Walking out of Teppan Edo because there is no fried rice . . .

[walkdmc]

LOL, I guess they really wanted fried rice?

Or, they may have seen the prices and decided to leave based on that but used the fried rice as an excuse?

It almost seems comical (sorry it delayed your service). I can imagine DH thinking "wow, this place is expensive"....I'll ask if they have fried rice and when they tell me "no", we'll leave, just follow me.

 

[Tgtown]

I'm half Korean (mother), so I grew up eating different styles of Asian food. My wife didn't. We have 2 DDs one loves Asian food the other doesn't. When we do eat Asian food DW an DD that doesn't care for Asian food will order chicken fried rice as their meal. So if it had been us we would have left also. No reason to stay at a restaurant where their is nothing on the menu that a member of your ( their) party will eat.

 

[plien69]

Maybe they had kids with them and fried rice is the only thing they would eat?

This.

I can easily see a situation where their kids really wanted fried rice. Perhaps the kids were "bribed" with the prospect of fried rice in return for an "ethnic" dining experience, and when they checked the menu out front, maybe they thought the restaurant could make it for them. After all, Disney is known for great customer service and going above and beyond, right? When they found out that fried rice wasn't available at the hibachi table, they politely left.

 

[Music City Mama]

LOL, I guess they really wanted fried rice?

Or, they may have seen the prices and decided to leave based on that but used the fried rice as an excuse?

It almost seems comical (sorry it delayed your service). I can imagine DH thinking "wow, this place is expensive"....I'll ask if they have fried rice and when they tell me "no", we'll leave, just follow me.

Thanks for the giggle!

This.

I can easily see a situation where their kids really wanted fried rice. Perhaps the kids were "bribed" with the prospect of fried rice in return for an "ethnic" dining experience, and when they checked the menu out front, maybe they thought the restaurant could make it for them. After all, Disney is known for great customer service and going above and beyond, right? When they found out that fried rice wasn't available at the hibachi table, they politely left.

I think this is a good point -- thanks for your take on it.

Re: picky eaters . . . I guess I just usually associate picky eaters with liking blander type foods (like my older DS and other picky eaters I know) – since fried rice often has peas, onions and eggs, I would have thought good ol’ plain sticky white rice would hardly be offensive to anyone. Contrary to what someone said above, I don’t consider white rice a “new experience”. But if you have your heart set on something and/or are horribly disgusted by white rice, by all means, you should not feel obligated to eat there. Glad they left – we were seated next to a lovely family from PA instead.

I don’t think you should eat what you don’t like or what you’re not expecting, I was just surprised that the lack of fried rice would actually make them get up and go as it’s more of a side dish (for most people anyway), but point taken that some people may want to make that their meal.

And just for clarification purposes, I was not bent out of shape about this at all. Just thought it was odd and was hoping to get some feedback here. Not only did some of the responses here help me see their viewpoint, I learned that they serve fried rice at some Japanese restaurants, and this thread appears to have helped some other people out by knowing not to make an ADR at Teppan Edo now.

 

[smiths02]

Not having fried rice is seriously one of the reasons why I will probably never consider an ADR there. (Even though I like steamed white rice, I feel like I can get grilled steak and white rice anywhere around home)

We have a hibachi place near us (well maybe 30 miles away) that serves fried rice...only the fried rice has bacon, eggs, and butter (yes, I know this is not authentic...this is why people in GA are fat and people in Japan are not ). I have only been there 4 times, but I have seen people order double fried rice as their entree every time we've been there.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I never get people when they won't go to a restaurant because of the lack of a single menu item.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

I don't find it odd at all. We have several picky eaters in our family, and we have often been to restaurants that have only ONE item on the menu that a given kid would eat. I assure you, had that one item been missing, we would leave the restaurant.

Last year, one of DD's friends accompanied us to WDW. We had a lunch reservation for San Angel Inn. After being seated and handed our menus, the friend said, "I wish I liked Mexican food!" I was surprised that she hadn't mentioned it before we arrived, but I got up and politely informed the hostess we would be leaving. They all looked at us as if we had two heads, but I wasn't going to force someone to sit and watch while we ate, or pay for food that went untouched.

 

[mmtska]

I'm not really surprised, but it stinks that you had to wait. On the plus side , people from PA rock lol!

As for the lack of fried rice-doesn't bother me because I think it's nasty. I can see why they don't have it as it really isn't authentic. Any hibachi place I've been to in Japan didn't have it unless it was something you paid for extra. And most places didn't have it at all.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Some of the teppanyaki places around here do fried rice so maybe that had been this couple's experience.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We have a hibachi place near us (well maybe 30 miles away) that serves fried rice...only the fried rice has bacon, eggs, and butter (yes, I know this is not authentic...this is why people in GA are fat and people in Japan are not ).

Have you actually asked if that's butter? The places I've been to in several different cities I believe use lard which does look a lot like butter.

Hmm.... I think I need to add bacon the next time I make it at home. That sounds yummy!!

 

[LeahA]

I think this is beyond strange. A couple of weeks ago, we had an ADR at Teppan Edo. The other family sitting with us was studying the menu and asked if they had fried rice. They were told 'no', in Japan, it's customary to serve steamed rice and that they couldn't get fried rice. Well, not only were they disappointed with this news, but they actually made the decision to leave the restaurant. Needless to say, our service was slowed down while another family was shown to our table, they had a chance to review the menu, etc.

We were in shock that not having fried rice (doesn't everyone know this? ) was an actual deal breaker for them. Okay, deal breaker if finding out ahead of time, I guess, but a deal breaker after you're already seated? Just thought that was bizarre. What do you think?

LOL! I would've never walked out. An ADR is an ADR!

 

[snykymom]

I think it is a little strange because it is over a side dish, not any change or difference in the entrees. To me, that's like booking Le Cellier for a nice steak dinner and then walking out because the cream cheese potatoes aren't being served.

But many people on these boards have posted about not going to Jiko's because the mac & cheese that used to come with the filet was taken off the menu. What's the difference? Only that the people here knew about it before they made an ADR.

I think this is a good point -- thanks for your take on it.

Re: picky eaters . . . I guess I just usually associate picky eaters with liking blander type foods (like my older DS and other picky eaters I know) – since fried rice often has peas, onions and eggs, I would have thought good ol’ plain sticky white rice would hardly be offensive to anyone. Contrary to what someone said above, I don’t consider white rice a “new experience”. But if you have your heart set on something and/or are horribly disgusted by white rice, by all means, you should not feel obligated to eat there. Glad they left – we were seated next to a lovely family from PA instead.

I don’t think you should eat what you don’t like or what you’re not expecting, I was just surprised that the lack of fried rice would actually make them get up and go as it’s more of a side dish (for most people anyway), but point taken that some people may want to make that their meal.

And just for clarification purposes, I was not bent out of shape about this at all. Just thought it was odd and was hoping to get some feedback here. Not only did some of the responses here help me see their viewpoint, I learned that they serve fried rice at some Japanese restaurants, and this thread appears to have helped some other people out by knowing not to make an ADR at Teppan Edo now.

There's one other point - perhaps these diners figured that if something that they're used to isn't offered because it's "not authentic," that they might not like the rest of the authentic preparation? If they were expecting a hibachi like they got at home, how would they know that the sauces they wanted would be the same? Maybe the ones at home aren't "authentic" either?

It could be the difference between the Mexican food you can get in Mexico v. the "Mexican" food you can get here in New England - often very different, and people who like one are often disappointed in the other.

So it may have been more than "it's just a side dish." It actually could have affected the ingredient content of the entire meal.

 

[chartle]

It could be the difference between the Mexican food you can get in Mexico v. the "Mexican" food you can get here in New England - often very different, and people who like one are often disappointed in the other.

So it may have been more than "it's just a side dish." It actually could have affected the ingredient content of the entire meal.

+1 Many times when people post they like Mexican food and are planning to eat at any of the places in Mexico, people will post back that the food there is not the normal Tex-Mex they most likely get at home and they really need to look at the menus.

I wonder how many people book either of the sit downs there and don't look at the menus on online or even the ones posted outside and wonder where all the cheddar cheese, lettuce and chimichungas are.

 

[jcvalenti]

I can understand their frustration. I tried Jiko last trip and wanted spaghetti and meatballs and they said they couldn't make that. We left. Now we drive to the McDonald's at the travel center every night so we can all get what we're used to.

/ joking, of course. Some people ...

 

[Uncleromulus]

Interesting (to me anyway) that the entire focus was on fried rice--when there were scallops, steak, shrimp, chicken, etc that would probably have been delicious.

 

[JimmyV]

Interesting (to me anyway) that the entire focus was on fried rice--when there were scallops, steak, shrimp, chicken, etc that would probably have been delicious.

Just a guess. But this might have been yet another example of allowing one picky eater to force the entire family to change their plans no matter how much they were looking forward to those delicious offerings you mentioned.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We are several Japanese Habachi grill type restaurants here in WPB, Fl and I've eaten at 3 and guess what they all have fried rice w/ egg, shrimp, chicken! They make it right there on the flat top with their spatulas in front of you! Not every traveler peruses a menu before making a reservation and sitting down to eat! So, yes, probably a conversation starter when they all got up and left, it's not that big a deal!

I prefer them leaving over the lack of fried rice rather than leaving because they saw a bug or something!

 

[JenKatt]

I'm just glad I didn't get up and leave the hibachi places we went to in Australia and Europe when they didn't make what I was use to. I would have missed out on some of the best food ever (I still couldn't do the shrimp heads though, a little too much for me - but a delicacy to many in the traditional sense)

 

[dvcdisney]

We're used to white rice when we go to teppanyaki style dining. I'm the opposite, I'm quite surprised when they serve fried rice. I don't really think that goes with the food.

My children always asks if they can just have white rice. I usually try the fried rice, but I'd prefer the white rice as well.

For chinese food, I can have either fried rice or white rice. I think the food goes well with either.

 

[Kudrah]

I haven't had time to read the whole thread, but wanted to say that at all 3 Teppanayki places here they have fried rice.

My other thought is that they may have had a very picky eater in the group who HAD to have fried rice or it would have been a bad scene. My goddaughter is autistic and likes things a certain way and will only eat certain things from certain restaurants...

I don't know...just don't judge, I guess is what I'm saying. I would have been surprised that there wasn't fried rice there, either, since I've gotten it at every other Teppan-style place I've ever gone to.