AsiaLIFE

Fans of the Sihanoukville original can have their okonomiyaki in Phnom Penh. Leonora Stevens reviews the Japanese eatery, open in the capital since last November. Photos by James Grant.

The idea of Japanese food immediately conjures up images of sleek raw fish, crunchy steamed edamame, sticky rice and complex rolls, but Happa is out to prove that there’s even more to Japanese cuisine.

A cosy, warm space styled with paper lanterns, bamboo wall decorations and chic wooden blinds, Happa describes itself as a teppanyaki restaurant, while also serving a variety of other Japanese comfort foods. A traditional style of Japanese cooking that uses a searing hot iron griddle, teppanyaki often makes for both a tasty and entertaining experience.

When we arrive at around 1pm for a late weekday lunch, the restaurant is nearly empty and we choose a table near the beckoning open grill at the entrance to the main room. Perusing the very extensive, picture-filled menu and choosing a few dishes is somewhat of a challenging task, although we eventually narrow our choices down to a few unique dishes you’d be hard pressed to find at your average sushi dive.

Upon receiving our order from the very attentive, smiling waiter, our teppanyaki cook quickly emerges from the back room, sets up at the grill in front of us and gets to work. A whir of stirring and chopping later, our food is on the grill and nearly ready to be served.

While attractively presented, not every dish lives up to the drama of its preparation. A small appetiser platter of grilled squid in a butter soy sauce (US$2) is our favourite of the bunch. Crunchy, sweet and decadently buttery, each dainty mollusk is a tender delight, especially when topped with a small squeeze of the accompanying lime. Our pork filled gyoza dumplings (US$2.25) are hot, juicy and expertly grilled, while our last appetiser, the banana blossom salad (US$2.75) is solidly complex with a strong pickled flavouring, but nothing exceptional.

We follow the appetisers with a selection of main courses, including the distinctive but often polarising okonomiyaki. A Japanese savoury pancake made with a combination of flour, yam, cabbage, eggs, onion and various other ingredients, okonomiyaki can be difficult to find outside of Japan.

We decide on an okonomiyaki pancake topped with cheese and bacon (US$3.25), and while what emerges looks somewhat disturbingly like a personal Pizza Hut pizza, it’s probably the highlight of the meal. I enjoy quite a few cheesy bites, while my fiancé remarks that the dish would be suited for a decadent brunch following a late night out. Unusual, it certainly is, but also surprisingly versatile.

Our second main dish—a pork sauté with mushroom and melted gruyere cheese (US$5.25)—does not quite live up to its predecessor. Being mushroom obsessed, I fall in love with the buttery criminis, as well as the rich gruyere cheese, but the pork itself is a bit of a sad specimen. My piece is thin, much too chewy and so dry even the delectable baby mushrooms can do little to save it.

Affordable and unique, Happa’s teppanyaki cuisine is a much appreciated change from your everyday sushi bar, but the inconsistency of the food won’t (yet) put it up there with Phnom Penh’s best.

Happa Restaurant, No. 17AEo, St. 278, Tel: 077 749 266, Open daily from 11.30am to 2.30pm and 5pm to 10pm.