fresh ingredients. He cooked our orders with such artistic flair while juggling his cooking utensils, showing his amazing knife skills, and his dramatic grill flaming performance. Like I said, both our tummies and eyes were treated to such an entertaining and delicious culinary experience. It was certainly a most unique dining experience that makes you want to keep returning for more!

Extraordinaire Teppan Chef Will. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Kobe Japanese Steak and Seafood House definitely delivers the art of fine Teppanyaki Cuisine. It is both a fun theatrical experience as it is a culinary delight. To borrow a quote from Thomas Keller: “A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.” And Chef Will from Kobe Japanese Steak and Seafood House, without doubt, brought so much soul to our dinner that evening. Hats off! Or better yet, Encore!