Hanahana is situated on the edge of Newcastle's Chinatown area, close to the heart of the city centre.
It's main focus is tep-pan yaki -- diners sit around larger hot tables where the chef cooks the food before your eyes and passes it straight to your plate. As a result of this method, the restaurant is filled with cooking fumes that stay on your clothes. For tep-pan yaki, I would recommend going in a group of at least six people. The restaurant also offers sushi and sashimi -- for this, you sit at an ordinary table towards the rear of the restaurant. Sadly, they seem to prefer to concentrate on the tep-pan yaki and are less keen to provide sushi at weekends because most of the chefs are busy at the hot plates. A sushi or sashimi selection will cost around £15 and hot and cold starters cost around £4.
As well as a variety of sakes, you can also get Asahi beer by the bottle (around £3) and a full selection of other beers and spirits. The carpaccio-style beef is terrific and the tempura is also good. Desserts are limited and tend to be ice cream based. The service is okay, but we felt a little rushed. The interior is nothing special but is clean and comfortable.
I would recommend Hahahana for tep-pan yaki, but for sushi, you may prefer to eat somewhere that offers only sushi and sashimi.