When Kevin Matsuda presides over the teppan-yaki table at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa's Musashi restaurant, something magical happens.
Showmanship has long been
Hot grill brings out the flavors By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
part of the teppan-yaki routine,
but this chef actually works
magic into his act
Special to the Star-BulletinLiterally.
The chef not only works wonders with prime ingredients such as lobster, scallops and filet mignon, he transports everyday items into the realm of the extraordinary. Cloth napkins dance. Salt shakers disappear. Safety pins glide across a sheet of paper without ripping it.
"I love cooking and I love doing magic," Matsuda says. "I thank God that I have a job that allows me to do both."
Matsuda's interest in the culinary arts was sparked when he took a food service course as a student at Waipahu High School. In 1982, a year before he graduated, he began working at Zippy's as a part-time cook. His career at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki was launched five years later, when he landed a job as a dishwasher. He was quickly promoted to pantry cook, making salads and adding garnishes to dishes, then to fry cook.
One of Matsuda's responsibilities as a fry cook was to cut vegetables, and his speed caught the eye of Koitsu Sugiyama, Musashi's sous chef at the time. Sugiyama became the young man's mentor, helping him hone his skills in the teppan-yaki method of Japanese cooking.In 1996, Matsuda was promoted to head teppan-yaki chef at Musashi. His "teppan show" is a display of artistry and adroitness. He juggles salt and pepper shakers. He flips gleaming knives, catching them neatly behind his back. He squeezes juice from a lemon, then tosses the peel high into the air, turning his body just so -- and it drops on top of his hat or into the pocket of his apron. In short, he's got the confidence and charisma of a consummate showman.
Magic was incorporated into Matsuda's act 312 years ago. "My younger sister, Sharon, used to do tricks at the dinner table when we were growing up," he recalls. "She still does them when our family gets together at Mom's house -- and one day I came up with the idea of doing a few tricks at Musashi. It was a big hit, and since then, I've kept building on it, adding more tricks, more routines." His repertoire now includes more than two dozen illusions.
The teppan-yaki grill doubles as stage for Matsuda's mini-magic show. No two performances are exactly alike "because we have repeat customers and I don't want to bore them," he says.
Audience participation is encouraged. For one trick, Matsuda asks a guest to lift a cup that he has placed over a little foam rabbit. Up goes the cup ... and surprise! The chef has turned that one rabbit into four!
"I always keep an eye out for new tricks," he notes. "Right now, I'm working on pushing a bottle through the table. I already can push a salt shaker through the table, but I want to do that trick with something bigger.
"Magic is something you have to do every day so you feel comfortable with it. You've got to practice a little every day."
Although he mans the teppan-yaki table five nights a week, Matsuda never tires of it. "Doing teppan-yaki is rewarding because I get to see the guests enjoy themselves and enjoy the food. If you prepare meals in the kitchen, the waiters serve them, so you can't see the expressions on the customers' faces. ... People choose teppan-yaki because they want to have fun, so I try and make the experience fun for them. I try to make it memorable ... magical."
Musashi is open for breakfast and dinner daily. Through 2001, receive 15 percent off by mentioning this Honolulu Star-Bulletin article. Call 923-1234.
For centuries, the people of Japan subsisted primarily on fish and vegetables. It was not until the 1400s that meat was introduced into their diet by Portuguese and Dutch traders based in the port town of Nagasaki. Hot grill
brings out
the flavorsRather than smothering meat in the rich gravies favored by Europeans, the Japanese preferred to simply grill it at the table using a heavy, flat, cast-iron griddle called teppan. The skillet was lightly oiled and pre-heated so the food sizzled dramatically when placed on it. Yaki means "to sear with heat;" thus was born the term teppan-yaki.
"A clean, very hot grill is the key to good teppan-yaki," asserts Chef Kevin Matsuda. "My grill at Musashi reaches 550 degrees Fahrenheit; at home, the maximum temperature you'll probably get is 350 or 400 degrees. Cook the food fast, so that it's brown and crisp on the outside and moist and tender inside. That's the secret; searing seals in the juices and brings out the flavors."
Just about anything can be used for teppan-yaki, including beef, chicken, scallops, prawns, eggplant, green peppers, sliced cabbage, broccoli and onions. "Start with fresh ingredients and you can't go wrong," Matsuda says. He uses only two seasonings -- garlic-chive butter and a Teppan Spice he's nicknamed Waikiki Sand.
Matsuda serves guests off the grill, and they immerse the bite-sized morsels into small, shallow bowls filled with sauces. "It's the sauces that make the difference," Matsuda said. Musashi's Prime New York Strip Teppan Style, accompanied by a piquant Ginger Sauce won honors as Best Beef Dish at last year's Taste of Honolulu.
Ginger Sauce
1 cup ginger, sliced thin crossed-grainPuree ingredients in a blender until very fine.
1 cup onion, sliced thin
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Ponzu Sauce
1 cup soy sauceCombine all ingredients and store at room temperature for three days.
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup of water
2 teaspoons dashi nomoto
1/4 of an orange
1/4 of a lemon
Teppan Spice (Waikiki Sand)
1 cup saltCombine ingredients.
2 teaspoons white pepper
1/2 cup granulated garlic
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepperNutritional information unavailable.
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