|
|
The Daily Times
Dining Around: Teikoku satisfies yen for Asian cuisine
By Trish Cofiell
tcofiell@delcotimes.com
Posted on Wednesday May 7th, 2003
|
East meets West in the most delicious sense of the phrase at Teikoku, a stunning
new Japanese/Thai restaurant in the western suburbs, a chopstick's throw over
Edgmont's border. Delco diners can enjoy Oriental sushi, tempura, miso soup and
Panang duck while gazing out, across Route 3, at the rural hills of Edgmont
Country Club and a nearby horse farm.
Teikoku is located in the former Bobby's Seafood, but the rustic barn-style
building has been completely transformed. There's no hint of the old seafood
house in this oasis of Asian-inspired serenity.
Teikoku, which is the Japanese word for empire, opened in February. The owners,
Win and Sutida Somboonsong, also own three popular Main Line restaurants,
Thai Pepper in Ardmore and Wayne and Mikada in Ardmore.
At Teikoku, they've combined the two cuisines under one bamboo-laced roof.
To transform the restaurant, the owners brought in designer Jesse Gardner and
custom builder Drew Miller. They say it's a mix of "Chinese feng shui and
Japanese Zen." I found the overall effect is one of simplicity
and elegance.
Rich shades of mahogany contrast nicely with delicate palm trees, rice paper
lamps, plantation fans whirling overhead and graceful floral arrangements
and blossoming orchids.
Guests enter through a mini temple and are graciously greeted by the host.
The entrance to the dining room features a Japanese rain chain where water
passes through hanging copper cups onto a stone garden.
The 15-foot-high exposed roof with the bamboo grids is striking and the seating
is spaciously arranged around a central bar. There's lots of privacy and the
noise level allows for private conversation.
The plain black tables provide a backdrop not only for the artistically
presented cuisine, but for the lovely Japanese crockery imported for the
sushi dishes and sauces.
A salvaged Honduras mahogany tree was used to create a 14-seat community
table and the bi-level sushi bar at the far end of the room. Community
tables are popular in New York. I'm not sure they've caught on in the
suburbs, but here's your chance to try it.
Expansive windows offer a nice view of the outside, but they still need
to do a bit of landscaping to improve the view, which consisted of gravel,
the parking lot and Route 3. Plans are underway for a deck to accommodate
al fresco dining.
Off to the side is the traditional Tatami room where groups of six patrons
dine at low tables. The tables are built without nails and the room features
moon-shaped windows with rice paper.
On Sunday evening, the only thing that distracted from the Asian ambiance
was the elevator muzak that just didn't fit.
Teikoku's aim is to offer the fine cuisine and impeccable service of a Center
City restaurant out here in the 'burbs. To that end, the owners hired Umer Naim,
former manager of the celebrated Morimoto restaurant in Old City, to
bring an extra touch of class to Teikoku.
Naim, a native of Pakistan who lives in Upper Darby, said attentive, proper
service is hard to find in the suburbs and he wants to change that.
This week and last, the owners invited members of the press to tastings to
sample their cuisine. However, we went on our own, but were known to Naim,
who arranged for the chef to prepare various specialties.
It was clear that they are trying to raise the caliber of service at Teikoku.
And, with a menu offering a full 10 pages of Thai, Japanese and sushi
dishes - it's important that the staff be knowledgeable about the
ingredients and preparation.
Our server, Dominic, was very pleasant and helpful even though he's fairly
new at waiting tables. A 2000 graduate of Penncrest High School, he's just
finishing up his associate's degree at Delaware County Community College
and plans to continue his education in sunny San Diego.
As lovely as Teikoku's setting is, it is the food that really shines.
Each dish we tried was expertly prepared and featured quality-grade seafood,
creative ingredients and wonderfully blended sauces. Nothing was
over-spiced.
The menu is divided into a Japanese section and a Thai section with sushi
and sashimi delicacies in the middle. Eel, roe, surf clam, yellow tail,
tuna, oyster, sea urchin -- if it swims in the sea, they'll put it on
your plate.
The Japanese dishes include beef teriyaki ($16.95), lobster tempura ($19.95),
sukiyaki (with braised rib eye for $19.95) and all kinds of special rolls
(eel and cucumber, crabmeat and egg, mushroom, soybean and crab).
The Thai menu features dumplings, wonton soup, calamari salad, Panang duck
($17.95), filo shrimp ($17.95), grilled mahi in grape leaves ($16.95)
and rack of lamb ($20.95).
Thai food is one of my favorites. They take street-style snacks and raise
them to an art form, with grilled meats, fish and dumplings flavored with
garlic, chili peppers, sweet coconut, cilantro and basil. The cuisine of
Japan is renowned for its simplicity of ingredients, elegant presentation,
and its glorification of seafood (and seaweed).
We started with beef tataki, thin layers of tender beef, seared on the
outside and rare inside, served with crispy cucumber and a horseradish-spiked
soy sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds. Melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
We also enjoyed the golden bags ($6.95). If you are sharing several dishes,
definitely get these. Soft, thin rice sheets are wrapped around a filling of
marinated duck, shiitake mushrooms and mixed vegetables. While the pocket
part is moist, the top is crunchy and fun to dip in the plum sauce.
From the roll specials, we tried the traffic light roll ($9.50) and the
flaming dragon ($10.50), both served with soy sauce and wasabi.
My dining partner loved the traffic lights, filled with tuna, salmon,
avocado and cucumber, topped in three types (and "traffic" colors)
of caviar.
My favorite was the dragon, filled with salty eel and crispy cucumber
with large portions of creamy avocado draping the rice.
A papaya salad, which resembled papaya and carrot slaw, had a sweet,
yet spicy lime dressing and was topped with tender, medium-sized shrimp.
If you're afraid the entrees won't be filling, think again. Our portions
were huge.
One entrée, the seafood green curry with cognac sauce ($19.95) reminded
me of a Thai version of jambalaya. This dish was overflowing with gems
from the sea -- large shrimp (these were a bit dry), scallops, mussels
and squid (surprisingly not at all chewy) -- complemented by Thai eggplant,
tender artichoke hearts and sweet chunks of pumpkin. The sauce was sweetened
with coconut milk and spiced with basil. The whole thing was served over
pasta. Two could easily share this savory dish.
We also tried the seared tuna. Several thick filets were encrusted in
black and white sesame seeds and fanned out around a mound of mashed
sweet potatoes. Another delicious creation.
For dessert we sampled a coconut macadamia nut tart that was packed with
sweet coconut and whole macadamias, a yummy combination of sweet, crunchy
and salty. I recommend this over the chocolate madness, which consisted
of a creamy chocolate gelatto with an OK cappuccino and chocolate
cheesecake.
After all of this indulgence, the real yin/yang is how much does all of
this cost? It's actually quite reasonable. The appetizers are in the
$5 to $10 range and most of the entrees are in the $15 to $20 range.
The dishes are meant to be shared, so you can get a variety of
appetizers and be more than satisfied for a reasonable tab.
Teikoku does have a full bar including 10 sakes (I enjoyed the mildly
sweet Yumeakari for a pricey $12 per glass) and a 64-bottle wine list.
Teikoku is also conveniently located down the pike from the Edgmont
Shopping Center, which has a Regal movie theater.
Teikoku's eastern cuisine is a wonderful addition to our western dining
community. Dining there is much more than grabbing an egg roll;
it's a fun, exotic culinary adventure.
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Trish Cofiell
tcofiell@delcotimes.com
|
|
