The flavors of Japan, prepared on your table

When the first Benihana, which means “red-flower” in Japanese and is a central theme to its very modern and upscale décor, opened in the U.S. in 1964, Japanese cuisine was relatively unknown and the idea of having a chef prepare a meal at your table was completely unheard of. Blending exotic Japanese dishes with a dazzling chef performance may have been a radical idea, but it was the recipe for success and now this world-wide chain has opened a restaurant in the new section of Multiplaza Mall.

The theatrical performance presented by each table’s personal chef is quite something to see…whirling knives, cleavers, salt and pepper mills, shakers, ingredients…all whirling and then, presto, the food is on your plate.

The style of cooking is "teppan-yaki", teppan meaning "steel grill" and yaki meaning "broiled". And all the food is sliced, diced, tossed, turned and cooked right in front of you. The sole exception being, of course, the numerous sushi items. So let’s start with those offerings:

The restaurant’s terrace at Multicentro Mall.

Regular readers of this column will know that my search for really good, authentic sushi in Panamá has been, for the most part, futile. Benihana comes close, but its rice lacks that certain “tang” of authentic sushi rice produced by the perfectly balanced application of rice vinegar to the hot rice. The seafood used at the local Benihana is shipped in from the U.S., which means frozen, and truly good sushi requires fresh. Of the four sushi dishes sampled, “Denny’s Roll” was by far the best. The Rainbow Roll was overpowered by the volume of rice used, while the Spicy Tuna could have used just a bit more of the central ingredient, spicy tuna. The Caterpillar Roll was quite good, but the dark sauce dribbled over and around it tasted like a very strong soy sauce reduction. Ask for it without the sauce and the dish is quite good.

Once we finished the sushi, our personal chef appeared with his food cart and the show began in earnest. The aforementioned juggling skills were quite evident as he prepared a myriad of dishes including fried rice that you can use as a base for the lobster, shrimp, scallops, a beautiful ahi tuna steak, chicken and steak filet that followed.

A chef prepares a teppanyaki-style dish, as Bob Stiff and his friends watch.

Despite the chef’s copious use of spice and seasoning, the food was curiously bland. The texture was there, the ahi tuna and the steak filet wonderfully rare and juicy…but rather tasteless. By the copious use of the soy and wasabi mixture used with our sushi some of the food items perked up a bit…but that shouldn’t be necessary. One item that did stand out as problematic was the ahi tuna…the generous steak was perfectly cooked…grilled gently on the outside, rare inside. But the chef poured what tasted like a dark vinegar over it prior to slicing and serving it, rendering hopeless any chance to savor the tuna itself.

What happened? My guests were equally baffled as all of us had eaten at Benihana’s in the U.S. and elsewhere, and found the food not great but consistently good. Not the case here, although the table performance, which of course is the primary draw at all Beinhanas, was second to none.

We selected two desserts…the Colossal Cheesecake and the Bananas Tempura. The slice of cheesecake was, indeed, colossal as well as creamy and delicious. The décor is beautiful, the service staff attentive and polite, the chef skilled at putting on a show...now if only the food was as good.