Hibachi King Begins its Reign

As we entered Hibachi King, a recently opened restaurant on Lancaster Avenue, we were, admittedly, a bit disappointed at the seating options. The clean, modern dining area inside, with six dark tables, grey tile floors and grey-brown walls, was as far as diners were allowed into the restaurant.

A friendly server stood behind a small counter with red printed curtains that hung halfway down. We asked if there were tables in the kitchen area, which was still visible, where we could sit by the hibachi, since we were expecting dinner and a show. Although we could see cooks at work, she said that there was too much smoke, dust and cleaning with the tableside dining. We took a paper menu to a table in the front area to make our choices. 

We placed our order at the counter, and added a bottle of water from the refrigerated case of soft drinks. While we were inspecting the beautiful carved bamboo utensil holder on the table filled with small paper napkins, chopsticks and plastic utensils, the server brought us miso soup and a salad that were included with our entrees.

The miso soup had a lightly flavored broth and tiny cubes of tofu and deep green seaweed in a white acrylic handled bowl. The salad was a small bowl of iceberg lettuce, a cherry tomato, single slices of cucumber and onion topped with a sweet ginger dressing.

After we'd had a few bites of our starters, a plate of butterflied fried, breaded Aji ($4.99) was brought out. The flavorful fish known as horse mackerel had a light crispy breading. A side dish of orange sweet mayonnaise—like Russian dressing—was served on the side. Being traditional Japanese food lovers, we'd have preferred to have some wasabi and soy sauce for dipping. There was a soy sauce dispenser on the table, but we chose to eat the fish as is.

Our two other appetizers followed close behind. Two skewers of chicken breast cubes, green pepper and onion slices with a sweet glaze comprised the Yakitori ($2.99). The breast meat was not meltingly tender, but the sauce was mild and not overly salty. Our favorite item of the meal was Beef Negimaki ($4.99). Six small rolls ("maki") of thinly sliced, tender beef wrapped around scallions had a brush of sauce similar to that on the chicken.

A Hibachi Combo of Shrimp and Filet Mignon ($13.99) brought a moderately sized portion of tender steak cubes, medium sized shrimp and a mix of crisp-cooked carrot, zucchini, onion and mushroom in a sticky brown sauce. A side dish of fried rice with scrambled egg and specks of carrot was not overly salty or oily, but rather mild in flavor.

A black plastic bowl of Vegetable Udon Soup ($6.99) had thick chewy wheat noodles, mushrooms, carrot threads and slightly crunchy broccoli pieces in a light brown slightly sweet broth redolent of mirin that encouraged slurping.

Although “hibachi” is often associated in the U.S. with the open grill cooking performed by animated chefs, the Japanese call this interactive method “teppanyaki.” Had we been better educated about traditional cooking methods, we would not have been disappointed to miss out on the show.

Hibachi King

480 Lancaster Avenue, Frazer

Telephone: 610-725-8666

Website: hibachikingpa.com

Hours: Mon - Thurs, 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Fri, Sat, 11 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Sun., Noon – 9:30 p.m.

Cost: Appetizers, soups, $2 to $5; entrees, $8 – 15

Credit cards: VISA, MasterCard, AmEx, Discover

Alcohol: B.Y.O.

Special Features: Vegetarian Options