Japanese Dinner Outting HELP ME!!!

Hey everyone .. I really need ALL of your help.  I feel as if I have hit a road block in the whole dieting mechanism! Help me!

Right now I am away at a convention, tommorw evening they have organized a dinner at "The Tokoyo Diner".

This is the website http://www.tokyodinerpa.com/TOKYO%20DINER%20L ANCASTER/hibachi.html

PLEASE HELP ME!!! I NEVER ate Japanese Food in my life (although I do not like sushi so ignore those food options) Which is the best option? Ideally I want the one LOWEST in calories !!!! HELP! I cannot find nutritional values anywhere for this food! I'm really scared and don't want to be eatting 1100 calories just for dinner! thasts insane! please help!!!

on the left side of the webpage.. there is the hibachi dinner menu, then also the kitchen menu.  Please look at both and give me your suggesttions.

What is TEMPURA? Is that just vegetableS? Whould that be low cals/good option? Or maybe ordering one of the fish dishes.. hibachi salmon or salmon tempura or terikya salmon (whats the difference or what does it mean hibachi salmon and tempura salmon")

PLEASE HELP. WhiCH IS LOW CAL/FAT & BEST OPTION! ITS TOMMORW NITE AND I"M FREAKINGGGGGGGGG OUT! Theres no salad or anything for me to slide by with! I'm scared!

HELP THANKS IN ADVANCE !!! :)

ps. if anyone has a website for these foods with nutritional values pleaes share!

is there ANYTHING GOOD? maybe i should just order one of the appetitzers as my main course! although it mite be embrassing, but does that seem like the best option????

ahhhhhhhh

tempura means fried in batter so avoid.....hibachi just means that it's cooked on the grill in front of you...generally healthier...I'd start with edamame (steamed soybeans) a bowl of miso soup and then have the hibachi salmon (or other fish) with veggies! It's easy peasy to eat healthy japanese food!!

I know tempura means fried...so I would lay off the tempura if you're concerned about calories. The good thing about japanese food is the portions are usually pretty small. Dont feel bad asking the waiter what are some of the lighter or grilled options on the menu. They know a lot of people aren't familiar with japanese restaurants and should be more than accomodating to point you in the right diretion and give suggestions.

Damn, now I'm craving sushi! *jealous of agavioli going to a japanese restaurant*

is the hibatchi salmon healthier then the terikya salmon? sorry im SOOOO unfamiliar with japanese food! i apologize.

so i'll avoid the tempura menu. stick to the hibatchi menu. do u think I should order an appetitzer instead of a large dinner size portion?

how many calories are in the hibatchi salmon? and miso soup?

is the hibatchi veggetable option better? im so lost with counting calories and the best option.  hibatchi tuna?

or just order a appetitzer? tuna sashimi or the seaweed salad?

r the hibachi choices beetter then the terriyaki choices? or the other way around???  im lost.

thanks agai for ur help.

Japnese food is actually good for you...less greasy and feels clean and light...just avoid tempura and try other stuff in moderation...

Don't binge...

Just be adventurous! Do you see many overweighted Japnese?

That well explains the food...as long as you are not over eat everything, just keep it in moderation and try something new!

hmms, i don't think the teriyaki would be the best choice since teriyaki sauces are quite high in calories. in my opinion, the hibatchi vegetable & the noodle with vegetable (choose the Soba noodle & soup option!) are the best choices. but i'd rather go with the noodle since there's no frying involved

Japanese food is healthy...and yummy!

Here's some info on Miso Soup - http://www.metrokc.gov/health/nutrition/recip es/misosoup.htm

I definitely recommend the soup, edamame, hibachi vegetables.  Also, veggie sushi is much different than fish sushi...so if that whole raw fish thing freaks you out a bit, try a cucumber roll (called "kappa maki")...see if you can get it with brown rice, instead of white rice.

enjoy!

sorry for keeping asking about the food options. im just so lost.

please look at the link to the menu I showed above.

should I order the hibachi vegetables or hibachi salmon/fish? which is better... on the website site it says all main dishes come with rice & onion soup & hibachi vegetable...is onion soup like french onion soup? because if it is that wouldn't be a good option??? are hibachi vegetables steamed? boiled?

which is the best option


someone mentioned the noodle option that is prepared two ways soup or yake i dont know what either means . I'm thinking the hibachi options would be better because well noodles isnt always the healthiest...

sooo one more question does hibachi just mean steamed.? so if i were to order hibachi vegetables i basically just get steamed vegetables or if i order the hibachi salmon basically salmon broiled???

and PLEASE PLEASE CLARIFY THE SOUP OPTION.. does onion soup mean what i indicated above it means?

thanks everyone SO SO MUCH!

hey agavioli, ok first, take a nice deep breath!! of all those choices out there japanese is probably the easiest to find a healthy meal! i would say go for the hibachi menu. ask the waiter how it is prepared, and if they are using oils while cooking. i'm sure they'd be happy to accomodate and use less or none if asked. japanese soups in my experience are usually very light broth based soups. that onion soup isn't going to be the cheesy bready french onion soup you are used to. if you can, try substituting for a miso soup. miso soup is awesome and VERY low cal. like less than 50 cals. for a serving.

you mentioned sashimi, but said you don't like sushi. sashimi is straight up raw pieces of fish, so i'd steer clear of that one (even though that would be a low cal option!) someone else suggested trying out the vegetable "sushi" rolls, and i agree, the are delicious and have no raw fish! 

if you are embarrassed to ask about the preparation, then still go for the hibachi, and if it seems oily, just don't eat your whole portion. japanese food isn't like chinese food, so don't be so worried. have some soup to fill up before your entree. go easy on the rice and enjoy yourself! japanese food is fantastic!

Like others have already said, tempura is battered and deep fried, teryaki sauce has a lot of sugar in it, so it's really high in calories.  I don't usually order noodle dishes at Japanese restaurants because the noodles tend to be pretty high in calories, and the servings are usually big.  If you don't want to eat raw fish, don't order anything called sashimi.  I don't know what the onion soup will be like, but the miso is definitely low in calories, so I'd stick with that.

It looks like the hibachi dishes will be cooked right in front of you at the table, so you could order the salmon or the vegetables and just ask them not to use any oil.  Generally, they'll ladle a bunch of oil onto the grill to cook whatever was ordered, but you can ask them not to do that.  Miso soup and edamame are great options.  (if you've never eaten edamame before, they are soybeans. they look like peas in the pod, kind of.  you just eat the beans inside the pod, you don't eat the pod.  although i don't see them on the menu, which is odd for a japanese restaurant.)

I would probably order:

the seaweed salad appetizer
miso soup
cucumber roll

I know what you mean when you say it's embarrassing to order side dishes and appetizers instead of full meals, but you deserve to eat exactly what you want and it's no one else's business.  Besides, you can always say that since you're new to Japanese food, you'd rather sample several little things! 

My nutritionist and I spend a lot of time talking about why I shouldn't be embarrassed or shy to ask restaurants to make some accomodations for me.  As long as you ask nicely, they're always happy to do it.  It's my own shame and guilt about eating that causes me to be shy and not ask for what I want, which is no good at all!  None of us should be ashamed to eat, or to ask for exactly what we want (nicely, of course).

Have fun!

thank you SO MUCH everyone! I know I was over reacting a bit. but its hard wen ur new to it all.

So I think I am going to stick to the hibatchi menu.. its says it comes with rice & onion soup I'll ask if they can substitute miso soup for the onion soup.. and in regards to which hibatchi dish would u say is lowest in cals or the best option out of the followig choices... chicken, shrimp, salmon, tuna, vegetables....(all hibatchi ) of course.

any idea how many cals are in any of those options I know the miso soup is only lik 60 some what calories but the chicken/salmon/shrimp hibatchi any ideas??

thanks again I'll let u know how it goes tonight!

ur all the greatest. any last minute help/suggestions/ or answers would be greatly appreciated!

THANKS :)

I know what you mean when you say it's embarrassing to order side dishes and appetizers instead of full meals, but you deserve to eat exactly what you want and it's no one else's business.  Besides, you can always say that since you're new to Japanese food, you'd rather sample several little things!

plus, Japanese meals usually consist of many small plates, especially with sushi.

I just got back from dinner! It was NOT small portions and healthy! It reminded me 100% of chinese food! ALL OILED UP!!! I'm kinda upset after I so well planned out before what I was gonna do.

I order miso soup (low cals- small portion-good choice).. then I ordered the Hibatchi Salmon .. which came with vegetables, salmon and fried rice... I did not eat any of the rice (it had LOADS AND LOADS oF OIL.. they cooked it right in front of us).. Then they gave us two pieces of salmon which I ate both.. and I ate all the vegetables.. but the vegetables were all LATTERED UP in oil and sauces and oh mann I'm so dissapointed.

It doesn't sound like a lot of food.. but I feel SO STUFFFED LIKE IM GONNA BLOW!.. I wonder how many cals this entire meal was?? ANY IDEAS????  I asked them to prepare the salmon with no oil.. but they did it right in front of us and it seemed to be prepared exactly as the others were (it seemed ALL OILED UP TOO) ...

I want to thank everyone for all your support and help before I went to dinner you all are so wonderful and I'm glad I got your support before hand.. after leaving the restaurant it reminded me of eatting chinese food .. very greasy and fulling..

ANY IDEAS of how many cals I consumed in that meal? salmon, miso soup, veggies.

thanks everyone

YOU ROCK :)

That sounds like a very Westernised Japanese meal. I think I've been to Tokyo Diner (or maybe it was Ichiban); it was not very authentic. The staff are all Chinese!

In Japan, you'd normally have:

white rice (160 ml raw rice, so about 1.5 cups cooked)
grilled fish seasoned with salt or miso - 100 -150 grams
salt-pickled vegetables
one or two other vegetable dishes (about 1/4 cup each at most)
soup, miso or clear soup depending on the season and menu

This typical meal is common in restaurants across Japan and also often eaten at home. Very standard in portion size. Calories for a meal like this range from 600-1000 depending on the fish, its preparation and the type of vegetable dishes.

I'm sorry you have a bad opinion of Japanese food now and are feeling so awful, but what you ate was definitely not Japanese expect in name.

For future reference you can ask for white or brown steamed rice instead of the fried rice they make. Also, as someone pointed out above, you can request that your food is cooked with no oil :) Although I haven't personally requested that at hibachi (only been twice), I can't imagine they'd mind. I know the time I went and got it w/o the fried rice they cooked mine separately from everyone else's...so it shouldn't be a problem :)

i completely agree with mediatinker!  fried rice is definitely not a Japanese staple nor is all that oil.

bummer about the bad meal...maybe try going to a good japanese restaurant in your area to see what the food is really like.  

That does not sound like Japanese food .... Sorry to hear your first venture to a Japanese cuisinine was not an authentic one. I eat Japanese food almost all the time.

Japanese cuisine (REAL one) is light and simple. Think about the Japanese Zen garden. A lot of Japanese food in US has been Americanized *yuck* ... That means the restaurant owners tried to reach to US/western customer who is used to heavier taste and fattier dishes.

A good indication of a Japanese retaurant is to see who are the constituents. If mostly non japanese or non asian, I would stay away from that place :p  (except Nobu/Matsuhisa's of course)

I'm with mediatinker & sweet_tart: actual Japanese food IS light, and in small portions, having been stationed there myself, to see the so-called 'Japanese' restaurants is somewhat of a disappointment. 

 Even the fast food there is in smaller portions, and though they may offer sodas (usually melon soda or coke), it's gonna be more pricier than tea, and definitely water. In fact, in most restuarants, the tea is offered off the bat like a glass of water is here.  The soda sizes are 2x SMALLER than the sodas here--they can fill 2 or 3 of thier cups easily. It was a big shock when we got a 'small' soda from White castle, and it was still about 4 onces more than the Japanese large!

And like someone said here, most of the restuarants here are run by Chinese or Korean.  Though I love both foods!