Kaen Teppanyaki (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I was never really a big fan of Japanese teppanyaki to begin with but that first-ever teppanyaki experience with little nugget last Christmas reminded me how much I have missed having meat or fish grilled on a sizzling hot steel plate. So, once I heard about Kaen Teppanyaki opening at FORTY-FIVE atop Landmark's Gloucester Tower in Central, I decided to give the reservation team a shout.



After taking the stairs up from the reception area on the 43rd floor, I finally made it to the lobby of FORTY-FIVE which is currently home to Cardinal Point (bar), The Merchants (Shanghainese) and Kaen Teppanyaki.

Led by head chef Yoshiyuki Sato who is an alumni of three Michelin-starred L’Effervescence, Kaen Teppanyaki offers a menu featuring a wide range of high-quality wagyu from different regions in Japan.

There was no doubt in my mind that I would be going for the counter table this afternoon. 

The bento box wasn't a bad choice but we already have our sights set on their Teppanyaki set ($780).

Salad – A simple salad with a Japanese yuzu dressing started things off for us.

Sashimi – It was followed by two kinds of sashimi, tuna and sea bream. Not bad.

Here comes the main event and first up, grilled Japanese scallops.

Grilled Hokkaido scallop – The scallop was served with soy sauce butter, on top of a few crunchy white asparagus.

The scallop was certainly very nicely grilled. I thought it would be a little more buttery (from the sauce).

I had to take a deep breathe because our wagyu beef was ready to be served.

Kumamoto Akaushi (熊本赤牛) – I had the Emperor's breed of the Japanese brown hair wagyu from Kumamoto which is known for its moderate marbling, lean flesh and light flavor. 

I thought this breed of wagyu was pretty tender but a little too dry and lean at times for my liking.

Kyoto Princess Wagyu (京都姫和牛) – Jelloman had the female princess wagyu from Kyoto and this came with a sweet and robust aroma.

It was noticeably more succulent than the Kumamoto Akaushi with much better proportion of fat.

Garlic rice – The rice here was "roasted" instead of fried which was the more common way to prepare the garlic rice following the grilled meat in a teppanyaki meal. Didn't end up finishing the rice. 

Hojicha ice-cream – Our sweet ending was a simple scoop of Japanese Hojicha ice-cream.

This trip to Central wasn't as easy as I originally thought. It was raining so hard that I had to use a combination of transportation means to get the job done.

I was expecting a lot out of Kaen Teppanyaki but it didn't exactly deliver the way I wanted it to. Perhaps, the eventful teppanyaki lunch at Restaurant ZK Osaka had set the bar a little too high. Or prices in Hong Kong have inflated to a point that even $780 can't get you a decent meal with reasonable portions anymore.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$$

Address: Forty-Five, 43-45/F, Gloucester Tower, The Landmark, 15 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Tel: +852 2155-9191

Website: www.kaenteppanyaki.com

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Mon - Sat)