Oooooh fire

The festival of the youngest’s birthday continued on Monday night with a very special tradition: teppanyaki.

And this year we had a new guest at the U-shaped, chipped Laminex table, the youngest’s boyfriend Josh.

It was Josh’s first-ever teppanyaki experience, which included being showered with fried rice from a bowl tossed at him by the chef.

We have been having teppanyaki birthday dinners with the kids since they were tiny. The youngest kicked off the tradition when she celebrated her second birthday at a famed teppanyaki chain called Benihana in New York – but we are more attached to our casual neighbourhood haunt.

FYI: Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine that is derived from the words ‘teppan’ (iron plate) and ‘yaki’ (grilled, boiled, or pan-fried). So, it literally means ‘grilling on an iron plate’.

The first teppanyaki restaurant chain, Misono, opened in Kobe in 1945. Since then it has become popular around the world as a fun way to watch Japanese chefs’ amazing knife and cooking skills as they prepare food. It’s very theatrical, with pieces of cooked egg being tossed into patrons’ mouths, bursts of fire and other hijinks.

Here are some happy snaps from last night …

Knowing I am a bit crap at the finer details of mothering, the youngest baked her own birthday cake and brought it along.

Go me.

PS We were horrified when the staff told us after dinner that they might be closing down because the owner of the building wants to knock it down and build a six-storey apartment block. Nooooooooo!

Song of the day: Bruce Springsteen “Fire”