Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Sanga Teppanyaki Restaurant on Jurong Hilltop, Singapore

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Teppanyaki is a popular concept of enjoying hot and freshly cooked food directly from the pan; and the chef is just right in front of you, demonstrating his skills in cooking and delivering your food according to your requests/orders.

Japanese restaurants serving the teppanyaki can be found everywhere in Malaysia too; in shopping malls and restaurants.
What makes one different from the other?
The answer lies in the quality of the food (of course!), skills of the chef and of course, the dining environment.

I was in for a surprise when we were treated to a wonderful and unforgettable teppanyaki dinner on the hilltop near Jurong Bird Park in Singapore by our kind hosts (Uncle and Aunty).
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The restaurant is located on top of the hill as you take the route beside Jurong Bird Park which leads all the way to the top.
Take a short walk in the cyclindrical shaped building and you will come to the restaurant.

Sanga restaurant serves not only teppanyaki, but also Indonesian and Chinese cuisines as well.
They are well-known for their teppanyaki of course, as most of the customers are here for the teppanyaki.
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The restaurant had been operating for almost 30 years or more, and is one of the oldest restaurants in Singapore; besides being the most popular.
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It is advisable to make reservations for the teppanyaki section to ensure seating and to avoid disappointments as the restaurant can be quite crowded with eager patrons at the peak dinner hours.
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Without reservation, one would have to settle for the dining at the normal tables away from the teppanyaki section or to wait behind a long line to get a place at the teppanyaki table.
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It is truly a good and enriching experience to enjoy the front view as we watch the chef in action, whipping up our meals before our very eyes!
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I'd never thought that I would enjoy the experience of the cooking in front of me, due to the smell the cooking could leave in my hair and clothes ( I do not want to walk around smelling like I came out of an oven or something), therefore I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying watching the chef whip up my whole meal; dish by dish before my eyes!
Furthermore, the feeling was priceless, as I felt like I was given the best attention with the chef constantly checking with how we would like our dish served; more garlic, less oil, less salt, etc.
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Everyone had to put on an orange bib/apron when seated at the teppanyaki table.
I guess they did not want our clothes to be dirty in case the food from the cooking table fell on us? :P

Table setting for the Teppanyaki
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For starters, there were side cold dishes such as the vegetable cold salad and seaweed
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The chef preparing our salmon; the first dish
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Other dishes ordered by the diners sharing the other side of the table
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Pan fried salmon with sweet soy sauce and eggs
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This was quite good, and the salmon tasted really smooth and soft. The fish was fresh and perhaps it was hot that made this such an appetizing start for our meal.

Grilled salmon
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This was just as good, with the surface of the salmon grilled to a crisp texture and when I bit into it, the flesh was still quite tender and soft, yumz!

A bowl of Gohan (rice) to go with the meal; a typical Asian staple.
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Chicken
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Cooking up the teppanyaki prawns we ordered
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Scrumptious and succulent juicy big prawns on my plate
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Vegetables to wipe our palates (and plates) to end the teppanyaki meal
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After the teppanyaki dinner, we left the table and proceeded to another area for the complimentary desserts by the restaurant.
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There is a menu from which we can select from a list of desserts (there were at least 7-8 types of desserts, from ice cream to pudding).
Honeydew sago
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Almond beancurd pudding (tau fu fah)
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Mango Pudding
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Grass jelly/Chin Chow
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Enjoy a walk around the area after dinner, to enjoy the pleasant night view of Singapore and to walk off that huge dinner we had :)
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17 comments:

  1. how's the food to money worth? never dare to try in such classy restaurant!

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  2. Hie Isaac, the food's not too bad, and Japanese food can be slightly on the pricey side, but for the environment, service and food, not too bad though :)

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  3. Teppanyaki is one of my favourites ever since I was a kid. The obligatory shower after you get home a must unless you want teppanyaki flavours for breakfast from your sheets :) :)

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  4. This looks really interesting. I love trying new foods while in different countries. Looks like lots of fun

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  5. Anonymous6:05 PM

    I love eating at these kinds of restaurants. Yum! This place looks fabulous. Thanks for commenting on my blog. I've added yours to my Google Reader and look forward to reading future posts!

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  6. wow, so many dishes that I want to try there. Love the fried egg though!

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  7. chopinandmysaucepan, yeah, my sentiments exactly when you go for teppanyaki!!:p

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  8. Kat, it is, really, I enjoyed all the unique types of food (not too exotic as I don't really have the guts to stomach those weird food either) :D

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  9. yummychunklet, I loved your blog too, and thanks for following mine too :)

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  10. Lindsay, you'll definitely be spoilt for choices if you are ever here :D

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  11. Hi Christy-Great restaurant review. Yummy foods, and beautiful photos. Too bad it's too far away for me to visit:-((
    We have a favorite Japanese restaurant here, in S. Florida, and love their food, as well!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog to comment:DDD

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  12. Aww all of these photos make me miss proper Asian food so much! This is a lovely restaurant, we have one with a teppenayki bar at home, but it's nowhere near as big or as authentic as the one you tasted! I really want to have some of that mango pudding too :) Thanks for stopping by my blog :), all of yours are lovely!

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  13. Hi Elisabeth, my pleasure, I enjoyed reading your blog very much too :) No worries, I am sure you will have the chance someday to travel to Asia :D

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  14. Hie Xinmei, awwww...thanks for dropping by all my blogs, am really touched :) Stay tune for more Asian food;)

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  15. Very beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing all this information with us.

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  16. Eftychia, thanks, and welcome to my blog:D

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  17. Nice sushi. Must try the Miracle kangen water also. Special invitation only.
    rgds

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