Benihana – Enticing vegetarian menu newly launched

August 14, 2014
3,411 Comments

A mega launch of the vegetarian menu was a pleasure to witness at Benihana on a
warm August summer evening. Successfully running since 5 decades, it has opened
its doors to India on December 2013 at the Epicurian food hall and is acquiring
attention without any doubt.

The
expansive area, the well lit space, the huge gigantic truck at the entrance and
the lush green outdoor seating area makes Benihana worth visiting.

Referred
to as a red flower in Japanese, Benihana is a restaurant chain famed for chefs
who spin knives, juggle food and do other theatrics while they cook.
Its
story dates back to the World war 2 in Japan, where Red Flowers were seen
growing near Rocky’s father’s café from the rubble and devastation during the
World War 2. Amidst chaos and destruction, this particular red flower was seen
as a sign of strength and survival. In 1964, Rocky Aoki named his first
restaurant in New York Benihana after this red flower.
The
chain now boasts of 80 restaurants in the US and 23 in Asia, United Kingdom and
the Middle-East.
Keiko
Ono Aoki, the proud CEO of the expansive chain says, “We don’t need a separate
space for a kitchen because we cook in front of our customers and serve them
immediately. Our concept is ‘My Kitchen is your Table’,”.
“We
especially train our chefs to give the customer “eatatainment”. They have to perform and entertain their customers
with stories or tricks to woe them and make eating out a fun concept,”
said Keiko.
To
mark its 50th Anniversary, the specially crafted new menu had
humungus vegetarian delights like Spicy tofu steak, Spicy crunchy tofu, Fire
cracker sweet potato, Sushi Tempura combo, 50th anniversary veggie
delight, Grilled cottage cheese & Soyachop skewers and  Yasai Japanese
noodles. Keeping in mind the Indian palate, the existing menu now has an
exciting fare for vegetarians too.

Commenting
on the success of Benihana across the globe, Benihana’s Expat spokesperson MR.
Russell Merdjanian says, “The new vegetarian menu caters to the Indian palate
and has interesting additions like cottage cheese, soy and more variety of
vegetables. My personal favorite entrée from our new menu is The 50th
Anniversary Veggie Delight. This dish is a combination of French beans, grilled
seasoned potatoes and baby corn glazed with our secret Meiko Yaki Sauce.”

The
core of Benihana lies in making Japanese food fun for its guests with
alterations to suit different markets globally. Benihana India now has 30 menu
options for vegetarians to choose from. There are separate vegetarian
Teppanyaki tables dedicated to vegetarian cooking and preparation.
The
new vegetarian dishes are accompanied by sauces which are all made in house
with some of the recipes dating back to 1964.
We
were introduced to the world of Sake and tated Yoshinogawa Ginjo Sake, that was
served chilled and paired well with scrumptious dishes.
Some
of the ingredients are specially imported like the Hamachi fish, Tai
snapper(variety of fish), salmon(imported fresh from Scotland, not frozen),
lamb (from New Zealand), Spices like ichimi, shichimi, sesame seeds that are
specially imported from Japan.




The
talented chefs displayed a magnificent work of art by cooking the delicacies in
the most exciting manner. While they flipped and threw knives in the air and
juggled like maestros, we gasped at their dare devil antics of playing with
fire very comfortably. Not only was the method of preparation exciting, the
food tasted well too.

Benihana
is quite a place for authentic Japanese food lovers. It is surely here to stay
with its mouth watering dishes and amicable environment added with a dash of unbeatable
hospitality. 

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