Haru Teppanyaki and Sushi Bar is one of the best restaurants in Shunyi. Serving excellent Japanese fare at very reasonable prices. I have eaten here several times over the years, ordering mainly from their extensive selection of sushi rolls and sashimi. On a recent visit I wanted to try out their teppanyaki business lunch sets, a great value option for lunch time dining. Haru’s restaurant is divided into a number of private dining rooms. There is a small sushi bar, great for enjoying a quick lunch, or if you’re dining alone and don’t fancy a room all to yourself. There were only two of us for lunch, but we opted for a private room. The rooms are simple yet elegant, offering a bright space, with seating arranged around your personal teppanyaki chef’s work station.
I opted for the seared beef rolled with foie gras set (RMB 138), my companion the beef rolled with enoki mushrooms (RMB 125). The lunch sets include salad, soup, teppanyaki tofu, vegetables, fried rice, and dessert. The salad was a crisp vegetable salad, of mixed leaves and corn, served with a tangy vinaigrette dressing. The miso soup was a generous bowl full, packed with great flavors. I’m quite a recent convert to the wonders of tofu, and Haru’s was soft and unctuous, with a slightly crisp exterior from the hot plate searing. The vegetables were a crunchy mix of cabbages, carrots, and bean shoots.
Of course the reason we had chosen these sets was for the beef, and what a great choice we made. Perfectly seasoned, quickly seared and wrapped around meltingly soft foie gras. For the mushroom version, the crisp texture of the enoki contrasted well with the tenderness of the meat. To finish, we were served mini pancakes sandwiched together with a sweet paste. Other meats for the lunch sets include pork, chicken, and lamb, and for seafood you can enjoy prawn, cod, and salmon. Dinner teppanyaki sets include appetizer, salad, miso soup, sashimi, shrimp, vegetables, fried rice, and a dessert. The Australian 300-day grain-fed Angus sirloin with asparagus set is RMB 360, whilst the prawn, scallops, cod, and salmon set is RMB 348.
Haru has an extensive selection of original sushi rolls, maki sushi, and nigiri. New to their rolls is the Michelle, with fried shrimp, cucumber, spicy Norwegian salmon, shiso, avocado, sesame, and eel sauce RMB 89 for eight pieces. The Chef informed us that their most popular rolls are the Lily, with tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, tempura flakes, conger eel, scallions, sesame seeds, eel sauce, and gobo RMB 92, and the Christina, with soft shell crab, avocado, tempura flakes, topped with scorched salmon and albacore, chili sauce, eel sauce, sesame seeds and scallions RMB 92. The fish at Haru is extremely fresh, making their sashimi some of the best there is.
Haru is a great dining option for kids. With the private rooms, they’re not going to annoy any other diners, and they will watch in awe as the chef sears, stir fries, and brings together their meal. There isn’t a separate kids menu, but teppanyaki is great because the kids can pick out their favorite meats, fish, and vegetables. There are plenty of sushi rolls with kid friendly fillings, like sweet potato, pumpkin, avocado, and egg. The bathroom is clean with sit-down toilet. Service at Haru is impeccable, with wait staff and the chefs paying attention to the finer details. They are polite, helpful, and wonderfully unobtrusive. I have yet to eat at the Sanlitun branch I’m slightly put off by its location in Taikoo Li North. However, it would be an injustice to not at least give it a go, and if their sashimi and sushi tastes as fabulous as it does here in Shunyi, the location can be forgiven.
Haru Teppanyaki and Sushi Bar 尚水长廊铁板烧餐厅
1) Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30pm-10pm. 902 Pinnacle Plaza, Jingshun Lu, Shunyi District (8046 5112); 顺义区天竺镇开发区荣祥广场902
2) Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm. Unit N4-30, 3/F, Taikoo Li North, 11 Sanlitun Lu (6415 2112); 三里屯路11号院太古里北区N4楼30号商铺
beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.
Photos: monkeyc.net (Flickr), Sally Wilson, courtesy of Haru
