Sen Nin & Sake Bombs

Last week I rounded up the troops and headed out for teppanyaki.

We met in the doorway of Sen Nin, Camden, a little unsure of what to expect. 

I was responsible for taking the groups collective teppanyaki virginity, you see, so the pressure (and grill) was well and truly on.

Sure, I'd heard tales of chefs launching bowls of fried rice at diners, roaring flames singeing eyebrows and eyelashes and tables of strangers playing 'crack the egg' on each others heads. But of course, I hadn't told my guests that. 

I thought it might be best to kick things off with a round of Sake Bombs.

For those of you who don't know, a Sake Bomb is Japan's answer to a Jagerbomb. A cup full (take note - I did not say a shot glass, I said a cup full) of Sake is balanced on a pair of chopsticks over a glass of beer.

The aim of the game is to get your whole group shrieking "SUSHI, SAKE, SUSHI, SAKE, OI OI OI" at the top of their lungs before pounding the table so the sticks split and your Sake gets dunked. You're then expected to see it off all in one.







Di-sake-usting if you ask me. Sake Bombs aside, meet our charming chef for the evening, Suresh. He's the handsome little fellow in the red hat.

After our introduction we began scouring the enormous menu. I'm a fan of the simpler things in life (vanilla scented candles, bed socks, post it notes etc, etc) so we opted for a selection of starters & the traditional teppanyaki main dishes.

This gave my pops something to smile about, seeing as he'd forgotten his specs and had absolutely no chance of reading the menu whatsoever.

We had the chilli and garlic king prawns in a scrummy spicy glaze.

The vegetable tempura.

Chicken yakitori skewers with teriyaki sauce & sesame seeds (my favourite).

Squid tempura with sweet chilli dip.

And big hearty bowls of fresh miso soup.

As soon as we were fed and watered, the entertainment began!

There was fire, juggling and lots of "ooooh's!" and "ahhhhh's!"

And one of us was chosen to try out our egg juggling warrior skills.

Which turned out fantastically well with the egg landing in her hat!

M had a go but things didn't turn out quite so well...

Smashed. Eggs. Everywhere.

And as our tummies began to rumble again, Suresh got down to the cookin'.

First up, the 'egg' part of our egg fried rice.

Omelet cooked, out came the chopped veg and rice.

Which was feeling very amorous! (Even if it's grammar was slightly off target).

We were then challenged to a 'catch the burning egg in your mouth' quest.

Where some had more luck than others!

A delicious egg fried heart was broken in the process.

And immediately threw itself at the nearest man in sight!







The Boy wasn't interested though. I'm much ricer.



Next came the crown and glory of the meal, the meat. We covered pretty much all bases in our order, opting for chicken, lamb, salmon and duck.

The salmon was flaky, rich and coated in a gorgeous spicy glaze.

But the lamb just swung it for me. Incredibly succulent and totally delicious.

After gobbling up our food and waving goodbye to Suresh, we washed down our supper with mango and plum margaritas and giggled the rest of the night away.



 Although not compulsory, I'd suggest you do the same.

You can also find Sen Nin in Islington, but if you're after the teppanyaki experience, I'd definitely recommend the Camden restaurant. Better still, Sen Nin accepts the Tastecard and right now you can get 50% off your food bill on Tuesdays.

Tanoshimu!