Sultana pancakes, 57 Xiang, Chengdu, China

57°C Xiang, Chengdu, dinner

ByQin Xie 19/09/201418/03/2016

Menu from a dinner at 57°C湘 (57°C Xiang), the Japanese themed teppanyaki restaurant where the chefs dance in between courses, in Chengdu, China:

Sultana pancakes

Pork and pineapple teppanyaki

Steamed egg custard with fish roe

Caramelised pork skin

Teppanyaki cooked soy sauce tofu

Spicy clams

Foie gras with apple on toasted brioche

Pork and pineapple teppanyaki, 57 Xiang, Chengdu, China

Egg custard and roe, 57 Xiang, Chengdu, China

Caramelised pork, 57 Xiang, Chengdu, China

Teppanyaki tofu, 57 Xiang, Chengdu, China

Foie gras and apple on brioche, 57 Xiang, Chengdu, China

In Chengdu, 57°C Xiang has taken Japanese teppanyaki to a whole new level. The food is by no means authentic. In fact, it’s probably shamelessly inauthentic but it’s actually pretty good.

What attracts a full restaurant of people to it night after night though is the performance.

As well as cooking food in front you like normal teppanyaki restaurants, the chefs also stop the cooking half way through the dinner to dance for the guests. They all don sunglasses, no doubt so they can be less embarassed when they return to their respective tables.

Qin Xie

Qin Xie is a London based food, wine and travel journalist and trained chef.

When not infiltrating Michelin restaurants as a kitchen tourist, she writes about food, drink and travel. Her work has appeared on Yahoo, FT, The Times and CNN.

Her first cookbook, co-authored with YS Peng at Hunan Restaurant, is out March 2014.

According to friends, her watch is always set to UTC -- ready for the next big adventure. In reality, she is happiest at the dinner table or by the sea.