Shogun Japanese Restaurant

Driving home one night, I suddenly noticed a sign - a new Japanese restaurant has opened near Samyak Market, Sansai. The lightbox outside the restaurant had an enticing photo of a large plate of sushi. The restaurant looked quite cute too and had a Japanesy feel.

Since then, I've been there a couple of times and has found the food to be pretty good. It's not Kitchen Hush, but Shogun provides good quality, good value for money and close to home, which means it's a place we can often visit!

Gyoza - one of my favourite snacks at a Japanese restaurant. Shogun's gyoza is very good. Crispy skin with juicy pork filling and slightly tangy and refreshing dipping sauce. 79baht.

Small Sushi Set - a plate of assorted sushi. The salmon was pretty good. The tuna was a bit chewy. Overall quite decent. 299 baht.

And here is my favourite dish, the Korean Chicken. Deep-fried bite sizes of chicken with skin and smothered with a thick, salty and sticky sauce. Yum! The chicken was slightly chewy (which I didtn't mind) and  the skin was nice and crispy. The side cabbage didn't have a dressing on it, so it seemed quite bland after eating the chicken. However, the gyoza dipping sauce makes a nice salad dressing! 119 baht.

If you need some more side dishes to fill you up, Shogun offers 3 rice sets. You can choose from the regular plain steamed rice, garlic fried rice or kimchi fried rice. These come with side dishes of a salad, miso soup and some kimchi. This time I ordered the garlic fried rice. It was lovely with buttery fragrance. A little oily though. The garlic fried rice set was 79 baht.

These rice sets are quite good idea, I think, as diners can order any mains they like to go with the rice set.

The verdict - a nice little restaurant with good food and offering good value for money. The staff is very friendly. Shogun has a cosy ambience and makes you feel like you're in a little restaurant in Japan.

Shogun Japanese Restaurant
Chiang Mai-Doi Saket Rd (118)
Sansai, Chiang Mai.
(On the left just pass Samyak Market)
Tel: 0966987181
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/โชกุน-1559529397710577/timeline
Opens: Daily 11am-10pm

Fukuro Japanese Restaurant

I've had cravings for Japanese food all week! After a busy and tiring week, a friend thought it would be good to go to one of the many Japanese restaurants in Central Festival. Central Festival is a convenient choice - close to home and has very good parking, but I felt I wanted to go to a small, homey and more personal place.

I remembered Fukuro. I've been there a few times before and was always impressed with the food and the price. The owner is an ex-Four Seasons chef, and the unassuming Japanese Restaurant is located right next door to the very popular Steak of the Day at Mae Rim Plaza.

Mae Rim Plaza is a bit of a hike from my home in Sansai / Doi Saket area (about 30 min or so drive), but it was totally worth the trip.

This little restaurant only has a few tables, and is very homey and comfortable. Khun Nes, the owner came out and made a few recommendations from the Specials of the Day board.

Eggplant Miso Sauce. 79 baht. These were wonderful and very different from what I've had in other restaurants. In other restaurants that I've been to, the eggplants are covered with miso sauce (which I love as well!). Fukuro's version has just a touch of the sauce and the eggplant is sprinkled with sesame seeds and bonito flakes, which gives a smokey flavour. All the flavours worked well together.  Khun Nes said the eggplants are organic and she gets them from a local farmer in Pong Yang, so the supply is quite limited.

Japanese Pork Hot Pot. 199 baht. This was a great dish for a cool night! Loved the soup, which was sweet but not overly so.

Salmon Sashimi - 99 baht (4 pieces). Beautiful melt in your mouth sashimi. Delicious!

After all that, we had room for one more dish...

Crunchy Roll. 89 baht. This is not your traditional Japanese dish, and it provided a stark contrast between this and the previous dishes which had subtler, softer flavour. The sushi rolls are made, covered in a small amount of batter and fried. Served with chilli-mayonnaise sauce.

And just as we were ready to pay the bill, Khun Nes surprised us with a complimentary dessert to thank us for coming such a long way!

The dessert of the day was.... Strawberry with Marshmallow Toffee Cream. 99 baht. Wow, it was good - creamy and refreshing. The toffee cream was lovely and smooth (with a nice caramelly flavour) and sprinkled with tiny marshmallows. There was nothing left on the plate after we were through with it!

We enjoyed our meal at Fukuro very much. Too bad it's a bit of a drive otherwise I would go there all the time!

Fukuro 
339 Moo 1
Mae Rim Plaza
A. Mae Rim, Chiang Mai
Tel: 0867832034
Opens: 11am - 9pm
Closes on Tuesdays
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fukuro.fukuro/timeline

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant @Meechok Plaza

Sometimes one just feel like eating something else other than noodles or pad kraprao for lunch. Fortunately, at Meechok Plaza, there are many choices... Italian, salad restaurant, a couple of Vietnamese restaurants, Korean, and two Japanese restaurants, etc... (You'll never go hungry at Meechok!)

Both of the Japanese restaurants are very good, and I really enjoy Wasabi, a cosy place that serves simple, hearty Japanese meals.

The restaurant is very clean, spacious and cheerfully decorated with a large cherry blossom (or may be plum) tree in the middle!

The menu is quite large, offering the usual Japanese fare of various types of sushi and sashimi, udons, tempura, rice dishes with various toppings...

My all time favourite here is the potato salad (which I happen to order almost every time I go there). I love the chewy-soft texture of the potatoes and subtly flavoured creamy mayonnaise. Once I start, I can't stop!  90 baht.

If you're looking for something a little different, you can try the Enoki Tempura- very nice and crunchy batter, served with tempura sauce. It certainly did satisfy my craving for fried food!  159baht.

Hiyashi Chuka is another dish that I really like here. This is a cold noodle dish with various toppings and a lovely and refreshing soy sauce with sesame oil. The sauce is deeply flavoured with slightly sweet, tangy and salty tastes. Simply toss the whole thing to mix together and eat. Perfect for a hot day! 139 baht. 

There are many other very good dishes here too, including: gyoza (plump steaming hot dumplings.. love the sauce!), takoyaki, salmon sashimi, etc

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant 

206/14 Meechok Plaza
T Faham, A Muang, Chiang Mai 50000
Tel: 0811687577
Opens: 11am-9:30pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Matsu Japanese Restaurant

How fortunate us Chiang Mai-ers are to have a plethora of Japanese Restaurants to choose from. It's amazing how many good Japanese restaurants there are here. The other day, I visited the new Central Festival Mall, and wow, there must be about 25 Japanese restaurants there... Thai people must really like Japanese food!

And here I am to introduce another Japanese restaurant to you, thanks to the recommendation of a couple of my friends. This one is a little hole in the wall place in the Old City. The shop looks a little ordinary, and the service so-so,  but their salmon sashimi is great! Served at just the right temperature, very buttery and smooth, melt in your mouth deliciousness! 160 baht.

Ten Zaru (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle with Tempura and Dip). Very nice and refreshing. The tempuras were quite nicely made and the prawns tasty. Very nice dish as well, and pretty good value! 95 baht.

Well, that's all I tried, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the food, and the price! The restaurant was packed when we arrived, and there were quite a few Japanese patrons too, which is always a good sign.

So, I'll definitely want to go back to try other dishes, which also look pretty good. The offering is pretty standard Chiang Mai Japanese restaurant menu, but the salmon sashimi is one of the nicest ones I've had here in Chiang Mai.

Matsu Japanese Restaurant
74/2 Singhrat Rd
Muang, Chiang Mai
(In the Old City)
Tel: 081 472 0171
Opens: 11am-2pm & 5pm-10pm
Closed on Mondays



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Cafe Din Dee (Mudhouse Cafe)

Nestled in a little mud house in the carpark of Chiang Mai University Art Centre on the quiet end of Nimmanhaemin Rd, this Japanese runned cafe offers lovely healthy vegetarian meals, fantastic looking drinks (especially on a hot day!) and desserts.

On Sundays, you'll also be able to sample some of their freshly baked bread... and I must say, these breads are delicious - quite heavy, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. The bread is a little salty and no butter is needed. I'll be happy munching on these all day! I even bought some to take home for breakfast for the next few days.

Other than the bread, the menu is pretty extensive, from Muesli with natural yoghurt to sandwiches to curry dishes and salads. Dishes are mainly Japanese, Thai and Indian inspired, and MSG is not added.

After much deliberation on the type of curry I want, I settle for the DinDee Original Curry, which contains chickpeas, kidney beans, vegetables and gram masala. If you can't eat spicy food, you'd be relieved to know that this curry is only very mildly spicy, and it's very lovely with the brown rice - a very nice, light, gentle and comforting meal. White rice is also available if you don't like brown rice. The soup that comes with the curry is great too. 109 baht for the set or 90 baht for curry only.

Yum Bai Bua Bok - Thai Pennywort (Gotu Kola) Salad. Pennywort (or Gotu Kola) is a herb that is generally served pureed as a bright green  drink in Thailand. (It's very good for you!). This salad contains gotu kola leaves, cucumbers, tomatoes, shallots and toasted peanuts. The dressing is mildly tangy and spicy, just enough to make the salad refreshing and vibrant. My Japanese friend loved it!

By this time, we are quite full, and didn't really have room for dessert! From various reports, I've heard that the cakes here are great. I'd love to try their chocolate cake and cheese cakes, so I must make an effort to get back there! :P

The price is pretty reasonable too. It ended to be around 250 baht for 2 people for the 3 dishes above. Free drinking water available. 

Cafe Din Dee

Chiang Mai University Art Center

Nimmanhaemin Rd

T. Suthep, A. Muang, Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 289 046

Mobile: 089 755 0192

E-mail: info@dindeecafe.com
Opens: Tuesdays-Sundays 9am-6pm
Closed on Mondays. 

http://www.dindeecafe.com/

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Sansui Japanese Restaurant (ซันซุย)

The Japanese are serious about their sashimi, and Mr Sumo, Sansui's owner is no exception. He drives down to the seaside town of Rayong (a mere 8 hours drive!) 3 times a month to personally pick out the best fish for his restaurant. With the sashimi here so fresh, it's no wonder many people say Sansui is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Chaing Mai.

The fresh fish comes in generally on the 5th, 15th and 25th of the month. Sometimes this may vary depending on public holidays, etc. If you're also serious about your sashimi, the restaurant will take down your number and give you a call the day Mr Sumo comes back with the catch.

Not only is the fish fantastic, Mr Sumo is such a lovely host too. Each time I've been there, Mr Sumo will come by and have a chat, and offer advice on the finer points of eating sashimi. It turns out I've been doing it all wrong! If you want to know about how wasabi is grown and made, Mr Sumo is also the man to ask.

Other dishes ordered are also very good...

Grilled Squid - I think this must be one of the best grilled squid I've eaten. I've always expected this dish to be a little chewy, but Sansui's version is so tender (at least when I had this particular one, it was). Mr Sumo said that because the squid is so fresh. He also mentioned that fresh squids have lower cholesterol content than less fresh ones - just in case you're concerned about this! LOL

Tempura - Very nicely fried, perfectly crispy and they even gave each person their own bowl of dipping sauce!

Sansui has quite an extensive menu, including various sets, even special sets for children and ladies. Men can also order ladies' sets too (I've asked!).

Sansui Japanese Restaurant
Chiang Mai - San Kamphaeng Road
Opens daily for lunch and dinner
Tel: 053 116 131
(This branch is now closed)

Update: Now moved to:
Rim Tara Residence
265-265/1 Patan Road, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province 50300
Tel: 0 5311 0430
Fax: 0 5311 0431
Website: www.rimtara.com
Map: http://rimtara.com/rimtara_residence/index.php?pages=contact_us

Mr Sumo's sushi chef

Old style Japanese Restaurant feel 

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Tengoku De Cuisine (Japanese)

Tengoku De Cuisine

Tengoku is a lovely Japanese restaurant in a quiet soi opposite Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. The restaurant is indeed delightful and oozes authenticity, yet very warm at welcoming at the same time. The wonderful distinctive aroma of Japanese food permeates the restaurant promises a fantastic meal ahead.

We were ushered onto the second floor and given the menu. It was hard to miss that Tengoku won Thailand Tattler's Best Restaurant award for its "exceptional cuisine and service" in 2012 seeing that the certificate was pretty much the cover of the menus! Another promise of an unforgettable meal...perhaps...we shall see!

This was my second visit to the restaurant. The first visit left me with a very favourable impression due to a combination of the lovely ambience, good service, and good company. I was in a rather good mood especially after tasting the miso soup and fresh wasabi!

The second visit was more about tasting the food again - was it as good as it seemed? There is no doubt about the quality of the food at Tengoku. However, I did have very high expectations and you'd expect everything to be top notch, considering the location (opposite Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi), the Thailand Tattler's certificate, and especially the price - not cheap, at least for Chiang Mai!

What I loved:

Fresh wasabi - very interesting and I haven't seen anything like it before. Fresh wasabi (plant, root and skin) chopped up and marinated in soy sauce and salt. I find it not as pungent as the usual wasabi served in regular Japanese restaurants that I've been to. Very nice with sashimi (and various other dishes as well). 50 baht.

Fresh wasabi

Salmon Sashimi - Thick chunky pieces of salmon sprinkled with salmon roe that pops in your mouth as you eat. Nice and fresh.

Salmon Sashimi

3 Kinds of Seaweed Salad - I thought this was rather interesting and haven't seen it anywhere else. There are 3 kind of fresh seaweed served with lettuce and on a big bowl of ice. Very fresh, and nicely presented. The best bit is the miso dressing (great on rice too!).

3 kinds of Seaweed Salad

Eggplant with Miso Sauce - I must really like miso sauce as I really enjoyed this dish as well.You can also get the same at Naruto Japanese Restaurant at Meechok Plaza. The soft melt in your mouth eggplant goes really well with the intense flavour of the miso. Yum!

Eggplant with Miso Sauce

What I think could be better:

Tempura Ramen - The ramen and the soup was very good. The soup had a nice intensity of flavour. The tempura, though, was a little disappointing as the batter was softish (not crispy at all), and luke warm.

Tempura Ramen

Rice - The rice (both times I visited) was on the soggy side, at least more so than rice from other Japanese restaurants.

The Verdict

Beautiful restaurant and ambience. Great food, but I don't find the food (at least the dishes we ordered) a lot better than other good Japanese restaurants around in Chiang Mai. There are some interesting dishes that I don't see a lot elsewhere though, and they would be worth a try eg. Beef Takai (Raw beef), if you're into it.

You'll be able to find some recommended dishes from Tengoku here (in Thai).

The price worked out to be about 500 baht/person for what we ordered. They do have a buffet for 800 baht/person as well.

The service is fine - friendly and pretty efficient.

Reservations are a good idea as both times I went, the restaurant was pretty full!

Have you been to Tenguku De Cuisine? What do you think?

Tengoku De Cuisine
55/8 Soi Wat Buak Krok Luang
Opposite Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi
T. Tasala A. Muang Chiang Mai
Tel: 053 851 133, 081 885 5959

Smily Kitchen - home style Japanese cafe

Very relaxing and comfortable. Simple, unpretentious, great food. This is how I would describe this Japanese Cafe. It's one of those places where you can just hang out with friends and enjoy authentic Japanese food. Moreover, whenever I am there, there is always a steady stream of Japanese expats going in and out, and that's always a good sign! 

The service is warm and friendly. It seems like there is only one waitress, so be patient!

The menu is huge. Most of these are sets which comprise of miso soup, seaweed salad, a bowl of rice and your main dish. Prices are pretty good too, and starts from around 110 baht. I really enjoy the egg plants and pork with miso sauce. The rice with beef topping is also very nice (135 baht).

Other dishes include various types of noodles. The waitress recommended the Noodles with Vegetables and Chicken in Sesame and Vinegar Sauce, and it turned out to be lovely. Light, refreshing, fragrant and tangy. Perfect for a hot day. 130 baht.

I've already been back to Smily Kitchen a few times since a friend introduced me to it a couple of weeks ago. There are so many dishes I'd like to go back to try. I'd say it's my current favourite Japanese restaurant at the moment! 

The Verdict:

Friendly, comfortable, unpretentious restaurant serving great home style Japanese food. One of those places you can go very often.   

The Rating:
The food: 8/10
The ambience: 8/10
The service: 8/10 (very friendly)
Value for money: 8/10

Smily Kitchen
Mon-Sat 11am-9pm
(Closed Sundays)
Nimmanhaemin Soi 3
Tel: 087 176 7566

Kitchen Hush, Japanese Restaurant

On a search for a more special, more authentic, Japanese Restaurant in Chiang Mai, we came across this little hidden gem (which is actually quite a well known restaurant, having been in business for 16 or 17 years). Kitchen Hush serves Osaka style home-cooked meals, and is located in a quiet residential soi (alley) off Kaew Nawarat Road. In fact, you wouldn't know it's there unless you're looking for it. It just looks like an average house, but once inside, it is said that you'll feel like you're in Japan. Sounds like a good place to check out!

When we got there for lunch, we were greeted with a kind of stale food smell (like in Chinese Restaurants with bad ventilation)...not quite a good start, but despite this mild odour, the restaurant was quite atmospheric with dark teakwood walls (like those of the old Thai wooden homes) and minimalist but elegant modern Japanese style decorations. In a corner stood a bookshelf full of Japanese magazines.

The test of authenticity is the food - not that I would really know, not having been to Japan since a very young age! Still, the menu, complete with pictures, was VERY extensive, and had many interesting dishes, including a range of sashimi, mochi, udons, etc. - I suppose almost everything you could want in a Japanese Restaurant, and certainly looked very authentic . Just a note - sashimi is only served at dinner time.

We ordered:

Takoyaki - a Japanese street food - little fried balls of batter with a chunk of boiled octopus in the middle. Kitchen Hush's takoyaki were softish and spongy on the outside, thick and creamy on the inside, and with, of course, a piece of chewy octopus. At the time, I thought the octopus was too chewy, but I now I think it made a nice contrast with the soft batter. The takoyakis were topped with mayonnaise, a tasty sauce, and plenty of bonito flakes. It was pretty good, and the sauce not too sweet, nor overpowering. 90 baht (6 pieces).

Katsu don with Miso Sauce - This was rather interesting - haven't had this style of the popular Katsu Don (rice topped with deep fried pork, eggs and condiments) before. A quick google search told me that this is a Nagoya version. It was great! The pork came in large pieces, crispy on the outside and not oily. It was served on a bowl of fluffy steaming Japanese rice and sliced boiled eggs, topped with a sweet and intense flavoured miso sauce. There were also a couple of dainty side dishes and a lovely miso soup as well. Quite a large serving (too big for me!). 170 baht.

Kitchen Hush Set 1 - This was a huge set. The mains were the boiled Saba and Ginger Pork (in the white packet). The saba was very tasty, served with a gingery gravy. The ginger pork was a bit fatty, and had a mild taste - a nice complement to the saba. The set also comes with miso soup, delicious baked pumpkin, steamed eggplant in a light sauce, tofu, potato salad, etc. 240 baht.

Other dishes: Gyu don - Rice with simmered slice beef and spicy sweet sauce. Nice and enjoyable, but a little too sweet. Again, a large serving (like the Katsu Don with Miso Sauce), and came with some side dishes. 160 baht.

For dessert, we were given complimentary strawberry ice-cream (Wall's). We were a bit disappointed with the lack of green tea ice-cream when we were there though, however, apparently, the owner makes home-made green tea ice-cream, and this is served at dinner.

By this time, we were very full, but I wanted to try Shiratama (Mochi with sweet red bean paste). The waitress said it was a cold dessert, but it took a while to come out - I guess they were quite busy at the time, and the mochis came out kind of warm. The mochis had a nice, firm and chewy texture, and very filling, which was not surprising, since mochi is made from glutinous rice! 80 baht

And last but not least, we still had a coffee from the Kitchen Hush 1 set. That was a bit of a novelty because we had a choice to grind out own coffee beans! After all the hard work, the coffee turned out to be quite lovely. : )

Kitchen Hush turned out to be very pleasant dining experience. If you enjoy Japanese home-cooking, and would like to have something authentic, I'd recommend this restaurant. It's a bit pricey though, for Thai standards, and the service a bit slow, but I think it's still worth it.

Kitchen Hush

18/1 Kaew Nawarat Soi 2

Wat Gate, Muang, Chiang Mai

Tel: 053 247 731

Opens for lunch: 11:30am-2:00pm

Dinner: 6pm-10pm

Closed: Wednesdays