Flamin' Wharf Teppanyaki by Kobe Jones

Both Kobe Jones and the Rocks Teppanyaki have been in Sydney for years, and recently, the two entities set up a new venture next door to Kobe Jones at King St Wharf - Wharf Teppanyaki.

As an introduction to Wharf Teppanyaki, a group of foodbloggers was invited to lunch at the new restaurant. We were joined by Paul Misan and Justine Norwood from Kobe Jones group, and Alana Chetner from Professional Public Relations.

Wharf Teppanyaki opened in October with what is purported to be Australia's largest teppanyaki table. Weighing in at over 6 tonnes, the stone table seats up to 46 people and has 12 cooking stations around its induction cooktop.  An industrial-strength hood sucks the cooking fumes straight up out of the dining area.  Having experienced the full-on heat and flames that accompanies teppanyaki-style cooking, I can vouch for the strength of the exhaust system (my hair usually absorbs all odours).

There are a number of set menus for lunch that include starters, a selection of mains, miso soup, rice and dessert. I had the 'Seafood on the Wharf' option ($88).  Also worth mentioning is the 'Teppanyaki Wagyu Burger' set ($55), where you can mix 200g of Wagyu beef mince with a selection of 12 spices into your own burger. It looked like fun to mix your ideal combination of flavourings into the meat, and the resultant burger in a bun was a multi-storey affair that would satisfy a huge appetite.

Here are pictures of what I had (and some of what the others had):

To start, the No. 1 Special, a crab salad, avocado and Hiramasa kingfish roll smothered in 'secret sauce' (you must have this, it's deservedly 'number one' at Kobe Jones).
Amuse bouche of salmon and seaweed. Salmon marinated in Hawaiian-style sauce.
Cauliflower soup. Rather unusual and un-Japanese, just like a regular creamy soup.
Miso soup - the miso is an inhouse blend of white and red miso that has a wonderful depth of flavour.

One of the benefits of teppanyaki dining is the spectacle of live cooking in front of you:

Quite a bit of fire action from chef Yumi Maeyama, as you can see.  She previously worked at Rocks Teppanyaki and is great fun to watch.  Hint: Teppanyaki is ideal for a first date because it gives you something to look at if the conversation starts stalling.  Come to think of it, it's also good when you've been with someone for ages and the conversation starts stalling...

The mains were equally impressive:

Justine is a fan of the Wagyu roll and it's a perfectly cooked sliver of beef wrapped around vegetables.
Seasonal salad with dressing. Tomato, lettuce and cucumber. You get the picture...
King prawn, salmon and scallop, grilled beautifully and very flavoursome.  According to CEO Paul Misan, the seafood at Kobe Jones is from sustainably-farmed sources.
Alaskan crab was so tender and delicious. I'm not a huge fan of crab (due to allergies) but this crab was very fresh with lots of meat in the legs and I thankfully didn't have any reactions.

Getting a bit full by this stage, but there's more...

Bean sprouts and vegetables.

Crispy prawn head 'chip' - you eat the whole head, shell and all. Mmm, crunchy and sharp.

Garlic fried rice with rice crackling served separately.

For dessert, we all had Crepes Suzette a la teppanyaki: 

More flames!
The very sweet, thin crepe was flamed with Grand Marnier and served with orange segments.

The dinner menu is similar to the lunch menu but with even more food.  You'd eat teppanyaki for the whole spectacle of seeing the food prepared and interacting with the chefs.  There's no throwing of food here, thank goodness, and chef Yumi was a deft hand with the utensils and cooking, of course.  The prices are quite expensive, but the ingredients are fresh, nicely prepared, and the restaurant itself is beautifully fitted out.  For a night out with friends, it ticks all the boxes.

Wharf Teppanyaki is at 21 Lime Street, King Street Wharf, Sydney NSW 2000.

Website and menus here.