芝林鐵板燒

🚩Affordable Teppanyaki in Xindian - Deliciousness that Exceeds the Price

Chilin Teppanyaki is located on Jianguo Road in Xindian City, between Dapinglin and Qizhang stations, about a 10-minute walk from either station. Chilin has been operating in Xindian for many years, briefly moving to another area in between, but reopened in Xindian again in 2018. The shop is narrow and long, with limited space, having only 10 seats at the grilling station and 8 seats at individual tables. The interior decor is somewhat outdated, and the lighting is quite dim.

After being seated, customers fill out the menu and pay after the meal, with cash only accepted. After ordering, customers help themselves to rice, soup, and drinks. Currently, there is a minimum spend of $150 for each customer, regardless of height or age.

Thoughts on the meal: ⬇️
Side Dishes: Cabbage and bean sprouts. The cabbage is stir-fried crisp, with a beautiful color and moderate seasoning, allowing the sweetness of the cabbage to shine through. The bean sprouts are also crunchy and stir-fried just right without burning. If you can handle spicy food, I highly recommend adding spice to the side dishes; their chili has a wonderful aroma, not just simple heat that hurts the tongue.
Miso Soup: The soup base is rich, containing small dried fish and kelp tofu, which I personally really enjoy.
Chicken Leg: It is pan-fried without sauce, with the skin cooked just right. The seasoning is also perfect, and it tastes great. It's cut into bite-sized pieces, but this dish takes a bit longer to prepare.
Lamb: The black pepper sauce is rich and pairs well with the stir-fried soft onions. The lamb is tender and goes very well with rice.
Scallion Omelette: The portion is likely made from two eggs; it's simply delicious.
Pangasius + Grass Shrimp: Both the shrimp and fish are well-grilled and quite tasty, but the portion is a bit small.

I discovered this place during the pandemic. The teppanyaki place I used to frequent often didn't answer calls, and Chilin has high ratings on Google Maps. I fell in love with it after just one visit. When taking out the main meals, there's a $20 discount along with a complimentary fried egg, which is a great value. I've returned many times since then and found the quality of the food to be stable, with very few misses. The downside is that the indoor environment is not great, and the owner is somewhat cold and not very friendly.