Shogun Hibachi opens in Plainville offering Japanese food, boba drinks – Hartford Courant

Japanese food and boba drinks came to East Street in Plainville on October 12 when Shogun Hibachi opened in the vacant spot once occupied by Sweet Basil Thai.

Manager Tina Wang, from Fujin, China, said the restaurant team researched restaurants in the city before opening Shogun Hibachi.

“We saw what they were selling, their portion sizes and we worked together on the menu to do something no one else had,” said Wang, who lives in Bristol.

The restaurant already has regular customers and popular dishes. “The most favorite is the hibachi filet mignon, and a lot of people order the Shogun Emperor Deluxe, which is for two people, lots of food,” she said. “One person keeps coming in and says, ‘I want to eat here every night’.”

Wang is particularly proud of the restaurant’s homemade Yum Yum sauce – the recipe is secret – which is served with every hibachi dish. “Everything tastes good on its own, but when you put the sauce on, it tastes a little different, a little better,” she said. “I eat it every day on my noodles.”

Unlike many hibachi restaurants, Shogun’s chefs work in a closed kitchen, not among customers. The restaurant, decorated with iconographic Japanese murals on the walls and lovely Japanese hanging lamps, seats several dozen people and does a lively take-out business.

Hibachi entrees range from $20 for vegetables and $35 for lobster. Options also include chicken, shrimp, calamari, sirloin, scallops, salmon, and filet mignon.

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Two-protein combos and “emperor dinners,” in a variety of combinations, range from $23 to $37. “Ocean’s Treasure”, a combination of scallops, lobsters and shrimp, sells for $40. “Shogun Emperor’s Deluxe,” a meal for two with scallops, lobster, shrimp, and filet mignon, is $60.

All hibachi entrees come with soup, salad, vegetables, two pieces of shrimp, noodles, fried rice, and yum yum sauce.

Lunchtime hibachi bento boxes — with salad, soup, rice and vegetables — range from $10.95 for vegetables to $12.95 for steak or scallop, and also include chicken, shrimp and salmon. A two-protein bento costs $15.95.

Smaller entrees include fried rice and noodles from $10.95 to $15.95. Entrees and sides, from $3 to $11.95, include salads, soups, harumaki, gyoza, shumai, edamame, crab rangoon and coconut shrimp.

Boba teas, at $5.50, come in peach, mango, strawberry, pineapple, taro, Earl Grey, lychee and red bean. Desserts, at $5.95, are tempura cheesecake and mochi ice cream.

Shogun Hibachi, at 33 East St. in Plainville, is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9:30 p.m. shogunplainville.com.

Susan Dunne can be contacted at [email protected]rant.com.