PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe golden rule of dining teppanyaki-style is to avoid wearing white clothing. Apart from that, anything goes. Ichi Ban Teppanyaki in Parramatta might not be the most glamorous teppanyaki restaurant in town but the chefs here are seriously skilled in whipping up smoking-hot morsels of teppanyaki treats and then flinging them in the general direction of your mouth with sporadic accuracy. All in the name of good fun, of course!
The best way to experience the menu at Ichi Ban Teppanyaki is to go for a fixed price set. Kick off with miso soup, tempura vegetables and sashimi before the flames from the hot-plate lick the ceiling and the real theatre begins. Giant prawns are beheaded and de-veined with a quick flick of your chef’s wrist, plump scallops sizzle happily and a tender fillet of beef is diced up into juicy cubes, coated in teriyaki and plopped on your plate with alarming speed. After a liberal dose of food and wine your chef decides to test your motor skills using tiny bowls and raw eggs as missiles. Once you’ve mastered that, try your hand at catching fried egg with your mouth and a bowl of fried rice within another bowl. You might surprise yourself with how dexterous you actually are. At the very least, you’ll be pleased with yourself for taking my advice and not wearing white.
July 2008