What is this on grill?

[plener]

what in the world is this?--on youtube search for chinese fried rice--you will see a cook using a grill that has a stainless vent like attachment on grill apx 6 inches by 3 feet by 5 inches high with numerous slits on it. he is reaching over it to fry some eggs. Any idea what this is?--Looks like a vent to me but why in the front instead of the back. If so what if any are the advantages or disadvantages--if yu cannot find it i have a photo of it- and can post to flickr if needed
tia
peter

 

[GLC]

This one, I suspect.
how to prepare fried rice, chinese style - YouTube

It looks to me like it's a station in a restaurant set up where customers sit opposite the cook, so they can watch the show. A vent in the usual position would obstruct their view or at least spoil he feeling of intimacy with the cooking operation and would make it difficult for him to serve. An overhead vent probably wouldn't keep the customers from getting too much vapor from the grill and would be noisy. So the cook gets to work over the vent on his side.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I think there is a little person in there telling him what to do.

 

[msmofet]

It looks like a Japanese hibachi steakhouse. They cook on a super hot griddle. The vents draw the heat down and away from the surface rather than an above vent hood. The customers are seated on 3 sides of the "cook top"

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

It's a teppan, Japanese style cooking grill. Read this Wikipedia article on teppanyaki. As msmofet says, customers sit around three sides while the chef cooks and entertains them. Typically he cooks shrimp, vegetables, chicken, beef, fried rice, etc. Appetizers are cooked and served first and then you enjoy them while the chef is cooking dinner. Everything can be made on this one cooking surface.