Personally when I go to Japanese place I prefer it to have an authentic Japanese name, but the birthday boy picked this place for a birthday celebration. I can see why, as they do lovely fried rice artwork in the end (teddy bear with fluffy bonito flakes for fur and cavier for eyes) so it does make for a memorable ending for a special occasion dining. Another thing the birthday boy loved is that there are lots of toys on display inside the restaurant. I wonder if the name Chiu comes from the owner's name, or his love for Ultraman.
This place has a nice assortment of courses for teppanyaki, from seafood to meat. A big warning: if you are uncomfortable with watching your dinner being tortured and dying a painful death, DO NOT ORDER THE LOBSTER.
Our chef is great. He doesn't do gimmicky tricks but his hands work the grill with precision and flaire. He's also acutely on top of what's going on. He signals the waiters when our sake runs low, and offers to take a group picture when we are taking pictures among ourselves. He also grills some extra garlic when he sees how popular it is, and gives us extra bowls when he sees us sharing the rice. Myriad little things that get noticed and taken care of before we have to ask.
While this place scores low in my book for animal rights (almost dock a star for that but then who am I to judge other culture's dining practice?), it gets points for workplace diversity: there is a female teppanyaki chef, and a few employees with disability. read more