ROBIN’S Teppanyaki is located within the awe-inspiring Silks Place Tainan, part of the Silks Hotel Group. But is it really worth all of the hype?
Inspired by Japanese teppanyaki tradition, ROBIN’S Teppanyaki interprets the aesthetic and essence of Japanese cuisine cooking while pairing it with traditional Tainan delicacies with their head chef carefully curating ingredients for each menu and pairing it with beautifully eclectic tableware in a comforting space. Private dining areas are also available at ROBIN’S Teppanyaki, giving you the option of a more quiet eating experience. We were fortunate to work with Silks Place Tainan on being some of the first guests to taste the new Spring menu (in Chinese, their 日風和食鐵板燒春季晚間套餐) at ROBIN’S Teppanyaki.
This Spring menu is on now, will run to the end of June 2023, and we cannot wait to share it with you!
How to book ahead of time:
This link will send you directly to their booking platform, whereupon it’s all in English, and is super easy to book. However, please do note that their lunch and dinner menus are not the same. Read more below to see their dinner menu in its entirety.
Alternatively, you can call this number to make a booking via phone: (06)390-3010
Table of Contents
Inside the restaurant
The first thing you’ll notice when you go into ROBIN’S Teppanyaki is the use of dark wood that is balanced out by bright lights to bring this traditional yet modern feel. The next thing you’ll probably notice is the sweeping brick archway, which was created to bring the cultural element of Tainan into the restaurant. Looking remarkably like the look or feel that many notices or feel when visiting the Eternal Golden Castle, a famous landmark in Tainan.
From there on in, you’ll notice exactly what Silks Place Tainan strive to achieve throughout their hotel – the perfect blend of East meets West. The impeccable attention to detail gets a modern twist and works seamlessly to allow that simultaneous feeling of comfort, whilst being in a more formal setting.
The salad bar is the centre island when walking into ROBIN’S Teppanyaki, and it is a real feast for the eyes.
The salad bar, itself, has this inviting futuristic character to it with the dry ice vapour pouring out onto the top of the salad leaves making it look all mystical.
All of the buffet food looks incredible and comes inclusive of the price you pay at the restaurant. Honestly, it’s a bargain, really, as all of the food is made fresh each day and prepared by a whole host of chefs in the back continuously throughout service.
The selection available at Silks Place Tainan is vast and includes shrimp with olives, seared tuna, cold-cut meats, nuts, cheese, whole baby squid, and loads of salad. They are all carefully paired with ingredients that only bring out the best in the main feature dish, and all succeed in that.
Of course, a hotel buffet wouldn’t be complete without an amazing dessert spread, of which ROBIN’S Teppanyaki has in abundance.
Not only do you get all-you-can-eat Haagen Dazs included in the price of the menu, but you also get lots of little French-inspired delicacies such as madeleines, canale, financier, and a whole host of other incredible French-inspired desserts, in addition to fresh fruit. The selection on offer is really quite astounding.
As you sit down at your table you’ll be presented with this set. The only thing here to really take special notice of is the sauce at the top left of your picture – a lemon and soy sauce, including a dollop of finely diced fresh white onion. Feel free to dip any of the cooked meat into this sauce, but it’s going to pair excellently with the beef.
ROBIN’S Teppanyaki Menu for Spring
Above is the menu courtesy of Silks Place Tainan ROBIN’S Teppanyaki, Tainan
Once you have placed your order, it’s definitely time to set off for that amazing salad bar to whet your appetite with some fresh salad or seafood that’s on offer. However, I would encourage you not to fill up on bread just yet, as there are a lot of courses on the teppanyaki menu itself, so you wouldn’t want to ruin your appetite this early on!
The parade of the spread that you have ordered will be brought right to you, and all of it looks absolutely incredible.
As we went for the lobster and the beef, this is what was shown to us. But, you’ll likely get one that has been specifically designed based on what you have ordered. Obviously, by this point, my mouth was watering beyond belief, and I was ready to chow down right there and then.
The House Wine List
Important to note is that this is not an extensive list. As you will likely have seen earlier on, there is a vast wine collection on show at ROBIN’S Teppanyaki, with regular new additions to the menu throughout the year. This smaller menu is the specific house wines available to order. These ones focus mostly on a glass-by-glass basis, but you also have the option to order the bottle if you so wish.
The Meal
Appetizer
Japanese snapper was wrapped in Kombu for 2-3 days so that the fish has the Kombu smell when you bite in. This kind of Japanese snapper has been fed with mandarin peels to give them the taste of a slight orange flavour. It’s delicate and wonderfully fragrant. To the right you’ll see a tofu-cheese cube that has been sprinkled with mullet roe powder 烏魚子 to add an extra layer of decadence, all brought together with that incredibly vibrant snapdragon flower in the middle, and the delicate seaweed on the side, too.
The presentation left me smiling, but the flavours really had me surprised. You could definitely get a hint of fragrant orange through the snapper sashimi, and it helps to clean your palette ready for that silky indulgent tofu cheese with the salty mullet roe powder sprinkles. Make sure to eat that flower, too, as the bitterness helps to close the top part of the appetizer out. Wait, top part, huh?
Yes! There’s a bottom part to the appetizer, too. Take that top lid off the bowl that it is served on top of, and you’ll unearth this amazing concoction underneath.
You’ll find more delicate seaweed bringing that salty green flavour out of the dish, some more beautiful flowers bringing that pop of hot pink colour out, with a couple of Japanese firefly squid straight out of Toyama Bay (seasonal, by the way, you won’t get these all year round, so get yours right now!), all sat on this green mango and fresh mango jelly.
The firefly squid was amazingly sweet, yet packed with a punchy seafood flavour, and this creamy texture that melted away as soon as it arrived. They paired perfectly with that mango jelly underneath which wasn’t sweet, but more on the sour side courtesy of those green mangoes. When I say it was on the sour side, I don’t mean lip-smackingly sour, I mean refreshingly sour, balancing out the sweet seafood flavour coming out of that squid. Make sure to add on those amazing Bougainvillea flowers, too!
Beef soup
There’s nothing I love more than a bowl full of beef – whether that be pre-cooked and ready to chomp down on like that beef tongue you see at the side, or whether it is small cubes of incredible raw beef that are awaiting that hot Kombu soup.
The raw cubes of beef are some of Tainan’s most delicious offerings and are marinated in Shio Koji to allow this effortless tenderness and succulence throughout each mouthful. Hand on my heart, this is some of the tastiest beef I have ever had the privilege of putting in my mouth. So much so, that I blocked out all of my surroundings while eating so that I could just savour that moment.
The soup is a light flavour Japanese Kombu soup, and when poured over the meat and flower it emanates this rich seaweed flavour that smells heavy but tastes delicate. That Nasturtium flower that you see on the top is also not just there for show. Have you ever had Horseradish sauce with your beef? Well, this flower has a mild wasabi taste to it, not unfamiliar with the taste of horseradish.
The beef tongue here is sous-vide-style, then soaked in Kombu and steamed for 3 hrs to bring out this surprisingly beefy flavour with a melt-in-your-mouth layer of fat surrounding it. At the bottom, there is some star jelly 雨來菇 (a kind of fungus) from Pingtung County, which give a bit of crunchiness to bring the soup to the next level.
The entire dish was a triumph. I would gladly have this dish every day for the rest of my life.
Seafood Rossini
As I said above with the beef, I will say it again, and probably a few more times before the end of this article, but I would gladly have this dish every day for the rest of my life.
That is tuna, people. Yes, tuna. Tuna with those veins of fat running through it. Tuna that looks like a piece of wagyu beef. Tuna.
To make this tuna dish even more decadent there are mountains of black truffle shavings on top of your tuna and egg dish.
Having had the privilege of tasting many truffle-infused dishes throughout the years, I have seldom had the opportunity to get actual fresh truffle shavings over my dish to this extent, before.
I mean, you can’t even see the fish underneath all of that. But, this black truffle is delicate in flavour compared to those ‘truffle’ infused or ‘truffle’ related menu items that you find in many other restaurants. This added a fresh truffle flavour to the dish that was a subtle undertone, rather than an overpowering flavour.
Now just look at that piece of beauty sandwiched between my chopsticks right there.
The salmon roe is marinated in soy sauce to give it an extra richness of flavour, and pairs with the teriyaki scrambled eggs to impart that seasoning that is required. But, what it goes so well with is that incredible tuna from Pingtung’s Donggang Township.
I genuinely struggle to find words to give this tuna justice.
If you blindfolded me and didn’t tell me what this meat was before putting it in my mouth, I would likely think it to be some sort of exceptional Wagyu beef for its texture. But I would then be confused as the layers of fat gave way to this amazing flavour of tuna. I love sushi. I love tuna. I love everything fish. But this has just ruined all other fish for me.
I genuinely don’t see how fish can be any better than this
A hungry Eating in Taipei writer
Seasonal gourmet
When you see the oyster shell, you know your life is about to get slightly better. Then when ROBIN’S Teppanyaki chef says it is from Hokkaido, the expectation rises a little more. Here, the chef lightly steamed the oyster on the grill before sitting it on a bed of salt to serve. It was then topped with the same marinated salmon roe, and some orange vinegar then served with wasabi and daikon paste topped with a dab of soy.
Visually, the dish is beautifully simple.
The oyster is so big that you could easily do it in a couple of mouthfuls. But, I am me. It went down in one, and I was very happy the entire time. The oyster explodes with flavour in your mouth, then the flavour explosions continue to happen as the little marinated salmon roe spheres pop upon each bite down. The salmon roe has been marinated in mirin, soy sauce, and sake, so there’s a light flavour of all 3 of those coming through with the saltiness of the roe itself, which manages to match effortlessly with the oyster. Another triumph of just quality food lovingly matched with excellent ingredients.
Main Course
Main #1 – SRF American Wagyu Beef Ribeye 4oz $3980 +10%
So when the Wagyu steak at ROBIN’S Teppanyaki is paraded around to you, you’re immediately captivated by trying to follow the lines of fat running throughout it. The backstory to this meat is that the bull was an American Angus, and the cow was a Japanese Wagyu, called a Washugyu (Wagyu Vs. Angus cross). I mean, with the layers of flavour that Angus has, mixed with the flavour and texture that Wagyu exudes, this was going to be some piece of meat.
As it sizzled on the grill, I was transfixed.
The steak is served with green mango that has been marinated in apple, plum, and pineapple to retain its colour and to also impart that incredibly sweet sourness that those 3 fruits give off. It was also served with Hawaiian sea salt and crispy garlic chips. That white smear that you see next to the mango? The most heavenly garlic puree.
The beef itself was on another level. It was so tender that it melted in your mouth, but coated your tongue with the deep flavour of beef as it did so. Honestly, Washugyu is the ultimate beef out there right now, and you need to go try it.
I asked for some extra green mango, as it was that tasty.
Main #2 – Maine Lobster $3780 +10%
With the steak firmly dispatched, it was time to turn our attention to the Maine lobster. The lobster had been steamed and was going through the final finishing touches with the blow torch.
The next step was that it was put in its own individual smoking box, which had this incredible pull-out drawer underneath, onto which was put some pine, bay leaf, cinnamon, and rosemary.
Those herbs were then blowtorched for a few seconds to create a gentle smoke, whereupon the drawer was pushed in and the lid was placed onto the box, allowing that smoke to infuse further into the lobster meat.
The result was this incredible aromatic smoke-infused lobster that just sang with flavours. Dressed with a truffle sauce and a drizzle of mascarpone, the lobster meat went down an absolute treat. I tried to get the claw meat out all in one piece, but as always, I was overzealous and didn’t triumph. Nevertheless, it went down exactly the same and was equally as delicious. Lobster is so tender and has such a decadence surrounding it that I invariably think it can never be as good as it always sounds and looks. But, invariably, it is. This offering by ROBIN’S Teppanyaki at Silks Place Tainan hotel was top-notch and well worth it.
Sakura Shrimp with Seaweed Steamed Rice
Next was the steamed rice, with little Sakura shrimp from Pingtung’s Donggang Township (the same area as the tuna from above). The rice was mixed with the shrimp, some pork, and shallots, then steamed in Kombu to impart that characteristic fresh seaweed flavour. It was then dressed with some fresh chives and more of the Sakura shrimp, then served with a delightfully sweet and sour pickled plum.
These little beauties need an introduction all of their own. You’ve probably had these at Chinese New Year banquets before dressed on top of steamed glutinous rice served in a bamboo steamer. But, they’ve never been white, have they? Well, that’s because these little ones are special…
These specific ones are not sun-dried, like the majority of the ones you will have eaten before, are. These are fresh and haven’t gone through any other processing before being put together in this dish. What does that mean? It means an infinitely fresh flavour, with a delicate sweetness and not that earthy taste that the other dried ones can sometimes have.
Bamboo Kuei Ding Chicken with Angelica Soup
So with the final of the savoury dishes came the soup. Soup, in my opinion, is oftentimes overrated. Especially in Taiwan. I mean, do I really want a bowl of hot water parading as a ‘broth’? No, I don’t. It lacks flavour, it lacks consistency, and I feel like its sole purpose is just to make me sweat as a sip it down and smile politely as I do so. But, not this soup.
This soup is fragrant, rich, and has layer upon layer of flavour. But how?
Kuei Ding Chicken is a chicken native to Taiwan, that took 6 years to breed and offers up this incredibly meaty juiciness with excellent fat and excellent flavour. Oftentimes chicken can look insipid, and flavourless, and fills the void of a chewy texture in a dish. But, not here. This chicken imparts flavour, as well as soaking up the layers of flavour within the rich chicken broth, itself. It’s around 3-4 times
That leaf you see on top? That’s Angelica.
Angelica is often used in Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory, and blood regulator, and it has also been reported to boost the immune system, too. With all of these benefits, does it actually taste any good?
You may have had this in a duck soup at some point, known as 當歸鴨, but there it is more likely to have been the dried root of the Angelica plant. However, at ROBIN’S Teppanyaki, the chef opted to use the fresh leaves of the Angelica plant to impart flavour. He told us a story about how he was hiking in the hills of Hehuan Mountain, when he essentially stumbled across the Angelica plant, and had this immediate brainwave to use it in his new menu. Astounding. Most people are looking at the view or making sure they have a sure footing, but this chef is checking out what he can use on his new menu – inspirational!
The flavour that Angelica leaves bring is a subtle aniseed-like flavour with this fragrance that sets it apart from the dried root you may have had before. The freshness helps to lift this chicken soup and add yet another layer of flavour. I was really impressed with this!
Dessert – Spring Wagashi
Only available on the dinner menu, this spring wagashi is a Japanese dessert known to be on the sweeter side with a bean filling. This almost looks too good to be eaten, though, right? Well, almost…
Choice of Beverage
At the end of your meal, your drink will arrive. Both were good, but neither was the focus of this meal. The focus of this meal is on the incredible curated Japanese-style food than has made ROBIN’S Teppanyaki one of the best around.
Chef
The chef who made this Spring menu possible is Head Chef 鄭安宏 (B.B.). Throughout the meal. B.B. introduced each ingredient to us and proceeded to explain why and how it has been sourced, used, and arranged. His attention to detail is truly admiring, and the way he has infused flavour into so many dishes is nothing short of brilliant. As I was so enamoured with the Angelica leaf used in the chicken soup, I absolutely had to have him pose with it!
The Bottom Line
Is it worth going to Tainan for? Tainan is an incredible place that you absolutely must visit when in Taiwan. Known for its food, the people of Tainan are fiercely proud of their food culture. ROBIN’S, in my opinion, is absolutely worth going to Tainan for.
What was the stand-out dish? It’s very difficult to pick out one dish that was the stand-out. All were incredible. But, the one that surprised me the most was the chicken soup. This is largely because I don’t really like soup a whole lot. But the flavour coming from this soup and the story behind the ingredients really made me appreciate it that much more.
Would I go again? Without a doubt, yes. If I had the opportunity, I would go every single season for each menu. The way that B.B. has curated this menu really inspired me, and this humble chef has really inspired me just that little bit more.
Where is it?
※ This article is a collaborative article with ROBIN’S Teppanyaki, Silks Place Tainan.