Having booked the teppanyaki restaurant in the hotel for our dinner, we came sharp at 5:30pm to Saga Chikusai 鉄板焼ダイニング佐賀竹彩, located on the first floor. The C-shaped counter could accommodate 14 diners, with also a private room. We were served by the head chef on the night.
After seated and ordered our drinks, the chef introduced the prized ingredients which would be used in our menu, including Saga beef, a range of vegetables grown in the prefecture, and the live lobster and abalone.
The first course was appetizer, featuring Squid and Bamboo Shoots.
The second course had Octopus Ocellatus.
The third course had a number of small bites, including Tempura of Japanese Icefish, Duck, Nanohana wrapped in Prosciutto, and Red Snapper with Japanese Butterbur.
The fourth course was another specialty, called Basashi. In fact, it was a horse meat sashimi with plenty of spring onions, onion, and sesame, mixed with quail egg and sesame oil. It got a fantastic taste and reminded me a bit of beef tartar but even more creamy and delicious.
The fifth course was Japanese Clear Soup, with finely shredded vegetable and some pork in the flavourful soup.
While we were enjoying the appetizers the chef had already been preparing the food on teppan. Seeing him steamed the Abalone briefly before removing the meat from the shell, he then used butter to grill the abalone and the liver to perfection, before cutting into slices and put back on the shell to serve. With a bit of salt to season plus a few drops of lime juice, it was extremely delicious.
The chef also asked his staff to cut the Lobster in half, and then grilling it on teppan. After removing the tail meat and claw from the shell, he again used butter to cook a sauce before pouring it on the meat. The lobster head was also full of flavourful tomalley which we both enjoyed very much.
Next was the Seasonal Vegetables, and again witnessing how the chef had meticulously arranged the different vegetable to be grilled so that everything would be ready together was like magic. The Tomatoes, Shiitake, Asparagus, Onion and Zucchini were tender and without fibre, and I in particular liked how he grilled the onion darker to bring out the sweetness through caramelization.
Then it was the highlight of the evening, the Saga Beef. The thick steak was seared beautifully, with the chef also performing the flaming process by pouring some brandy and lighting it up, bringing a vow to all the diners. The beef was so tender and juicy, just with minimal seasoning but it was already succulent and full of flavours, while at the same time had the perfect leanness and not fatty. This piece of beef was one of the best I have tried for a long while.
Although there is the option to change to the garlic rice, we opted for White Rice, Pickles and Miso Soup.
The dessert was the signature Dorayaki. First the chef pan-fried the batter, which had been mixed with some matcha so they were green in colour, to form two round pancakes. He then put some red beans paste, a scope of ice-cream, some whipping cream, mint, and then dusted with the sweet soybean powder. A very satisfying and pleasant completion to the meal.
Together with a cup of Hot Coffee, it was simply a perfect dinner.
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