Teppanyaki can often be expensive, and is also often overrated. But not this one – Hulu Teppanyaki.
Hulu Teppanyaki is a restaurant right near Zhongshan Elementary School Station. Teppanyaki is a Japanese style of cooking where food is grilled on a hot iron griddle. In Taiwan, you’ll see a lot of cheaper Teppanyaki options, which involves some Taiwanese-style cooking/seasoning. The word teppanyaki comes from teppan which means iron plate and yaki which means grilled or pan-fried.
Whether you’re a fan of steak, shrimp, oysters or tofu, Hulu Teppanyaki has something for everyone. With its mouth-watering flavors and humble presentation, Hulu Teppanyaki is sure to be a hit with you any day of the week.
Consequently, if you are in the Zhongshan area but Teppanyaki is not your thing, I highly recommend this lamb hot pot, this cannoli, this ramen, and this Japanese burger.
Table of Contents
What is teppanyaki?
Teppanyaki is a Japanese style of cooking on a long, hot iron griddle. It is often turned into a performance by the chef, who showcases their talents of cooking a wide variety of dishes to order.
Hulu starts serving lunch at 11:30 and dinner at 17:30 from Wednesday – Sunday, and regularly has people queuing out front. If you get there and see this queue, don’t just jump at the end, make sure to write your name, phone number, and the number of people on your table on the paper out front. This will reserve your place. And based on the rule listed outside of the restaurant, the earliest time you can put your names down is 11:00 for lunch, and 17:00 for dinner. If you don’t do this, they may take pity on you, but they also might not.
This outlines the steps to take when you arrive, and I will try to unpack that for you below.
Step 1 – Ask for the estimated time that you’ll have to wait.
Step 2 – Make sure the waiting time is acceptable to you. Go to the counter and put down your name, and the number of people in your group, take a menu and start ordering.
Step 3 – After you have finished ordering, give the order to a member of staff at the counter (a number would be put on the menu), and wait for your name/number to be called.
Step 4 – When your number is called, go in and confirm your order with the server. (all members need to be at the restaurant when the number is called, otherwise you can’t go in.)
Inside Hulu Teppanyaki, we found Mr. Kuo himself on the iron griddle warming it up. All seats are around this one long Teppan, that is split into two sections to accommodate two chefs cooking simultaneously. Expect to be mesmerized by them cooking up a storm in front of you. But first, the menu.
The Menu at Hulu Teppanyaki
I would strongly suggest you to go for one of the set meals at Hulu Teppanyaki, which you will see on the left side of the menu. I will introduce those here:
- 雙人套餐 Shuāng rén tào cān $920
- Set meal for 2 – Sirloin steak + Shrimp + Oyster omelet + Cod
- 海陸全餐 hǎi lù quán cān $520
- Surf & Turf – Tenderloin steak or New York Strip + Shrimp + Cod
- 海鮮全餐 hǎi xiān quán cān $420
- Seafood set – Shrimp or Crab sticks + Cod + Oyster omelet
- 雙寶1餐 shuāng bǎo 1 cān $430
- Special set 1 – Tenderloin steak or New York Strip + Oyster omelet or Squid or Cod
- 雙寶2餐 shuāng bǎo 2 cān $340
- Special Set 2 – Shrimp or Crab sticks + Beef or Lamb or Pork
- A餐 A cān
- Set meal A – Sirloin steak or Chicken or Pork chop + Oyster omelet or Squid or Cod
- B餐 B cān
- Set meal B – Beef or Lamb or Pork + Oyster omelet or Squid or Cod
What we ordered
Each person gets served up with rice, beansprouts, cabbage, and soup as soon as you sit down. This is relatively common throughout teppanyaki restaurants, and it’s always welcomed to get some delicious vegetables to pair with the main dish.
A餐 – 鷄排 + 蚵蛋 $360
A cān – jī pái + é dàn — Set A – Chicken + oyster omelet
As part of the set meals, you order one main dish, then one side dish. For this one, we ordered chicken and oyster omelet. Something to note at Hulu Teppanyaki is that their oyster omelet is the house special, so you should absolutely get it! It’s the house special for a reason.
蚵蛋 é dàn – Oyster omelet
If you like oysters, then this is the dish for you. The omelet is carefully and methodically constructed by the skilled teppanyaki chef and then served piping hot right to your table. Inside, you’ll find juicy oysters, green onions, chilli, and lots of egg. There’s no skimping on ingredients here. Everything is packed in there, and all fits together like a wonderfully delicious jigsaw puzzle.
Sometimes you get those oysters that just disintegrate into an almost brittle mush of nothing. Not here. Not at Hulu Teppanyaki. You’re going to get big, fat, juicy oysters that pop with that typical seafood flavour that they are known for, with rich egg, and a delicious house sauce concoction. It’s a must-order, for sure.
鷄排 jī pái – Chicken
Crispy and crunchy skin, juicy chicken, spicy and fragrant sauce, and lots of rich chicken flavour coming out of this chicken cutlet here. One thing that I think really makes Hulu Teppanyaki stand out from the crowd is their portion sizes. The portion sizes here really do run on the large side, even for the fact that you order one main with a side, too. So, whilst it may seem by looking at the prices, that you’re likely to drop over $800 for a table of two, it’s absolutely worth it for the quality and quantity of food that you eat. I would recommend the chicken, I thought it was delicious.
雙寶1餐 – 紐約克 + 軟絲 $430
Shuāng bǎo 1 cān – niǔ yuē kè + ruǎn sī — Special treasure set 1 New York Strip + Big fin reef squid
Some more of the theater on show for you here at Hulu Teppanyaki as Mr. Hulu goes to work on my squid.
軟絲 ruǎn sī – Big fin reef squid
One thing that I had underestimated/never actually thought about is the different names given to squid throughout Taiwan (and maybe the world?). I have always just called squid, squid. However, squid in Taiwan has so many different names depending on which type of squid it is. You could be ordering 魷魚 Yóu yú, 中卷 zhōng juǎn, 花枝 huā zhī, or even 軟絲 ruǎn sī as above. This Youtube video might be able to help you to differentiate between them, but it’s a bit of a minefield. And, to make matters worse, you’re highly unlikely to find any of those character combinations anywhere else apart from on the odd menu here and there.
I digress… the squid here was delicious, soft yet chewy, and there was plenty of flavour packed in to each and every bite. The addition of basil helped to make the dish even more fragrant, and was a welcomed addition.
紐約克 niǔ yuē kè – New York Strip
This New York strip steak was delightfully tender and delicate. The NY strip is often known as one of the most delicate meats as it doesn’t do a whole lot of work as a piece of muscle. There’s not a whole lot of fat on it, though, but it still remains juicy. Here, as with all of the dishes, it is combined with garlic, chilli, green onions, and the Hulu Teppanyaki house-special sauce. It was cooked medium, and tasted great. The steak flavour came through really well, and everything combined wonderfully to leave me feeling satisfied and happy.
As the sauce at Hulu Teppanyaki is on the salty side, I would recommend you leave enough of your rice for each mouthful of beef. Alternatively go hard with 2 bowls of rice. Do what you need to do!
The bottom line
Is it worth it? Yes, it’s one of my favourites. I supported them throughout the weird ‘lock-down’ that we faced in Taiwan, and I will continue to go there regularly because it is a humble, delicious local eatery.
What is the best dish if I can only order one? The New York Strip with the oyster omelet would be my choice. Both were great!
How difficult is it to get a seat? The wait can be a little long sometimes. But the chefs do work pretty quick, so the turnover of customers is steady. You might wait 30-40 mins.
Where is it?
If you’re looking for more refined and delicate teppanyaki in Taipei, you should try this place.