Miyabi Japanese Fine Dining has a competitive edge: Its location on the 18th floor of The ONE with a gorgeous panoramic view of the city and the Victoria Harbour. The location and view have garnered much attention, yet one should never forget Miyabi as a fine-dining establishment, serving a colorful array of seasonal catch and produce shipped directly from Japan. While Miyabi has a reputation on serving prime-grade seafood for sashimi, one should not overlook its other strengths, such as Teppanyaki.

Characteristics of Teppanyaki

Traditional teppanyaki involves searing ingredients on a hot plate. The cooking processes offer a theatrical interaction between the diner and the chef, as the former observe from tableside the skillful techniques required to cook fresh ingredients to optimum doneness. While techniques from a chef’s training for teppanyaki are crucial, so are the quality of the ingredients featured in each Teppanyaki meal as well as time management. It takes at least 6 months of training inside the kitchen for intensive skill-training for every Teppanyaki chef at Miyabi before they can serve as the chef who handles a meal from start to finish. One must learn the ingredients and the ways to handle them to create the most desirable ways to be served.

A conventional Teppanyaki meal is generally served in the form of a Kaiseki, composing of a number of dishes from appetizers, sashimi, soup, mains to desserts. Miyabi offers prime ingredients to ensure a satisfying dining experience for seasoned palates. Different ingredients are also served in different orders, as more flavorful ingredients like beef would be served later than lighter ones like foie gras and seafood. Signatures at Miyabi include Wagyu beef from Japan (A4) and Australia (M9). A wide array of fresh seafood are available at Miyabi as well, such as King prawns and lobsters, razor clams and large clams, all caught fresh and arrive a few times a week from Japan and Australia. Yet the true star of the restaurant is an  Abalone from Tasmania, Australia. Weighing more than 1 kg alive, the Tasmanian abalone is a rare catch and with seasonal availability. Chefs at Miyabi have a special way to cook this rare abalone to preserve its meaty texture and ocean brininess.

Signatures at Miyabi

Before one gets to the Teppanyaki signatures, whet the palates with a fresh green salad with Japanese vinaigrette. Contrary to conventional practices Miyabi does its Teppanyaki with a flame that’s low enough to sear the exterior of each ingredient without scorching them into a layer of char. Foie gras is a good way to start. Seared quickly on the hot griddle, the thick-cut piece of goose liver is seared quickly on each side, turning only once and around the sides as well. It is served on a piece of toast made on the side of the griddle. The foie gras-topped toast bears a combination of textures – crunchy bread and outer layer of the liver, followed by a lusciously creamy interior similar to butter.
King prawns are next. Each prawn is cooked in two ways – the head and the body. Even though prawns require little cooking time, it is the technique that prepare the prawns that make it difficult to prepare. Upon removing the head, the chef, with metal spatulas in hand, quickly scores along the prawn’s back, removing the intestines while he flips the prawn to remove the entire shell in one continuous movement, leaving nothing but a thick, butterflied prawn the colour of light coral. The head of the prawn is pan-seared on a slow flame until it crisps from the heat and the flavor of the rich coral intensifies.

Abalones are cooked two ways at Miyabi. They are mostly cooked on the griddle, but large signature Abalone from Tasmania, Australia is cooked differently, with more complex procedures on the griddle. To prepare the large abalone, the griddle is heated. A bed of kombu is set on the hot griddle before setting the abalone in it, followed by a blanket of kombu again. A large amount of sea salt crystals are added to encase the whole ‘package’. As the abalone is ‘baked’ inside the kombu and salt foil, juices from the abalone are all trapped within, ensuring a soft meaty abalone which can be served either in thin slices or in large chunks. In either form the abalone flavor is pronounced with its brininess.

Well-marbled steak is seared quickly on the hot griddle. Serving alongside flakes of deep fried garlic the steak is tender and flavourful. The fat along the side of each steak is seared quickly on the hot grill until crispy and brown, before the fat bits are added into a fried-rice that rounds off an otherwise full Teppanyaki meal.

Aside from Teppanyaki and Sashimi, Miyabi’s strength extends towards its selections of desserts. Each teppanyaki set includes a platter selection of desserts. We use season Japanese ingredients to create western dessert such as red bean, green tea and cheese cake, and seasonal fruits from Japan it is strongly recommended that reservations are placed with requests 3 days in advance to ensure a fine Teppanyaki experience at Miyabi.