very disappointed. if this is the best that richmond has to offer in the way of japanese hibachi, i feel sorry for the city. i felt that kobe ranked pretty low in the list ofhibachirestaurants i have been to in my life. first, the food.
my date and i started with some green tea, which was excellent (genmaicha, if my taste buds serve me correctly). the water was off-tasting city water that required a slice of lemon to cut the industrial taste. rather than a light, airy tempura batter, the greasy, limp vegetable ... thing that came out reminded me of something you would find at a southern diner. the thinly sliced sweet potato was limp and flavorless. the hamachi kama, however was fairly good, with a nice char on the outside and nicely cooked yellowtail inside - highly recommended.
however, the main meal was a let-down. i ordered thehibachilobster with a side of scallops. the starter soup was probably supposed to be miso, but it reminded me of something out of a red and white can. no subtle miso flavor, no tofu; just an overpowering, tinny chicken broth accompanied by sliver of mushroom. the salad was not much better - standard iceberg lettuce with a flavorless and water attempt at a ginger dressing.
all that aside, the absolute let down was the lobster. although cooked ok, the delicate lobster flavor was annihilated by an overabundance of shoyu, rendering nearly inedible. the scallops that followed were slightly undercooked, although there was some flavor to them.
the highlight of ahibachirestaurant is supposed to be the chef - traditionally a combination of chef and entertainer. our chef had some moderate skills, but really didn't impress. the show contained a few staples (egg-hat toss, food in the mouth toss, onion volcano), but nothing that would have made it stand out above even the most average show.
i felt like this was the kind of cattle-car commercial joint whose main concern was "get-'em-in; get-'em-out" rather than concentrating on a good (or even moderate)hibachiexperience. i won't be back