Restaurant review: Fish in a flash Gamal Nkrumah reckons that practical experience is highly prized when preparing Teppanyaki The setting shows off the star-spangled heavens, the savouring of the first moonlight at twilight. Located on the famous Americana moored boat on the Nile off Giza, Fusion is a place of contemplation. And what a vision Fusion is. On the deck life is all beauty and pleasure. The seductive aroma of seared seafood is overpowering. Down below, the Nile glistens in the dark. Something in the river, perhaps fish or eels, form a lively audience to our conversation. All your expectations of Japanese cuisine are overturned overnight. Fusion is the perfect curtain-raiser for Japanese cuisine as far as the uninitiated are concerned. An excursion to a sushi restaurant raises no eyebrows in Cairo these days, but a trip to a Teppanyaki eatery does. Following the spectacular success of the Maadi branch, Fusion Giza aims at attracting a similar clientele -- Egyptians who shy away from sampling raw fish, sashimi or even sushi. Teppanyaki is the acceptable face of Japanese gourmet dining in Egypt for those who cannot stomach the raw strips and cutlets of the denizens of the deep. We look around for somewhere to sit and then make our way to one of the Teppanyaki hot plates that face the river. We are obliged to share our Teppanyaki hot plate with other diners, journalists from other papers. Though we have been talking for almost half an hour, we have not been served with our order and none of us -- whether through tact or absorption in the conversation -- has mentioned the fact. After the long wait, the food comes as a relief. The food, though, is raw -- the ingredients are on full display. Maha Haddad, public relations director, Blue Ocean, who runs Fusion, chips in. "There is something very satisfying about watching the chef cook your food," she enthused as Teppanyaki Chef Khaled Younis displayed his talent Fusion's three hot plate cubicles. Fusion's Teppanyaki hot plates seat up to eight guests each. There is something magical about Teppanyaki that overwhelms the taste buds. The originator of the Teppanyaki-style steakhouse is the Japanese restaurant chain Misono, which introduced the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan in post World War II Japan in 1945. The Fusion style of cuisine combining Western and traditional Japanese gastronomic heritage never really caught on in Japan. Teppanyaki soon became even more popular in America than in Japan itself. It is the true Fusion cuisine, mixing ingredients and cooking styles of both East and West. In the second half of this judiciously paced evening, was more feasting than frivolous chitchat. We watched the chef at work, tossing and turning -- dancing about like some crazed kung fu player. Teppanyaki is typically eaten leisurely. The chef only cooks one course at a time. After the chef finishes cooking one course, he meticulously wipes the hot plate clean. Customers enjoy watching the skilled manouvres of the chefs preparing the food. Soyabean oil is used to cook the ingredients. And, the ingredients are fresh. Side dishes of mung bean sprouts, garlic chips, zucchini, and fried rice accompany the main dish. Some of the Asian spices seem too pungent for the average Egyptian connoisseur, but well- heeled Cairenes are quickly acquiring the habit of sampling exotic dishes from faraway Asian nations. And if in most East Asian countries there is no religion injunction or stigma associated with eating pork, the flesh of swine is not served at Fusion. If Asian cuisine is in vogue it is also, perhaps, a new expression of modernity. Suddenly it seems the height of chic for the Egyptian economic elite is to dine in trendy Asian restaurants. Fusion is not an eatery in where you are likely to stumble upon a pop diva dining in style. Perhaps, the odd starlet might be caught trying Teppanyaki with friends at Fusion, but please don't stalk them. You might just trip on the meticulously selected earthy browns and reds of the furniture and the exquisitely polished parquet flooring and fall into the polluted river. Fusion Americana Moored Cruise Boat 26 Al-Nil St, Giza Tel: 3568 3993/012 2133 135 Dinner for two: LE350
