Tadaima

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Daiso dining at home

A return student from Japan opened a Daiso-model (flat price merchandise in store) isakaya cum eatery, Tadaima, a few months ago in the hip Thonglo lifestyle hub. It offers Japanese izakaya cuisine with an authentic touch but may also please the Thai palate, at an eighty-eight Thai baht each (small portion) dish.



Tadaima Real Japanese Restaurant & Izakaya ***
LG/F Eight Thonglor
88/14 Sukhumvit 55 Road
(Thonglo Soi 8)
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.714.9883

Open daily : lunch 11 am - 3 pm, dinner 5 - 11 pm (Sat & Sun 11 am - 11 pm)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 900

Suikin

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Suikin 水琴

If you're in the mood for mouthwatering fresh (raw) fish and seafood, Suikin is the next best thing to a trip to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market. Occupying a tailor-built Japanese mansion near Bangkok downtown Ploenchit intersection, this cozy restaurant is built in ZEN exudes a relaxed and homespun atmosphere.

Suikin is the most comfortable izakaya (I’ve been to in quite awhile) with tasteful and modern zen decoration in a nice balance between luxury and casual, with stone surfaces and heavy wood adding an element of solidity. The atmosphere is intimate and cozy. You can take your dinner at the counter downstairs to join the action while you chat with the chefs, upstairs private rooms fitted with tatami let you feel like you're visiting friends or relatives at their house as you enjoy the best of the day's offer.

Although prices are a little more expensive than other izakayas in Bangkok, the food is nice and tasty so worth to dig the pocket deeper.

Fishes and sashimi are not the only focus here, the tofu remains the star. Suikin specializes in tofu dishes. Sukui Dofu was a fresh and fluffy homemade tofu. They make it fresh everyday and serve in front of you as soon as it's cooked. The Goua Dofu, homemade sesame paste tofu, was very interesting and made our palate quite happy. Mineoka Dofu was tofu with cheese, innovative and the taste was cheesy good. Kumage Yuba, homemade soymilk skin, an inviting alternative to the Chinese tofu skin. The star, Hiya Yakko (冷奴, chilled tofu), was homemade pressed tofu served chilled. This is a kind of basic tofu dish in any tofu specializing eateries. Simple, unpretentious, and delicious!

Besides the mouthwatering tofu dishes, my lunch with a friend included the Kaisen Don Soba Zen (B300++) consisting of diced sashimi sushi bowl and hot buckwheat noodle and the Gindara Udon Zen (B360++) consisting of grilled snow fish with teriyaki sauce and wheat noodle.

Suikin is for people who want to enjoy fine (Japanese) food and sake in a relaxed atmosphere. Its sake and shochu selection are extensive, a paradise for wine-and-dine lovers.

Our Ratings (1 to 5 the higher the better): Suikin has [4.1]
(Ratings are based on Food, Service and Ambience, with Price taken into account in relation to Quality) Food =4, Service=4, Ambiance=4.5, Money Worth=4

Price range for two without drinks (incl. local water) in Thai Baht = BBBB
(B=below 200, BB=201-500, BBB=501-1,000, BBBB=1,001-2,000, BBBBB=over 2,000)

Details: open daily lunch 11:30am-1:45pm, dinner 6-10pm
Suikin Japanese Restaurant, Embassy Park Plaza, Ploenchit Road, Bangkok; Tel.: 02-2522202

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AOI

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AOI 葵

Thailand the World Kitchen, slogan of the Tourism Authority of Thailand promoting Thai food a gourmet phenomenon to the world; indeed I agree that Thailand is already the Japanese Kitchen of the World, especially in Bangkok. All regions of Japanese cuisine and specialties are waiting for your appreciation conveniently in this charming city, even easier than doing the same in Tokyo. Our Japanese friends always visit Bangkok and Phuket for few rounds of golf, or scuba diving, and then enjoy the evening with us in a Japanese restaurant from a list of unlimited choices. My friends always remind me that a decent (Japanese) dinner in Bangkok cost only half while dine same in Tokyo. So it worth them paying air fares and a few hours of flight for the joy of gourmet, and, of course tee off.

AOI arrived Bangkok humbly 2 decades ago with the emphasis of authentic Japanese cuisine the traditional way, even the decoration of AOI is classic. Although AOI tends to be a family restaurant but due to the high quality of ingredients some even flown in fresh from the Tokyo’s Tuskiji Market, the price therefore couldn’t be unreasonably low. We were better turned for AOI’s affordable lunch set.

Even during lunch, all lunch sets and meals were well-prepared showing true traditional culinary art of defined Japanese cuisine. We started with the (1) Tempura Set, it consisted a dish of deep-fried breaded prawn, a little portion of ultra fresh sashimi (raw fish fillet), and a cup of chawan mushi (steamed egg custard); followed by the (2) Tonkatsu Set, it was deep-fried breaded pork cutlet the Japanese style, crispy outside and tender inside was my comment. Each cost us around $10. A good value choice started with some more exciting meal following.



Coming next was my favorite (3) Sabusabu Seafood, the Japanese steam boat set served with home-made udon made our appetite a pleasant one. The seafood consisted of prawn, portion of crab, clam, scallop, chicken fillet and vegetables, all served fresh. The home made broth made of kombu (kelp) and dried fish brought out the taste of seafood to the high a specialty of Japanese sabusabu and nabe. Cost was around $15.

The enjoyable lunch at AOI didn’t end here. Highlight of our lunch was the (4) Yuki Lunch Set. The set was big and divided into 4 parts. First dish was the sashimi (raw fish fillet) with generous portion of tuna and the whole scallop in a shell, served ultra fresh. Then came the bento (lunch box) consisted of fine hiyayakko (chilled tofu block), tsukemono (pickled stuffs), agemono (deep-fried stuffs), yakimono (grilled stuffs), nimono (stewed stuffs), and even baked cheese kamaboko stuffs. Came third was the soup and rice, a must for Japanese meal. The soup we got was the sumashijiru (clear soup of kombu with seafood), and the vinegar rice with salmon roe. The set didn’t end here. Fruits, dessert, and iced tea (or coffee hot or cold) were included in this less than $20 Yuki Lunch Set.



If these lunch sets do draw your appetite then next time when you drop by Bangkok, try the AOI lunch set at any of its three branches, the Emporium Shopping Mall, the Siam Paragon Mall, or the Silom Soi 6 branch. By the way, dinner may be more exciting but also draw your pocket deep too.

Either warm or chilled sake (Japanese rice wine) was recommended to accompany the meal but we paid more attention to the green tea.

Our Ratings (1 to 5 the higher the better): AOI has [4.0]
(Ratings are based on Food, Service and Ambience, with Price taken into account in relation to Quality) Food =4, Service=4, Ambiance=4, Money Worth=4

Price range for two without drinks (incl. local water) in Thai Baht = BBBBB
(B=below 200, BB=201-500, BBB=501-1,000, BBBB=1,001-2,000, BBBBB=over 2,000)

Details: Open daily Lunch 11:30am-2pm, and Dinner 5:30-10pm
AOI Japanese Restaurant, 1) Silom Soi 6, 2) The Emporium, 4th Floor, 3) The Siam Paragon, G/floor. Tel.: 02- 6648590
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Torajiro

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Izakaya Torajiro 寅次郎

Until it opens a branch at Central World Plaza, Torajiro was one of Bangkok’s best kept gourmet secret. I still prefer its hide-away main branch in Thonglo Nihonmaru (Japanese Village). The night I revisited the restaurant was 6:30pm on a weekday, packed with Japanese salarymen giving me an impression of eating-after-work in Tokyo. Reasons Torajiro attract such a numerous of Japanese expats not only because the fare is authentic and the dining room is filled with romantic Japanese atmosphere, but also the price is easy.

Its assorted sushi rice bowl is the best shot in Bangkok if not in the world, for Baht 390 ($12) we got assorted ultra fresh slices of raw fish, sweet shrimp and salmon roe topped on rice, with expensive uni (sea urchin roe). Therefore, each of us ordered a bowl of Kaisen Chirashi Sushi (assorted sushi rice bowl) to start the dinner.

As an izakaya (drinking restaurant), Torajiro offers wide choices of sake (清酒 , a brewed (un-distilled) Japanese rice wine) as well as shochu (焼酎 , a distilled alcoholic beverage from barley, sweet potato, or rice); and yakitori.

Yakitori (barbecued chicken meat on skewers) is one of the specialties in Torajiro, goes best with Sake, so we had both. We also ordered Takuwan (pickled radish), Mozukusu (seaweed vinaigrette), and Omusubi Mentaiko (rice balls) together with other homely dishes such as Okonomi Yaki (pan-grilled Japanese batter pizza), Yaki Mochi (grilled stick rice rolls), and Atsuage Yaki (deep-fried tofu); forming a good combination to drinking-sake eating-yakitori.

One more specialty in Torajiro is the tempura, a dish using of only fresh ingredients, precision cooking and artful presentation, one of the triumphs of Japanese cooking. This deep-fried delicacy is a popular street food evolved to a completely Japanese cuisine all over Japan, but not with an accent of Japan. Tempura was introduced to Japan by the visiting Portuguese missionaries of the sixteenth century. Today peixinhos da horta is a dish similar to tempura in Portugal. Like many imported ideas, such as ramen from China, gradually adapted itself to Japanese tastes and specialties. We ordered the Tempura Mori (assorted deep-fried battered prawn, fish and vegetables) to add some more pleasure to our dinner. In Torajiro, they were light and fresh rather than heavy and greasy. We owed the chef to eat them while hot, dipped the fritters quickly in the dipping sauce with grated radish (not entirely soaked them in the sauce). For me, I even eat them naked without dipping sauce to yield the maximum benefit from the freshness of the ingredients. Tempura shall be a must order in Torajiro.

Desserts in a Japanese meal are always boring. At Torajiro, we had the Macha Ice Cream (green tea ice cream) and Koori-Azuki (red bean paste atop shaved ice). Better than none.



Our Ratings (1 to 5 the higher the better): Torajiro has [4.1]
(Ratings are based on Food, Service and Ambience, with Price taken into account in relation to Quality) Food=4.5, Service=4, Ambiance=3.5, Money Worth=4.5

Price range for two without drinks (incl. local water) in Thai Baht = BBBB
(B=below 200, BB=201-500, BBB=501-1,000, BBBB=1,001-2,000, BBBBB=over 2,000)

Details: Open daily 5:30pm – 12:00am
Izakaya Torajiro Japanese Restaurant, 87 Thonglo 13, Sukhumvit 55 Road, Bangkok 10110; Tel.: 02-3814100, 02-3822237 http://www.torajiro.net (also a branch on Sukhumvit Soi 26)
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