Miyabi 雅 @ Shinjuku

Teppanyaki Miyabi is located in the liveliest part of Tokyo in Kabukicho. And despite its prime location, they serve a very value-for-money set course.

Interestingly when teppanyaki was first introduced in 1945, it was more popular with foreigners than it was with the native Japanese. The foreigners loved watching the chef’s skilled manoeuvres as they prepared the food and the cuisine itself, which is more familiar than more traditional Japanese dishes. So it is naturally for me to bring my foreign guests to teppanyaki when they come to Tokyo.

Typically, diners are seated around the teppanyaki grill, allowing for a more intimate and interactive setting. The limited seating not only creates an exclusive ambiance but also means that each diner receives personalised attention from the chef.

First up, a trio of appetisers to kick things off.

Toro salmon broiled sushi トロサーモンの炙り寿司

I was not impressed when I saw the salmon toro (belly) sushi, thinking to myself whether I have picked a wrong teppanyaki. Then, the salmon sushi with liberal amount of mayonnaise was broiled at table side by the waitress.

Wow! This action slightly burnt the mayo and gave it a smokey flavour. It turned the mediocre sushi into something delicious.

Marinated seafood シーフードのマリネ

The second appetiser was a seafood medley consisting of uni (sea urchin) and slices of tako (octopus) with yuba (beancurd skin) and soy sauce glaze. A wonderful one bite.

Jamon Serrano raw ham ハモンセラーノ生ハム

The last appetiser was hame with olive oil and lettuce. Nothing to shout out for.

Grilled vegetables of the four seasons 四季の野菜焼き

The summer vegetable includes potato, peppers and trumpet mushroom.

In teppanyaki, the sauce is added last and everything else is sautéed with either oil or butter. In this case, a lot of local butter was used to sautéed the vegetables.

Sautéed foie gras with grilled apples フォアグラのソテー 焼きりんご添え

This is always a crowd-pleaser – teppanyaki foie gras.

Look at how much the foie gras shrank after cooking on the hot grill. The pan fried foie gras was served a slice of grilled apple and balsamic vinegar glaze. At first you thought it was a pathetic piece of goose liver. Then the greasiness hit you.

Japanese apple is known to be heavenly sweet, so it did not help to lower the fattiness of the foie gras, Thank goodness the balsamic vinegar helped.

Teppanyaki of live lobster tail 活オマールエビの鉄板焼き

Called Omar ebi (shrimp) in Japanese, the American lobster tail was grilled with lots of the delicious Japanese Meiji butter. Served with a butter wine sauce with cream.

Teppanyaki of live abalone活鮑の鉄板焼き

The next course is not for the squeamish. The abalones were taken from their live tank and still beaming with life when they were presented to us.

Then the next thing you know, they began to struggle on the hot plate. It was a terrible sight to watch even though abalones have very primary neurological systems called the ganglions. They are not capable of subjectively feeling the complex experience of pain and pleasure. Their actions are also not being motivated by endorphins. The lacking of an amygdala would don’t allow them to feel emotions of anger, fear or pain either.

The abalone was cooked to perfection, tender and the right doneness. Nothing more was needed other than the sake, butter and salt even though a sauce was provided.

And my favourite part was the liver of the abalone that was pan fried and served together with rest of the abalone. It’s like foie gras but more intense.

Western-style boiled fruit tomato フルーツトマトの洋風煮びたし

This interlude acted like a palate cleanser, but the fruit tomato poached in dashi and served cold was a course on its own.

The dashi stock was chilled and thickened with gelatine and was perfect with the fruit tomato. A cooling dish for a hot summer night.

Special A5 Japanese beef sirloin 100g or Chateaubriand 80g 特選A5黒毛和牛サーロイン100g又はシャトーブリアン80g

As they said, “Choices are for children; adults will have everything.” We picked the sirloin and chateaubriand to be shared and ordered an ala carte portion of the tenderloin, so we will try all three cuts of the A5 Yamagata wagyu.

Kuroge wagyu 黒毛和牛 from Yamagata 山形牛 is lesser known outside of Japan as it is mainly sold for domestic consumption. The three different cuts were cooked to medium rare, and served with condiments of Himalayan pink salt, Japanese yuzu soy sauce dip, and wasabi.

As the highest rated Wagyu grade in Japan, A5 is not only extremely marbled, it is packed with the distinctive umami flavour and lower melting point fat compounds that contribute to the melts-in-your-mouth sensation for which Japanese wagyu is famous. Sirloin is indisputably one of the most popular wagyu cuts in terms of appearance, tenderness, and taste. 

Chateaubriand is a thicker cut of beef that comes from the same part of the cow as filet mignon. However, it is cut from the thicker end of the tenderloin, which means it has more fat running through the meat. They simply melted in the mouth, definitely the best of the three cuts.

Comprising only 3% of the entire Wagyu beef, the tenderloin is undoubtedly the most luxurious cut of beef there is. A5 Wagyu tenderloin is very tender, hence its name, with fine meat and lower fat, and has a delicate and refined flavour. The most meaty flavour of the three.

Garlic rice Miso soup ガーリックライス お味噌汁

The garlic rice was a disappointment, not very garlicky and no egg in the fried rice. To make matter worse, there was not wokhei. I wished it was served when we were having our wagyu to help balance the greasiness.

I was never disappointed by the miso soup I had in Japan. This was no exception.

Dessert Coffee or tea デザート コーヒーまたは紅茶

Dessert was Hokkaido milk ice cream with blueberry sauce and I asked for a cup of hot black tea to finish the meal with. Very satisfying and very filling.

The food was great, the service was impeccable even though the busy restaurant was run by only three persons – two teppanyaki chefs at the counter and a waitress/reception/barman at the front of the restaurant. Highly recommended, a proper teppanyaki at the price of Benihana.

新宿鉄板焼 雅 Teppanyaki Miyabi
〒160-0021　東京都新宿区歌舞伎町1-2-13 新光ビル2F-（F）
Tel : +81 03-6228-0544

Visited Aug 2024