Semiotics Analysis of a Meal at Aka Teppan Restaurant

Running head: SEMIOTICS ANAYLSIS OF A MEAL

            Semiotics Analysis of a Meal at Aka Teppan Restaurant

According to Daniel (2007) “Food is a clear manifestation of the interaction of nature and culture”. Food as a representative of the daily necessities are also significant with symbolic meaning. The Aka Teppan is a restaurant that serves Western-Japanese style meal, and this restaurant demonstrated the idea of elegant that combine with two cultures. The element of elegant restaurant is not only related with ingenious food, but it also important in services. This analysis will concentrate on the two following terms: 1 Visual coding of the restaurant. 2. The meaning of a meal in denotation, connotation and myth.

  The ambiance of the Aka Teppan restaurant is black and white. These two dominated colors convey the core concept of restaurant is simple constructed. The visual coding of black and white are clear and easy, and it convey the theme of quite. Another example is the color of outer cover paper of Teppan is red. The common sense of the red is danger, and indicate be careful or caution. As Daniel argued Roman Jakobson’s point “ Since the meaning of a sign depends on the code within which it is situated, code provide a framework within which signs make sense” (2007). The initial red is a sort of colors, but it situated in the Teppan at restaurant, it makes danger as a common sense and convey the idea of caution or protect yourself to customers. Its behavior shows Aka Teppan is considerable, and also it expresses the idea of best serves for customers.    

  As mentioned above Aka Teppan is a Western-Japanese style restaurant; therefore, the order of serving the meal is following western culture as drinks, appetizers, main dishes and optional deserts. Barley tea as traditional tea of Japanese could be the first

served. When Barley tea is as a signifer, it signified brown hot water contained by a small cup on the denotation level. And this is Japanese convention that would like drink it before the meal, and it signified Japan at connotation level. And following serving is appetizer- vegetable salad. Denotation indicates greens and mixed with baked red salmon that contained by the big Japanese imagined bowl. And its connotation will be Japan, according to the knowledge- Salmon is a representative food in Japan. Third order is main dishes, which denotation is brown dark ox tongue and baked small amount hamburg steak teppan steak with lots of osaka barbecue, and small amount of white rice on the top. If main dishes are signifer, then connotation conveyed the idea is unique combination with Western-Japanese styles, because hamburg steak is generally Western culture food; however, ox tongue and osaka sauce are basically from Japanese culture. If the statements mentioned above denotation and connotation of each order dishes as signifer; there is a common myth in this completed meal that signified to customers will be the friendship between western and eastern countries. “Food categories mapped on to categories of social differentiation” (Daniel, 2007). As the knowledge that people learned about the culture food is clear distinguished. This restaurant is combination with Japanese and Western culture that creative the new foods, which is ingenious, but it also expresses the friendship in two different cultures.