While I sat in one of my favorite restaurants, I thought ?how monotonous.? This began my search for a new dining experience and took me to Sakanaya. This Japanese tepanyaki restaurant, at the northeast corner of Friant and Ft. Washington, focuses on fresh ingredients and adds a twist to the traditional serving style.

The Fresno favorite means ?fish house? in Japanese and seems to be just that. As I walked in there immediately stood a koi pond, then I was meet by a hostess wearing an authentic kimono.

Owner Sung Jung along, with his wife, Mon, moved from Korea 25 years ago. Along with their son, Young, they opened their first restaurant in Visalia called Tokyo Teriyaki. Three years ago, they opened Sakanaya, which seemed to be an instant success.

Artwork of Japanese fishing boats, temples and Samurai line the eatery. It is furnished with earth toned furniture, including bamboo, a water fountain and rock tile. The restaurant is split into sections: sushi bar, tepanyaki and regular sitting.

My two friends and I decided to go try tepanyaki. The chefs perform numerous tricks as they juggle and flip utensils and ingredients to transform an ordinary eating experience into entertainment. The chef conversed with us while cooking; he was funny and made the time waiting for our meal pass quickly. Time cooking depends on which food is ordered and party size, but our meals took approximately 30 minutes.

We all ordered the teriyaki ?Dinner Deluxe Combination? for $18.95, which I think is reasonable because it comes with soup, rice, tempura, chicken wings or one of the dinner entrees. This also includes one more item from their list (four pieces of sushi, eight pieces of California roll, two egg rolls, eight pieces of spicy tuna). This plate easily feeds two guests.

In the past, I have not liked miso soup, but enjoyed theirs due to the lower salt content. It was garnished with cubed tofu and diced onions. I enjoyed the simplicity of the salad. It consisted of iceberg lettuce and was served with a homemade orange dressing.

For my main course I ordered the teriyaki chicken with tempura. The chicken was tender and moist; the sauce was delicious, but did not overpower the chicken. The tempura complemented the dish well, as it was crisp and not greasy.

Teppanyaki dinners can reach $38.95, for seafood combinations with lobster, shrimp and scallops. The dinner entrees provided are less expensive, ranging from $13.95 to $16.95. This plate offers beef, chicken, salmon or filet mignon, along with tempura, chicken katsu and saba shioyaki.

My only criticism was I felt the service could have been quicker, after the meal was prepared. Despite my only discrepancy, I loved my meal and my party agrees. One of my friends recommends the shrimp and the fried rice. Sakanaya does not provide free refills for soft drinks, priced at $1 each.

Although our bill for three came out to approximately $60, I would recommend this restaurant for special occasions due to the prices. Jung?s attention to fresh flavor impressed me, because it also seemed to focus on simplicity. I sought an interesting, new dining experience and I found it at Sakanaya.

The lunch hours are 11 A.M.-2:30 P.M., (Mon-Fri), dinner hours are 5 P.M.-9:30 (Mon-Thurs), 4:30 P.M.-10 (Fri-Sat) and 4:30 P.M.-9:30 (Sun). For more information call Sakanaya at (559) 433-6607.