As an emerging high-end Japanese restaurant in Changchun’s dining scene, Wendu Teppanyaki has undoubtedly won the recognition of many people. It is quite popular, and surprisingly, there is even a copycat restaurant called Redu Teppanyaki now…
Prices start at 198 yuan and go up to 898 yuan, divided into 5 tiers. Of course, although it is considered high-end in Changchun, neither the price, ingredients, nor the chefs’ skills would be considered high-end in Shanghai. It is very similar to Taiyo, but more expensive; naturally, it offers a much better environment and much better ingredients than Taiyo.
There are currently 3 branches in Changchun: Guilin Road, Yatai Street, and Qianjin Street. These three locations used to have differences: the Guilin Road branch offered a 138-yuan buffet option with teppanyaki only (no Japanese cuisine), and the Yatai Street branch had a 158-yuan buffet set. The Qianjin Street branch only had a minimum 188-yuan buffet set. Now, all locations start at the 188-yuan buffet, and with another 10-yuan price increase, they all start at 198 yuan.
I visited the Yatai Street branch. I called ahead to reserve a window seat and arrived a bit early. The restaurant spans three floors and has a nice ambiance. It wasn’t too crowded, and we were led to a sofa by the window on the 3rd floor. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a view outside, and it was a bit chilly. The service was extremely mediocre; there were many servers, but they actually seemed louder than the customers.
Now let’s talk about the taste. The sashimi was fine—fresh and delicious, though the portions were slightly small, so we had to order it several times.
The oysters were really fishy. Although they were large, they weren’t good.
For the Japanese cuisine section, I tried the silver cod, tempura, and beef short ribs. They all tasted average, so I decided not to try anything else from that section.
The teppanyaki section is the real highlight. The First Kiss steak, scallops, beef tenderloin, shrimp, and sliced chicken wings were all delicious and highly recommended. So basically, coming here is all about the teppanyaki buffet. That makes the original 138-yuan buffet seem like better value, but unfortunately, it’s no longer available.
The tragedy began with a 4-person serving of beef tongue. It’s rare for a buffet to use this tactic to stuff customers full… What was even more unbearable was the quality of the salads. The seafood salad had an oddly sour dressing. As for the fruit salad, the watermelon seemed spoiled, and the apples and pears tasted strange and were extremely unpalatable. Also, the fresh-squeezed juices listed on the menu were all unavailable. Prices have gone up, yet they can’t even guarantee the quality of the fruit. Fortunately for them, no other restaurant in Changchun competes with them.
Support
