by Miss Terry Diner
The Benihana Japanese-American Steakhouse, to give it
its full name, is on the first floor of the Royal Garden Plaza and has
recently had a makeover and the Dining Out Team was invited to re-acquaint
itself with this rather unique restaurant concept.
The d้cor is Japanese minimalism with extensive
use of light coloured wood, and granite tables and flooring around the
semi-circular Tappan (BBQ plate) cook tops. There are now two private
dining areas as well, which can seat 15 diners.
Benihana is also adjacent to the Kabuki Sushi and
Sashimi bar, and you can order Kabuki dishes to be brought to your table
as well as the Benihana ones cooked in front of you.
There is more than one menu for Benihana. An a la carte
with the individual items shown, or a set menu which describes 9 sets, all
of which include an appetizer, soup and salad, special entrees and
dessert. The sets are for groups with a minimum of four persons and range
in price between 290 baht per head through to 1,000 baht per diner. The
main difference between the cheapest selection and the more expensive is
an additional special entr้e (4 instead of 3) and the use of some
expensive imported steaks from America, Australia or NZ at the top end.
A typical example is the “Pattaya” set (B. 320)
which starts with a shrimp appetizer, then a Japanese onion soup and fresh
green salad with ginger dressing. These are followed by a diced pork
Boston with garlic butter sauce, a hibachi chicken breast with soya butter
sauce, grilled cuttlefish with lemon butter sauce and a teriyaki mackerel
with stir fried assorted vegetables and fried garlic rice. It is not over
yet! There is the dessert of fresh fruits and Japanese green tea.
We were fortunate to be seated with Preecha
Thongprajueb, the Marriott’s senior chef, who was able to add to the
culinary experience with his knowledge of the dishes and ingredients.
While waiting for some sushi items from Kabuki, I had a
glass of house white wine which turned out to be a 2001 Hardy’s Semillon
Chardonnay from Australia, while Madame went for the Asahi Japanese beer
(which turned out to be brewed in Khon Kaen)! Ah well, you can’t win
them all.
The sushi came with wasabi (Miss Terry’s favourite)
which you mix with soy sauce and Benihana uses the superior Japanese
imported Yamasa brand.
The Japanese onion soup was next. This is a consomm้
style, pleasantly salty and definitely one to produce a thirst. Another
Asahi and Hardy’s white arrived as if by magic, though I suspect that
Preecha had a hand in this somewhere.
Our chef then arrived at our table, introducing himself
as Thirayudh and with a broad grin saying, “Welcome to Benihana.” The
“show” then commenced. With much flourishing of fork and spatula our
table chef deftly threw his cooking utensils in the air, deftly sliced the
tails off shrimps and tossed shrimp scraps into his toque (the chef’s
hat).
Between slicing, spicing and serving, the show was
non-stop with much humour being injected by the chef. When Thirayudh
constructed a fried rice for us, the end product was shaped like a heart,
which slowly began beating on the hot plate, to spontaneous applause from
all of us. After this, bowls of fried rice were flying upside down across
the table without a grain being spilled, while eggs were twirling on the
cook top to eventually be shot into the air and neatly spliced in two as
they came down on the blade over the awaiting cup. This was not cooking -
this was theatre, this was vaudeville where we were all stand-up men for
Thirayudh’s range of jokes and slapstick humour.
Benihana came across as a great night out. Every meal
was a show and suitable for the entire family. And by the way, the steaks
were sensational. With the range of menu sets it does not have to break
the bank and is highly recommended.
Benihana, 1st floor Royal Garden Plaza (between Beach
Road and Pattaya 2 Road), telephone 038 425 009 or 038 412 120-3, fax 038
429 926.
