A taste of J_apanat Hibachi

by Renee Di Pietro staff writer

Flames rise, heat hits your face and then it all vanishes as quickly as it began. A couple of fancy spatula tricks, then the cooking begins.

Welcome to Hibachi, the ideal dining restaurant for Japanese food.

Jim· Chen, manager of the Springfield restaurant, explained that the restaurant is split into two parts, the steak house and the upstairs sushi bar. Both parts are highly decorated with a festive atmosphere. Spectacular paintings and colorful Japanese art of warriors and designs cover the walls.

The steak house is set up with Tapanyaki tables seating an average of eight people in a "u" like shape around the hibachi grill where the chef cooks. Before the cooking begins, a server will provide drinks and if desired, appetizers.

The menu includes chicken and steak entrees, seafood entrees and combinations of the two. All dinners include salad with a special Hibachi Japanese dressing, fired rice, shrimp and oriental vegetables complemented by their seasonings and exotic sauces. Special dinners are also offered on the menu, for example a deluxe dinner for two for $45.95. Each dinner is prepared at the Tapanyaki table in the fine Japanese tradition of having your very own chef.

The chef starts off the dinner with a large fire display on the hibachi grill, catching everyone's attention in the whole restaurant and then begins to prepare the meals.

The chefs at Hibachi are not only fantastic cooks but also incredible entertainers.

Your "personal chef' readies a delicious feast, capping off the evening with a festive shrimp toss.

Conversations with your dinner company throughout the preparation of dinner may be short and insignificant as the chef awes the table with rapid techniques and desirable talent.

After he has distributed the meals to each member of the table, the best and last part of the production begins. Catching shrimp.

The chef begins to toss shrimp through the air to each person who accepts the challenge. He circles the table twice so those uncoordinated participants get a chance to redeem themselves.

-Directions476 south to exit 3 (Springfield-Lima Exit), follow signs for Springfield to route 320 cross route 320.

Springfield Shopping Center is on the right Hibachi will be located in the shopping center near Baskin Robins. For more information, call 610-690-4911