Hajime Robot Restaurant at Central Festival - UPDATED Sept. 28

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

In non-linear, non-dialectical fashion, I'm going to start this review with the bottom line: Hajime is a great place to take a Thai girl for dinner, mostly because of its Wow! factor. The food is standard teppanyaki fare. It's not cheap (500-600 baht per person, including beer), but it's worth every baht.

Hajime Robot Restaurant is a teppanyaki-style restaurant on the 5th floor of Central Festival Mall. As you walk towards the Beach Road side of the mall, it's on the last restaurant on the left before the elevators.

Teppanyaki is a Japanese method of cooking in which raw ingredients are grilled on a propane-heated, fat-surface metal griddle, usually in front of the dinners. It's a modern development, as the first teppanyaki restaurant didn't open in Japan until after WWII. The most popular feature of teppanyaki became watching the chef prepare and cook in a showy fashion, such as juggling knives, slicing vegetables with speed and precision or flipping an egg into his chef's cap. The Benihana chain that opened in the U.S. in the 1960s epitomizes this style of teppanyaki.

At Hajime, the gimmick is an impressive robot in samurai gear who serves the diners their trays of raw ingredients, which are cooked at the table by the diners themselves. The robot also takes away the empty trays and performs to music, including a very credible version of Oppa Gangnam Style. Because the robot is behind windows that are sectioned by thick wooden beams, it's hard to take good pics. Here's an illustrative shot from the Central Festival Website:



The reality of Hajime isn't quite as poetic as this pic from the company's Web site, but it's still a good indication of what to expect.



The pics I took:





The entrance:



Part of the a la carte section.



The robot in his "alley."



The robot dancing:





And delivering orders:







It's fun to take pictures of Asians taking pictures.







Hajime is divided into two sections. One is an all-you-can-eat buffet where the dishes move past the dinner conveyor-belt style There is also a very mechanical-looking one-armed robot that dispenses drinks.

More fascinating is the a la carte section, consists of 18 four-person tables, nine on each side of the samurai robot's glass-enclosed alley. The tables are "sunken" into the floor and tradition dictates that you remove your shoes before sitting down. It could be a bit tricky for anyone with a disability or who's stiff from age.

You then order via a touch-screen monitor screen at the table. You can choose from 14 "pages" of ingredients (beef, pork, fish, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, veggies, etc) and cooked dishes (tempura, katsudon and other donburi dishes) as well as sushi and sashimi. There are also sets of ingredients for multiple diners. It's very easy to check the running total of your bill on the screen.

Hajime has a limited choice of alcoholic beverages, just two kinds of sake and San Miguel and Heineken beer. No wine or other beers are available. The robot brings the raw ingredients that are cooked at the table, while waiters bring the cooked dishes and alcoholic beverages.

I lost some of the pics from Hajime due to file corruption on my memory card , but here comes what I could salvage before re-formatting the card. I lost some pics of the interior, raw ingredients such as squid, prawns and fish as well as the touch-screen and the griddle and table setting.

I ate that night with BM capdagde and his wife. We had wanted to go the previous night, but no tables were available when we walked in at 6.00 p.m. We reserved a table for 6.30 p.m. the following evening. If you want to visit Hajime between 5.00 p.m. and 8 p.m., it's best to phone a day ahead to reserve a table.

We ordered shrimp, squid, scallops, salmon, kurobuta pork, duck breast and sliced beef chuck to cook on the griddle. We also had a mixed prawn and vegetable tempura dish that was delivered by a waiter.It was plenty for the three of us. Andy and I had two beers each and the total cost was 1,600 baht, not bad at all for the amount we ate.

The tempura dish:



Duck breast and kurobuta pork:



Flo cooking the beef:







There's soy sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and wasabe for dipping, with containers of soy sauce and rice vinegar that can be poured on the food that's cooking. It's strictly Japanese style, with none of the typical Thai dipping sauces or flavoring.

Teppanyaki cooking is about as simple as it gets. It's the freshness and quality of the ingredients that makes the meal. But entertainment has always been part of the teppanyaki experience and the Hajime robot sure doesn't fail in that respect.

Evil


A YouTube video from Hajime:

Edited September 27, 2013 by Evil Penevil

[Nightrider 340]

My god , the gimmicks they come up with to bring in the punters , i must try it one night........

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

My god , the gimmicks they come up with to bring in the punters , i must try it one night........

 

Andy, Flo and I were the only farang in the restaurant that night, and it was pretty full. As we were leaving, a large group of Asians filled most of the "robot ringside" seats.

 

But it would be a huge hit with a TG.

 

Evil

[Dungheap 243]

Looks cool Evil.

 

Teppanyaki abroad is more fun that in Japan itself. No catch the fried rice and raw egg here in Tokyo, the chefs are generally all very serious.

[bratpack 91]

is it a good place to take a non thai girl then?????

[MM 6,562]

is it a good place to take a non thai girl then?????

 

Mrs capdagde enjoyed it and she's not Thai.

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[capdagde 1,954]

That's the last restaurant on the LEFT walking towards Beach Road, Evil (I know 'cos I was there....!)

 

You Murcans!!! Drive on the right,, vote on the right, eat on right.

 

Andy

 

P.S. Will add my pics here when i get home (three home delivery power-sappers since that great protein intake 48 hours ago).

 

P.P.S. Q; How much do you tip a robot? A: Not too far....

Edited August 30, 2013 by capdagde

[Patna 3,802]

In non-linear, non-dialectical fashion, I'm going to start this review with the bottom line: Hajime is a great place to take a Thai girl for dinner, mostly because of its Wow! factor. The food is standard teppanyaki fare. It's not

 

There's soy sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and wasabe for dipping, with containers of soy sauce and rice vinegar that can be poured on the food that's cooking. It's strictly Japanese style, with none of the typical Thai dipping sauces or flavoring.

 

Teppanyaki cooking is about as simply as it gets. It's the freshness and quality of the ingredients that makes the meal. But entertainment has always been part of the teppanyaki experience and the Hajime robot sure doesn't fail in that respect.

 

 

It does look like fun, I'll try it next time when there. Although not a true fan of Marvin the Martian lookalike robots, I'm sure the kids will love it

[js007 795]

Looks like fun. Is the Benihana restaurant still in Royal Garden Plaza?

[atlas2 4,329]

There's an old 'golf joke' that comes to mind..........

[Patna 3,802]

Looks like fun. Is the Benihana restaurant still in Royal Garden Plaza?

 

Yes. Slightly more expensive too...

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

A few more pics from another meal at Hajime.

 

 

The mascot:

 

 

The griddle while warming up:

 

 

The touch screen on which you place the orders:

 

 

Prawn and vegetable tempura. The tempura is excellent at Hajime. The ingredients are of good quality and the batter is fluffy and crisp.

 

 

We ordered the family beef set (six slices of wo kinds of beef, vegetables, four slices of duck breast, two rock lobster tails, two mussels) and it was enough for the three of us (two farang males, one Thai female).

 

 

 

And the star of the show:

 

 

Evil

[capdagde 1,954]

Back in the office and you're getting me jealous Evil! That set looks good - how much per head compared to the feast we had?

 

Andy

 

P.S. Is the robot giving you the finger this time?

Edited September 4, 2013 by capdagde

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Back in the office and you're getting me jealous Evil! That set looks good - how much per head compared to the feast we had?

 

Andy

 

P.S. Is the robot giving you the finger this time?

 

Sorry, Andy, I didn't see you reply until today. The cost was about the same, roughly 450 baht per head. And the robot was saluting me!

 

Some more pics (quite a few people are eager to try the robot restaurant and as I said, the girls love it and always ask to go back). This time round we had the seafood buffet, an order of sirloin beef, extra mushrooms, vegetable tempura and watermelon. Actually a bit much for two people.

 

 

 

 

Here you go, atlas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evil

[BigDUSA 71]

If I could just get the robot to help me up from the table. I'm waiting for the in home Star Trek food replicator.

[capdagde 1,954]

Phwoooaaaaarrrr (the food I mean.......). Using the "cook it all at once so it's goes cold" method????? That is a LOT of food. Yum!

 

Andy

 

P.S. The robot apparently has a retinal scanner and salutes those who tipped last time and makes steak tartar (aka Wagyu) out of those who didn't, using its quicker-than-the-eye slicing laser and the trap door under the impossible-to-escape-from table. "I expect you to die, Mr Cheap Charlie."

Edited September 12, 2013 by capdagde

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Hajime is divided into twp sections: one that features teppanyaki cooking on the table-top griddle, with ingredients and some prepared dishes ordered from an a la carte menu; and a much bigger section where ingredients are plucked from a conveyor belt to be cooked table shabu shabu style in a pot of boiling broth. The shabu shabu variation goes for a flat rate of 300 baht per person and includes a fairly extensive buffet: prepared dishes (tempura, noodles, soup), sushi, a salad bar, Asian desserts, fruit, etc.

 

After trying the teppanyaki variation several times and the novelty of the samurai robot server having worn off, the young lady with whom I often dine wanted to try the shabu shabu option. After a huge meal involving 25 trays plucked off the conveyor belt and healthy portions from the buffet, she said she liked the shabu shabu style better. I couldn't believe how much she ate for such a thin girl. It was double what I knocked back and I'm no slouch when it comes to the table.

 

Some pics:

 

 

 

Trays of many kinds of raw ingredients: seafood, pork, beef, chicken, vegetables, herbs, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first round of trays (and there were several more rounds for us);

 

 

Some of the food from the buffet:

 

 

Cooking shabu-shabu style:

 

 

 

 

 

The first bowl of the finished product:

 

 

 

 

I wasn't as enthusiastic about the shabu shabu meal as my companion. I didn't think the boiling in the hot pot brought out the flavor of the ingredients as well as the teppanyaki cooking had. Also, tempura doesn't really lend itself to buffet-style serving. It goes cold too fast. But at a total cost of 658 baht for two (300 each for the food and 29 baht each for unlimited non=alcoholic beverages, it was certainly value for money considering she dumped at least six trays of shrimp into the pot.

 

Evil

 

 

Edited September 27, 2013 by Evil Penevil

[Tilacno1 23]

Evil nice review but was that sexy lady , starter, mains, or sweet, or afters ?

Just jealous LOL grrrrrr

[Gabor 296]

I tried a few days ago the tepprayaki menu... it was OK, the robot was fun for 5 seconds, but not something worth the 500 baht / person... We cooked many different meats ( pork, duck, beef ), seafood ( shrimps, scallops, squids ) veggies, mushrooms on the table but the taste was somehow general because of the lack of the variety of the dip sauces or any spices... ( they served mayo, soy sauce and seafood sauce ) The table became very soon charred, we had to change the table... ( they served oil, soy sauce and sake - gave some unique and good taste for the food - for cooking ) The rice bowl was empty for 30-40 minutes, so we used as garnish the ice cold chinese noodles... Only two kind of soda pops, coke and sprite... Not recommended for the older guys, you must be an acrobat to climb down to the table...

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Evil nice review but was that sexy lady , starter, mains, or sweet, or afters ?

Just jealous LOL grrrrrr

 

She was the cook and kept things hot and quite spicy for me!

 

 

I tried a few days ago the tepprayaki menu... it was OK, the robot was fun for 5 seconds, but not something worth the 500 baht / person... We cooked many different meats ( pork, duck, beef ), seafood ( shrimps, scallops, squids ) veggies, mushrooms on the table but the taste was somehow general because of the lack of the variety of the dip sauces or any spices... ( they served mayo, soy sauce and seafood sauce ) The table became very soon charred, we had to change the table... ( they served oil, soy sauce and sake - gave some unique and good taste for the food - for cooking ) The rice bowl was empty for 30-40 minutes, so we used as garnish the ice cold chinese noodles... Only two kind of soda pops, coke and sprite... Not recommended for the older guys, you must be an acrobat to climb down to the table...

 

I've eaten at Hajime a number of times and the temperature of the griddle has always been controllable through a dial built into the table. You could adjust the temperature from very high to very low and vice versa. It's certainly possible the dial for one griddle might not work due to some fault, but there are two griddles at most tables. In the unlikely case both didn't work, it's just to ask for another table.

 

Here's a pic in which I've pointed to the position of the griddle control with a bolt of lightening:

 

 

Also, if you ask for spicy sauce and other condiments, the service staff is happy to bring them. If you want more rice or any other "side dish," you have to order it through the monitor on the table. A lot of first-time visitors to Hajime don't understand this or forget to push the confirm button when they place the order, so it never comes.

 

There are only two types of soda available (Coke and Sprite), but there are a half dozen other soft drinks (fruit juices, green tea, etc) on offer. The majority of Hajime's customers are Thais and other Asians and the menu caters to their preferences.

 

Evil

Edited September 28, 2013 by Evil Penevil

[Tilacno1 23]

Evil just wish I could find a cook like that who keeps it hot and spicy for me LOL

 

BTW are you talking about the food or her body wow she is seriously very hot and sexy You lucky man

[LBJ 533]

Yeah, it's all fun and happy now but wait until Skynet comes online or the Decepticons return. You won't be enjoying your meal so much then! Bwa Ha Ha!