Feb 15

Feb 15 Bonsai Teppanyaki on Carnival Panorama

Most of us have been to a Benihana or similar Teppanyaki-style Japanese restaurant. Whether you have or not, you should definitely treat yourself to an evening of fun and delicious food at Bonsai Teppanyaki aboard Carnival Panorama (and Horizon). This multi-course ‘cooked-at-your-table’ meal is one you will not soon forget. And, at only $32 per person, it is a real bargain.

When you are seated at the griddle table (holds 10 guests) your place setting will have a small cup for water, a fork, chopsticks and three sauces. One sauce is for veggies, one for chicken and the other for beef. But honestly, they all taste good no matter what you dunk in them.

Each guest will be served three appetizers and a bowl of Miso soup, so your only decision is which entree you want. You can choose from salmon, lobster tail, chicken, shrimp, black cod, tofu (seriously?), or filet mignon. And, even though it is not clearly indicated on the menu, you can choose any combination of two proteins.

Rickee and I both ordered the Filet Mignon and Spiced Grilled Chicken. After our server introduced herself, she served each of us water and took drink orders. Rickee and I also each tried the Bellini cocktail.

Soon after our drinks arrived, we were each served the Kabuki Salad at about the same time as Chef Ronaldo arrived to introduce himself and begin preparing the grill. The salad was very fresh, crisp and dressed with a light ginger-infused dressing—— a very nice way to begin the meal.

Chef Ronaldo wasted no time getting the massive amount of fried rice cooking on the grill, making jokes and showing his twirling skills with utensils the entire time. He was hilarious and made sure that everyone at the table was having a good time.

Of course, Chef Ronaldo put on a fire show, a Teppanyaki tradition. Here he is cooking the vegetable course along with a shrimp appetizer. As the shrimp appetizer is cooking, our salad bowls are cleared and the Pork Belly Yakatori (sorry, no photo) appetizer arrived. This was our favorite appetizer. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. More please!

A huge bowl of buttery fried rice (maybe the best we have ever had) was placed before us as the Spicy Tuna On The Rocks arrived. Soon after, the Teppanyaki White Shrimp appetizer was served and turned out to be the only disappointment of the entire meal. While it was delicious, and perfectly cooked, it was extremely difficult and messy to get out of the shell to eat. We would have preferred a peeled shrimp appetizer. The Spicy Tuna On The Rocks (not pictured), however, was delicious.

Our next course was the grilled vegetables (below) after which Chef Ronoldo began preparing the meat courses.

The seafood dishes were prepared first, then the grilled chicken, and finally, the filet mignon. You can see the huge chunks of beef being prepared below.

The final meat course shown below was perfectly cooked and seasoned (I had already eaten all of my vegetables). We were both already getting full before our protein course arrived. Rickee could not even finish half of her steak and chicken. I somehow was able to power through and finish all of mine.

*Filet Mignon and Spiced Grilled Chicken*

And finally, dessert. We each received a Bento Box with six different desserts including Green Tea Ice Cream (top left). The little chocolate truffle (center bottom) was my favorite.

In summary, our dinner at Bonsai Teppanyaki was one of the most fun and delicious meals we have ever had on a cruise ship (remember, we have been on more than 130 cruises!). The food was excellent, service crisp and friendly, and all at a very reasonable price. Your next Carnival cruise will not be complete without a visit to Bonsai Teppanyaki.

NOTE: They are also open for lunch.