Benihana you are not . . .

In our first week in Shanghai we went out to dinner with some people to an all you can eat Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant called Tairyo. I did a little research before we went and learned that you can stuff your face with as much as you can eat AND drink all the sake, beer and wine you want for under $30p/p. Knowing we were meeting new people that had been living in Shanghai for awhile, we were pretty excited for the prospects for the night. Unfortunately, the only positives that came out of that night were meeting some new friends and finding out that Shanghai has its own expat Softball league. The food was subpar at best and I am pretty sure most of it may get recycled throughout the night, especially the uneaten sushi. I guess I can only be happy I did not end up with food poisoning or fall into the squatty potty at the restaurant. Since it was a Wednesday night and we were still adjusting to the time change, I didn’t even get to drink enough to cover my costs.

Last weekend, when we were invited out for a birthday celebration for a guy on Jeff’s softball team, I was not very excited when I discovered we would be stepping foot into another one of these joints. I figured I would eat beforehand and just get my money’s worth from the alcohol. With little expectations and terrible reviews online we walked into dinner just hoping to have a good time. I have to say, this time I was pleasantly surprised. While the food was just about average (which made it about 100% better than the last place) the entertainment value will probably keep us coming back for more. This place kept our glasses full of beer all night and the staff was very entertained by our sake bomb duels. They kept filling up our sake bottles as we ‘cheers’ to something new about every five minutes. Given my lack of a killer hangover the next morning, I am pretty sure they must dilute the contents – did I mention the sake comes out of a box! We had a great time regardless and this probably makes this place a ‘must do’ for any of our Benihana loving friends that decide to make the journey. Final Score:

Katie: Two plates of sashimi, sushi, beef appetizer, steak, bacon-wrapped mushrooms, fried rice, a lamb chop, eight beers, two sake bombs and four shots of sake.

Huang Zhou Teppanyaki: $30

Verdict, Katie in a landslide