{Supreme Beef Teppanyaki Rice $8.99}

I was quite surprised to learn that there was a rather long ling up for the new pepper lunch establishment at First Markham place. I mean, that little spot at the corner of this plaza had never gotten so much traffic. Restaurants previously situated at that spot, sadly, never last and I was never able to keep up with what's the current one. Hopefully, the new Aka Teppan will last since based on my recent experience, this place seems promising and offers a different cuisine amongst the many pho, Korean and sushi eateries in Markham.



I went with a few friends on the Friday night, it was completely packed. We waited for 25 minutes or so and got seated at the booth. My friend found the booth to be very uncomfortable as the seats are very close to the tables and could not be adjusted. Even though the restaurant was extremely busy, but I must say that the service was still quick and friendly. I ordered their signature Supreme Beef Teppanyaki Rice, it looks very appetizing and instagram-worthy. My friend prompted me to order an extra egg and stir fry the entire dish immediately while it is still sizzling hot. The rice is embedded with a garlic butter in the centre with corns, greens onions, seasoning and their specialty sauce all over. I really enjoy this dish, from the fragrant to the flavour of it. All the condiments blended extremely well for a very delightful taste in your mouth, just make sure you mix everything (including the sliced beef) immediately when it arrives. And I just love having my food served hot, it is not too heavy as well, in fact, I wanted more.

{Duck Breast Teppan Spaghetti with Cream Sauce $9.50}

{House Special Chicken Teppan with Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce - $9.50}

I also tried some of my friend's duck breast teppan and house special chicken teppan in which they chose to pair the dish with spaghetti instead of rice. You can also select your choice of sauce to go with the dish, including cream, tomato, pepper, spicy, tom yum and curry. I personally prefer the cream sauce over the Hong Kong-style tomato sauce. The duck breasts tasted like ham and I feel that the dish was not as well incorporated as the Supreme Beef did with its condiments. The chicken teppan was average, nothing spectacular and as memorable as the Supreme Beef. Perhaps, I need to eat the entire dish in order to truly comment on it.

At the end of the night, we all felt that we still have room for desserts or could eat more, even though I think the portion is worth for its price. I will definitely come back to try out their personal hot pot and fancy looking desserts, both are very much anticipated.

{Stir, Mix and Blend!}

-- UPDATE --

This is our second visit within the same week. Usually I avoid dining at the same restaurant so close to my first visit but somehow, I don’t mind it this time. Since Aka Teppan offers a variety of dishes, that I’m able to experiment and try out without feeling so sick of it yet. Plus, as I said previously, there are quite a number of dishes I want to try. So for this time during lunch, I ordered the Molten Cheesy Hamburger Steak, doesn’t this already sound super appealing? My friends ordered the Ox Tongue Teppan with Rice and House special chicken teppan with spaghetti and the Chef’s special 1-bone chicken wing to share. My Hamburger steak was a bit disappointing, they aren’t served on the sizzling hot plate and needed 20 minutes longer to prepare compared to other teppans. When I sliced the steak in half, I was expecting the cheese to burst right out like molten lava cakes. But that wasn’t the case. The hamburger steak also reminded me of meat loaf with a slice of cheddar cheese on top. I’m not a big fan of meat loaf.

{Molten Cheesy Hamburger Steak $6.99}

The ox tongue was okay and the house special chicken tasted great this time, flavourful and moist. The highlight of this visit was the Chef’s special 1-bone chicken wing. There are few sauces that you can choose from to add to it and we picked the recommended one, Yuzu sauce. They tasted delicious and somewhat like honey garlic but with seasonings on top. I just wish there’s more meat, I almost devour the whole thing including the bone.

{House Special Chicken Teppan with Spaghetti}

{Ox Tongue Teppanyaki with Rice}

{Chef's special 1-bone chicken wing with yuzu sauce}

I also ordered the original tiramisu for take-out. It has a really cute presentation, like a little plant in a clay looking pot. Surprisingly, you also get to bring the entire pot home as presented. The tiramisu tasted great and creamy, with chocolate crumbs on top to act as soil. I just wish the portion is bigger for $5.99.

{Original Tiramisu $5.99}

Aka Teppan also took away their lunch menu which used to be $2 less than the price for dinner. But it seems that that’s not enough to stop people from coming back.