Shima offers tranquil experience
DINING OUT
Shima, which means “lake,” is a Japanese restaurant as tranquil as
its name.
This is strictly teppan and sushi -- no booths here. The single
store front has a 10-stool sushi counter stretching across the back
and four well-spaced teppan tables at the entrance.
It is here, at the U-shaped teppan, that Chef David Perez will
prepare your order of chicken, fish or steak, which manager/server
Marlene Young takes. But first, she brings a cloudy miso soup with
tofu cubes, seaweed and onion served in sipping bowls or a fresh
mixed green salad with thick Japanese ginger dressing and ice tea or
tumblers of hot tea ($1.75).
Then, in red toque and two big sharp knives belted at his side,
Chef David enters pushing a cart of seasoning oil, soy and butter. As
the exhaust tunnels roar above, he prepares the hot steel grill.
He begins spinning two eggs on the grill, picking them up with his
spatula and quickly slicing them as they drop to the grill.
Scrambling the eggs and dumping a bowl of finely diced vegetables on
the grill, he mixes them together with a bowl of steamed rice to
present a finished mound of delicious fried rice ( $1 extra) ready to
serve on each diner’s plate. On Valentine’s Day, Chef David shaped
the rice into a heart and,with a spatula beneath, made it beat.
The preparation is fun to watch and a great way to introduce
children to Japanese cooking.
Next, the chef fixes two small dishes of dipping sauce and checks
each diner’s order. On the grill, he places a 2-inch-thick small
filet mignon (lunch $9.95, dinner $17.25), 10 pale tail-on shrimp
(lunch $7.75, dinner $16.95), two pieces of fish (lunch $7.75, dinner
$15.95) and chicken (lunch $6.75, dinner $12.95), along with strips
of zucchini and carrots. Building a tower of onion slices, Chef David
pours oil, which he lights on fire. Turning and slicing with his
spatula, he takes his knife and cuts all into bite-sized cubes, easy
to dip in the sauces and manipulate with chopsticks, which he places
on each diner’s plate. It’s hot off the grill, well seasoned and
wonderful.
For dessert, there is green tea ice cream ($1.95) or, if you have
room, a perfect banana tempura ($4), which is easy to share -- four
slices of lightly coated banana centered by a scoop of vanilla ice
cream and covered with strawberry syrup on a chocolate-scrolled
plate.
Manager Sunny says her husband, Lim, began in the restaurant
business in Malaysia when he was 16. He was a chef in Pasadena before
being lured to Shima, which is owned by her family in Indonesia. They
chose Huntington Beach because “the people amaze us with their
friendliness.” Shima amazes us with its healthy, fresh and excellent
teppan.
* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have
comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail
hbindy@latimes.com.
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