Teppan Bar Q

Teppan bars are probably my least favorite Japanese eateries. The menu always has too much meat, along with the enormous amounts of butter used on the flat-top grills and iron plates.

There're many teppanyaki eateries in town. Pretty good ones around too. If you get the marinade and seasoning right, and don't burn the food, little can go wrong. Also, in Singapore, a hot teppanyaki restaurant isn't exactly welcomed. I always end up stinking of grease and meats after the meal.

Strolled by Torikin's new restaurant Teppan Bar Q at Robertson Walk and hopped in before their official opening tonight. It's kinda open-concept- as in there's air-conditioning but their three residential-sized units are ineffective against the kitchen's heat and sizzling grill, and the open doors. Thankfully we were seated in the spot that's the coolest in the tiny eatery. Don't ask for a table indoors. The three tables that could seat 10 are placed right next to the blazing hot kitchen. The seats at the grill counter or outdoors are cooler. The eatery is meant to be casual, but be prepared to sweat it out.

Teppan Bar Q's food was pretty decent. Oily, of course. Spied olive oil being drizzled, but slabs of butter were also liberally melted over the food. Asked for our ribeye to be done medium-rare. It came medium-well. Zzzz. Other than that, everything else turned out all right. The men went to town with all the meats- chopped chicken liver with spicy peppers, kimchi pork and duck breast with spring onions. If their stomachs could stuff more items, they would have ordered seconds. Hahaha. They even had tonpei-yaki (とんぺい焼き) for carbs.

I didn't bother with tonpei-yaki, am also not a fan of okonomi-yaki (お好み焼き). I loved their shiokara (塩辛, fermented squid in its own guts). Stinky, pungent and tangy. Mmm. It was served on slices of camembert. I wasn't that hungry, but wanted mushrooms and seafood. Got them in a platter of scallops, lobster tail and salmon. Ordered another plate of lobster (more like crayfish) to finish. We didn't bother with dessert. Already had tons of beer.

Ika-no-shiokara!

Teppan Bar Q
11 Unity Street
Robertson Walk #01-21/22 S237995
(at where the laundromat used to be, between the Moving Body and Wine Connection)
T: +65 6235 0629