Teppay — Restaurant in Houston

*Update. Just went back. Knocking off a star for offering me a piece of sushi that was literally the size of a quarter. Either they think that’s cool or their popularity is getting to their head. Too bad. Prior entry: The excellent, high quality fresh fish offered at this restaurant with its long, Japan-worthy sushi bar counter is not given proper attention in the construction and plating. I don’t want to nitpick because the fish here is really good, but the execution of the nigiri/sushi didn’t seem perfect. Not sure if it was the way the fish was cut/sliced, the sushi rice’s shape, or the way it was held together (“nigiri” means to press/hold together)—but there was something amiss. The plating also didn’t look sufficiently elegant in my opinion, which is too bad considering that the sushi itself was wonderfully flavorful. My companions and I ordered a few items, so here’s my take on the other Japanese dishes we ordered: the miso-infused eggplant and peppers was perfect—not too coy in the sweetness (well balanced bitterness provided by the pepper), neither heavy nor greasy, and wonderfully maintaining the shape, texture, and most importantly, the flavor of the Japanese eggplant. (All too often this eggplant dish ends up becoming an overly sweet and greasy mush.) Not here. The chirashi (sashimi and veggies over sushi rice) looked fresh and plentiful, but I was not too keen on seeing fresh sashimi being folded over themselves in the presentation. (I’ll add that the broiled fresh water eel “unagi” was plump, flavorful, and with great texture. I always hesitate ordering unagi at most Japanese restaurants, even in Japan, unless they specialize in eel, but I really enjoyed the unagi here). For the seaweed salad, while the seaweed didn’t look water-logged or lack in sufficient bite, only one type of seaweed was provided. Overall, this Japanese restaurant feels Japanese, looks Japanese, and provides good, solid Japanese food. If there is one thing that annoyed me here, they charge for basic hot, green tea. That’s like charging for chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant. (At minimum, they should offer it free with sushi/sashimi dishes. But that’s just me.) Oh, and I think something was wrong with the register when we went last night. The receipt actually didn’t break down the sushi/nigiri ordered—it was just clumped together into one number. Maybe I was looking at it incorrectly, but this should only be the case when I ask for the “omakase” (where the sushi chef serves the day’s best fresh fish, etc.), and I’m not convinced that I’d request that here (yet). * I do agree that that this place can boast that their clientele includes many Japanese customers. But then again, when I travel overseas I meet a lot Americans at...

Looks authentic, feels authentic, and tastes authentic. If there were any place in Houston I would recommend to visitors looking for a great Japanese restaurant; this would be the place. Teppay isn't a hole-in-the-wall but it can appear to be one as it's located between a Sketchers and a comic book store. But once you step inside it feels like you've come to a nice, small Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo. Anyways, I've had several dishes over several visits such as tempura (fried shrimp + veggies), chicken karaage (fried chicken), zaru soba (buckwheat noodles + dipping sauce), udon (soup + noodles), ramen (shoyu & tonkatsu), and lastly their fresh sushi/sashimi. Seriously, this place is one of my Houston favorites but to expedite this review I'll talk about the sushi and ramen.

Their sushi/sashimi has to be one of the best I've had in Houston. The quality and consistency of their sushi is what has me sold as each time it is ordered it comes out fresh (no pungent fishy smell) and delicious (right amount of vinegar rice, wasabi, to fish ratio) no need for soy sauce! My favorite sushi pieces are sake (salmon), saba (mackerel), and ikura (salmon roe). I also consider their ramen to be one of the best in Houston as well. You only have one choice of noodles which are the average wavy ramen noodles, and they have up to three broths but I've only tried the shoyu and tonkatsu. Their shoyu has a nice brown broth with light briny, soy sauce based flavor with little oil deposits on the surface. The tonkatsu has a very creamy, white broth with heavy flavors of pork accompanied by more oil deposits on the surface. Oily isn't a bad thing! It helps to coat the mouth and enhance to flavors of the broth. The ramen is also topped with various items such as spinach, bamboo shoots, naruto, scallions, soft boiled egg, and slice of pork. Overall, Teppay is the place you want to go if you're craving more authentic Japanese foods other than sushi. I recommend anyone and everyone to go try out their food. Prices vary between $10-15 per plate.

Side note: the customer service is polite but can be very slow especially during peak dinning hours on Friday nights and weekends. It's best to go before of after (30 mins to close) rush...

You could not justify Teppay's average 3.5 star rating to me... I felt as though I'd been transported to Japan - a small nook of a restaurant, simply decorated with little maneki-neko and mini-sushi figurines at the sushi bar, a real Japanese staff that gently greets you with a "moshi moshi"... not like Miyako's abrasive "MOSHI MOSHI!!!!", and most notably, the incredibly well-done, authentic food. My experience was pure peace and comfort, and I couldn't have gotten a table-for-one at a better place.

Per recommendation of my Teppay addicted friend, I ordered the clam miso soup, the 6 piece omakase, and 2 pieces of torched salmon belly sushi topped with lemon and sea salt... Yes, you just read right. Wipe the drool off your chin and keep reading. The clam miso (not on the lunch menu) came out in a bowl with a bowl shaped lid. Steam floated up upon the unveiling, and fresh clams filled the bowl, swimming in a beautiful miso broth. The bowl-lid was the perfect receptacle for my clam shells, and I made sure there wasn't one drop of soup left. Next came the torched salmon belly - which includes a little fire show if you sit at the sushi bar. The slightly charred taste on the outside, with the raw, cold, buttery inside, and that pop of citrus and salt make this one of my favorite sushi of all time. The omakase was an obvious mix of salmon, mackerel, yellow tail, red snapper (I think), flounder or trout, and amaebi (sweet shrimp). Each sushi was adorned with high quality seafood. The mackeral was unlike any I've tried - not that crazy, pickled mess you get at every other sushi joint. The amaebi, a perfect finale to my meal, was presented with two halves of a fried sweet shrimp head, making it much easier to eat than when fried whole.

Don't pay attention to that 3.5 star nonsense. If you're here complaining about the price and the portion size, then maybe you should be going to Tokyo One or something. This is how Japanese food is supposed to be done, and definitely something to try at least once when your wallet isn't empty. If you find yourself next to a large Skecher's shoe store on Voss and Westheimer, know that you are actually moments away from Japan... or at least the most Japenese experience you will have...