While I’m a lover of Japanese cuisine Teppan style cooking is something still new to me so when I was invited by Chinese Bites to try Teppan Kitchen‘s new Harbour Center food court location I was totally in for it. My first foray into teppan style cooking was last year when Teppan Kitchen’s direct competition opened their first restaurant in the Lower Mainland; I enjoyed there eats so I was curious to see how Teppan Kitchen stacked up. The location in the Harbor Center food court is Teppan Kitchen’s newest with the other being in Richmond’s Aberdeen Center. The Harbor Center location does have some items that aren’t available in Richmond which we sampled.
Besides pop and water Teppan Kitchen has a variety of tea and coffee based drinks available. I kept my choice simple with some iced lemon water thinking a cold crisp beverage would be good but this one came sweetened without me knowing it.
First up is the Citrus Grilled Pork Cheek Teppan Rice with cheese and egg added. The pork cheek was not overcooked and was cut properly leaving it tender. The egg and cheese added richness and creaminess, but the cheese didn’t impart much flavor. The other main part of the dish was the rice which was too soggy for me.
Next up is the ‘A’ Grade Rib Eye Beef Teppan Rice with cheese and egg added. This wasn’t as successful as the pork cheek dish; the cast iron pans could have been hotter and because of the amount of food the kitchen was preparing for us it affected they didn’t get enough preheating time which I don’t fault them for. Back to the dish, the meat was tougher than the pork dish, but the flavors of the sauces enhanced the sliced beef.
Moving on to some noodle based dishes, the Seafood Pasta with Tomato Sauce was the first to hit the table. Personally, I stay away from seafood teppan dishes because the protein ends up overcooked, so when this shrimp and baby scallop laced pasta dish was brought out I made sure we dug in quickly. The shrimp had some nice bounce to them when eating them, and the scallops weren’t horribly overcooked. The pasta was evenly coated in just enough tangy sauce, and the noodles still had some chew to them.
Another noodle based dish on we tried on the menu is Wok Fried Udon with Chicken & Spicy Sausage. This was certainly packed some spice that hit the palate and stuck around but didn’t build up too much as you ate more. Eating stuff with udon noodles for me usually ends up in a mess, there is something about the thickness and texture that make them hard for me to grab with chopsticks or twirl around a fork so let’s say they weren’t my favorite.
Lastly for the teppan noodle dishes they served Smoked Salmon Pasta with Citrus Cream Sauce. I stayed away from this dish as smoked salmon is one of my least favorite things. The table enjoyed it, but some said it was on the heavy side.
One of my favorite teppan dishes of the day was the Beef Bolognese Rice with Corn & Egg. I’ve never had rice with bolognese sauce before but after having this dish; it’s something I’ll be making at home, on a cold Fall/Winter day it would be perfect comfort food. Before digging in I was expecting the sauce to be on the sweet side but I was pleasantly surprised with how balanced the sauce was with herbaceousness, tang, and meatiness. Personally, I found the top of the egg way under done for me to eat so I grabbed my portion before it was mixed in.
Moving on to some of the dishes unique to the Harbor Center location. It seems at least once a week I hear about Hainanese Chicken with Rice on some form of social media. The dish isn’t something I’ve had a bunch of experience eating, so I’m still navigating the poached chicken filled waters. The prized gelatinous skin wasn’t present here and to be honest I didn’t mind (I’m a crispy skin kind of guy) but the meat itself was flavorful. The sauces served on the side provided a good amount of flavor and the rice was cooked well with good chicken flavor, the scallion ginger one is becoming a favorite of mine.
The next unique dish is Curry Beef Brisket with Rice. The coconut milk based curry was aromatic and wasn’t too spicy, but it was on the thin side. The meat itself had some fat left in it which I found made it slightly chewy but overall it was alright and the potatoes soaked up the flavor of the curry without falling apart.
Lastly, we sampled the Seafood Laksa Noodle Soup. This was another enjoyable item you wouldn’t expect to find in a Downtown Vancouver mall food court. The laksa had a good variety of chicken, shrimp, fish cake, potatoes and a couple types of noodles as a bonus. The broth itself had the same qualities as the curry, an aromatic coconut milk laced flavorful broth that was also slightly thin.
Overall I enjoyed the visit to Teppan Kitchen Harbor Center and would stop in again if I found myself in the area looking for a quick lunch, the menu is diverse enough with the standard menu items as well as the special items unique to the location you’re sure to find something tasty.
**Disclosure-as a Chinese Bites reviewer my food was paid for by Chinese Bites, my opinions and experience are completely my own and were not influenced by the restaurant or ChineseBites.com**
