Chef Alex cooking flambed Ostrich fillet in brandy at our table (note the fireworks display in the window behind him - our view for the night !)
Here Alex cooks some chicken on the cooking plate set in to our table(As this is rather a long post, I am splitting it in to 2 parts – you can read the second part over here !)
On our recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya just before Christmas with my parents we went to the “Tokyo Japanese Restaurant” one night for an early dinner. If you are ever in Nairobi, you just have to try this fantastic restaurant out – it is the best Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to and no, don’t worry, it’s not all sushi / raw fish but serves a wide variety of cooked dishes, too. (Thank goodness, as my husband & my father were balking at the thought of ‘eating raw fish for supper’ & were joking beforehand about the steaks they would eat when we got home !)
I will admit that I am a very fussy diner - which probably goes back to my years spent in the hospitality industry, and it is not often that a restaurant gets it ALL right as the “Tokyo Japanese” does – excellent food, outstanding service, knowledgeable staff, exquisite food, a warm ambience and great value for money.
On arrival at the restaurant, guests are offered a choice of 3 dining venues – inside, outside in the garden/veranda (decked with gorgeous red paper lanterns & a huge mock fireworks display light) or the indoor ‘interactive’ eating experience where you have your own personal chef who cooks everything for you at your table for the evening. We chose the latter, especially because we thought it would be a fun experience for our daughter !
We were seated at a long, heavy wooden table which had it’s own in-built gas cooking plate/slab set in the middle of the table – this is where all the food was cooked – you don’t get more ‘interactive’ than that ! (Each group of diners has their own chef and table/cooking area for the night).
There is a choice of around 4 to 6 set menu’s which you can choose from (some catering for vegetarians, others for seafood or red meat lovers and some a combination of all 3). Once you have chosen your set menu, it is then cooked in front of you, course for course. I should just add here, that each set menu consists of around 12 courses – can you imagine ?! (Alternatively, you can still dine with your guests at the interactive table, yet eat off the a ‘ la carte menu.)
My husband (who is allergic to seafood !) choose a non seafood set menu, and my Mum and I both chose the set menu containing seafood. My Dad had a ‘la carte (Starter and Main Course) & the staff kindly recommended a stir-fry chicken and rice dish for my daughter, which they cooked for her at the table even though it wasn’t part of the set menu. (The restaurant is very child friendly with kiddies chairs and specially modified chopsticks for little fingers to handle easily, too !)
After we’d decided on our menus & ordered drinks, we were introduced to our wonderful and talented Kenyan born (but Japanese trained) chef, Alex. Alex was an absolute whiz & I could not believe it when he told me that he’d only been cooking for 3 years, as he was so skilled and quick.
On our recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya just before Christmas with my parents we went to the “Tokyo Japanese Restaurant” one night for an early dinner. If you are ever in Nairobi, you just have to try this fantastic restaurant out – it is the best Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to and no, don’t worry, it’s not all sushi / raw fish but serves a wide variety of cooked dishes, too. (Thank goodness, as my husband & my father were balking at the thought of ‘eating raw fish for supper’ & were joking beforehand about the steaks they would eat when we got home !)
I will admit that I am a very fussy diner - which probably goes back to my years spent in the hospitality industry, and it is not often that a restaurant gets it ALL right as the “Tokyo Japanese” does – excellent food, outstanding service, knowledgeable staff, exquisite food, a warm ambience and great value for money.
On arrival at the restaurant, guests are offered a choice of 3 dining venues – inside, outside in the garden/veranda (decked with gorgeous red paper lanterns & a huge mock fireworks display light) or the indoor ‘interactive’ eating experience where you have your own personal chef who cooks everything for you at your table for the evening. We chose the latter, especially because we thought it would be a fun experience for our daughter !
We were seated at a long, heavy wooden table which had it’s own in-built gas cooking plate/slab set in the middle of the table – this is where all the food was cooked – you don’t get more ‘interactive’ than that ! (Each group of diners has their own chef and table/cooking area for the night).
There is a choice of around 4 to 6 set menu’s which you can choose from (some catering for vegetarians, others for seafood or red meat lovers and some a combination of all 3). Once you have chosen your set menu, it is then cooked in front of you, course for course. I should just add here, that each set menu consists of around 12 courses – can you imagine ?! (Alternatively, you can still dine with your guests at the interactive table, yet eat off the a ‘ la carte menu.)
My husband (who is allergic to seafood !) choose a non seafood set menu, and my Mum and I both chose the set menu containing seafood. My Dad had a ‘la carte (Starter and Main Course) & the staff kindly recommended a stir-fry chicken and rice dish for my daughter, which they cooked for her at the table even though it wasn’t part of the set menu. (The restaurant is very child friendly with kiddies chairs and specially modified chopsticks for little fingers to handle easily, too !)
After we’d decided on our menus & ordered drinks, we were introduced to our wonderful and talented Kenyan born (but Japanese trained) chef, Alex. Alex was an absolute whiz & I could not believe it when he told me that he’d only been cooking for 3 years, as he was so skilled and quick.
(The 2nd part of this post can be read over here)
