By Allis Derian

“You missed!” Our hibachi chef laughed after throwing a ball of undercooked rice at the wall behind my sister Amanda. Not one of us caught the rice due to his horrible aim. 

When I had arrived at Kanpai Japanese Steak House and Sushi in Short Pump, the dim lighting and dark decorations were the first thing I noticed. At the front of the restaurant, there’s a sushi bar and some smaller dining tables. After waiting a few minutes, the buzzer in my hand began to vibrate. 

At hibachi restaurants all over the country, the experience will likely be very similar to the one I had at Kanpai. The U-shaped tables with the stove top in the center can fit many people and are one of the defining characteristics of a hibachi restaurant. Another important aspect of any hibachi restaurant is the entertainment. Instead of ordering food and waiting for it to be brought out to the table, the chef comes to you. They cook the meal in front of the whole group,  At most hibachi restaurants, the menu doesn’t have much variety. You choose a main, and they cook it along with fried rice, veggies, and sometimes noodles. The options may depend on the location, but at Kanpai you can choose between chicken, steak, shrimp, scallops, or lobster. 

A few minutes after we sat down, the waitress brought out miso soup for all of us. At Kanpai, the miso soup doesn’t have tofu, which makes it better, in my opinion. It’s just the broth with a few fried onions. I like to add a little bit of soy sauce to it, which gives it the additional flavor that it needs. 

Once everyone’s done with the soup, they bring out the ginger salad. The ginger dressing is slightly sweet, and the ginger flavor doesn’t feel overpowering. I’ve tried many grocery store ginger dressings, but it’s never as good as the one at Kanpai. 

After the salad and soup are done, there are a few more minutes until the chef arrives. We sit at our table, eavesdropping on the conversations from the family across from us. 

When our chef arrives, he introduces himself as Camalito. When I asked him how many years he’d been working at Kanpai, he told me that it had been 23. Almost everyone in my family asked for double Yum Yum sauce, except my dad David, who likes the ginger sauce. After the chef goes around the table to confirm everyone’s order, he begins throwing his spatulas and using them like drumsticks against the stove.

He pours a large amount of rice onto the hibachi grill, followed by what looks like more than a stick of butter. The butter sizzles as he collects little balls of rice and begins throwing them at us so that we can catch them in our mouths. My cousin Kate went first. She was prepared and ready to catch the rice, but instead it flew over her head and hit the wall behind her. The chef made fun of her and then tossed her another attempt. Once again, it went completely over her head. By the time we made it all the way around the table, only my dad had actually caught the rice.

Next, he began cooking the veggies. He cooked broccoli, onion, and zucchini, also in large amounts of butter. My favorite part of hibachi is the onion volcano. Our chef stacked a few rings of an onion and poured a mixture of vegetable oil and cooking alcohol in the center. He lit the onion volcano, and flames shot out of the top. When the fire started to die down, he sprinkled dried parsley to create what he called fireworks. By the time the onion volcano was over, the veggies were perfectly cooked. 

After the veggies, he started cooking the chicken, steak, and shrimp. At this point, I was so tempted to eat my food. I looked next to me, and my cousin Evans had already cleared his plate. I looked around the table, and about half of us were waiting. When I asked my dad what he thinks, he said, “If you don’t wait until it’s all out, you have no self-control.” My cousin laughed, and argued that “If you wait, the rice gets cold.” I personally like to wait, but I always take a few bites.

I ordered steak, my sister got chicken, and my dad got shrimp. The chef tossed the chicken in some teriyaki sauce, and then it was done. Next, he did the same for the shrimp. He gave each of us two pieces, and then gave the rest to my dad. The shrimp was delicious. It was salty and tasted great with the slightly sweet Yum Yum sauce. My cousins and I all got the steak, which was “the best steak I’ve had in years,” according to my older cousin Ben. 

Hibachi restaurants are my favorite place to celebrate a birthday, or just get a group of people together for dinner. It’s always an entertaining experience and more than just great food. 

All photos by Allis Derian.