Not sure how things ended up this way for the Katong neighbourhood but it is interesting to note that there is apparently more than one food court stall serving up Teppanyaki fare as a core focus around the East Coast Road area. While the SG Hawker food court at i12 Katong had recently welcomed the addition of the new Formosa Hotplate that focuses on serving up Taiwanese-style hotplate style dishes, the Golden Cafe food court at the basement of Katong Shopping Centre sees the addition of the new Hoppy Teppan. Unlike Formosa Hotplate however, Hoppy Teppan describes itself as an establishment that is more of a Japanese influence — the closest thing that comes to mind when one mentions “Japanese” and “hotplate” would be that of Pepper Lunch. Being just a stall in the food court, Hoppy Teppan occupies quite a prominent spot there, being the outermost stall which one would most likely see when entering the premises of the food court. With the entire menu at Hoppy Teppan being focused around their hotplate offerings, it is noted that Hoppy Teppan allows patrons to opt between rice and noodles for their choice of carbs — the menu is otherwise segmented into sections based on the type of meat that one opts to have; think categories such as USDA Beef, USDA Chuck Flap Tail, Seafood, USDA Shoulder Clod (yes, mentioned this way in the menu), Iberico Pork, Chicken, Vegetarian and Fried Rice.

We have always thought that opting for rice for such dishes would make things inherently a little heavy; we found ourselves going for the noodles for our order of the USDA Beef Mince Patty Teppan Noodle. The menu does describe the item to come with two pieces of USDA Beef Mince Patty; think of these as Hamburg patties. Other elements that come with the dish would include a sunny side egg, nibs of corn and edamame. There is a sprinkle of Furikake above the noodles, while the dish also does come with a bit of sauce that puddles at the bottom of the plate. Accompanying the USDA Beef Mince Patty Teppan Noodle on the side would be Kimchi, as well as a bowl of soup. One of the key differences with the teppan noodle dish at Hoppy Teppan against that of other establishments would be the type of noodles that they have opted for — if anything, the noodles here comes springy almost in the form of what one would expect from instant noodles, though the noodles are also a little broader that makes it close to, but not exactly replicating that of a Mee Pok. Considering so, the noodles do lack that slight chewiness that typically comes from the more burnt parts of the noodles that one can find in the typical Taiwanese-style hotplate noodles. The USDA Beef Mince Patty were actually done with a pinkish centre; the doneness of the beef was actually at quite a sweet spot when it first arrived the table — juicy in the middle and tender inside with a charred, crusted exterior.

We did note that the texture of the beef changes over time however due to the beef being gradually cooked further over time — the minced garlic over the top helps to alleviate the issue a little. We did feel that the hotplate was served at a temperature slightly hotter than optimal though; the sunny side up was pretty much fully-cooked. That being said, it was just a little short of being charred; definitely works to mix it in a little before digging in to avoid having stuck at the bottom of the Teppan. The nibs of sweet corn and edamame helped to add a bite, though the corn nibs also gave an extra sweetness and balanced the flavours of the dish. The sauce is mostly puddling around the same area of the hotplate — the sauce comes with a slight sweetness, tanginess and savouriness whilst carrying a similar hint of peppery notes akin to that of Pepper Lunch’s offering; albeit more mild since it seems to be more sprinkled on than incorporated with the sauce, though still delivering quite a kick considering how coarse the peppery bits are. Hoppy Teppan might be a spot that seems to serve up hotplate dishes on first impression; that being said, we do feel that expectations would need to managed especially if one is expecting something akin to that of a Taiwanese-style hotplate dish — the dishes that Hoppy Teppan is a little different even for their noodle offerings, and they there is certainly some room for improvement especially when it comes to temperature of which the hotplate comes at. With prices of most of their hotplate fare being priced around the $8.50 to $18 range, they are an okay choice for the curious, though not one to make an out-of-the-way visit for.