Japanese with a Western touch

Juxtaposing clean urban architecture and Bangkok’s bustling downtown, Zuma on the ground floor of St Regis is designed with nature in mind. The restaurant, the sixth and latest in an international under the culinary direction of German celebrity chef Rainer Becker who launched the first branch in London in 2002, is a relaxing and informal dining venue offering modern and eye-appealing Japanese dishes.

Zuma usually goes for izakaya, an informal eating and drinking style, but here, it’s opted for a more sophisticated style.

Covering 700 square metres, the main dining area that can seat 74 comprises the open kitchen of the robata grill and the sushi bar manned by chefs, a lounge & bar and a private room.

Designed by Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Tokyo design firm Studio Glitt, granite from Thailand’s north has been chosen for the counters of the open kitchens and the bars to emulate the rocks found in Japanese gardens while the walls are created by stacking granite and wood.

A vibrant vibe is added by covering the walls of the lounge and bar with traditional Thai textiles and upholstering the comfy sofas with red splashes, making it a fun place to nestle with after-dinner drinks. There is a 1,500-bottle, walk-in wine cellar that ranges from light in body with delicate fragrance to robust wines with intense aromas.

The private room, which can seat up to 14, also features comfy sofas and a long wood table and traditional fabrics on the wall. The interior is complemented by an outdoor terrace with sofa beds and there’s seating for up to 60 in the surrounding garden.

“Bangkok is a perfect place for our newest branch because Bangkok diners know what they want and appreciate good quality,” says Zuma general manager Paddy Mchugh who picks up and controls the music beats via his ipod. “Traditional Japanese restaurants always have a quiet ambience. We want our place to be informal. Take your jacket and tie off, be casual and enjoy good food.”

Billing itself as authentic but not traditional, here you can feast on treats rarely, if ever, found in Japan. Among them are sushi with spicy tempura flake, spider roll stuffed with fried soft shell crab, plus baby chicken marinated in barley miso and oven-roasted over cedar wood, and sliced fresh tuna with ponzu dressing and crispy fried garlic.

Japanese cuisine normally leans towards natural tastes so natives of the Land of the Rising Sun may find the adaptations a little too strong. Any first-timers might think the food’s going to be mild, but they're in for a surprise thanks to the unusual, bold use of spices and seasonings. I personally found many dishes had sharp flavours and were a little too salty.

You may start with either a small dish of thinly sliced seabass with yuzu, truffle oil and salmon roe or sliced tuna with ponzu on a bed of braised onions and topped with crispy fried garlic.

Zuma dragon maki (Bt620) is the Western-style sushi twists featuring a rice roll stuffed with prawn tempura, freshwater eel together with avocado and minced sweet shrimp coated with spicy tempura flake and topped with fried bonito flake. In addition, Dynamite Spider Roll (Bt420) offers soft shell crab, cucumber together with chilli mayonnaise and wasabi tobiko sauce.

But when it comes to sashimi, Zuma maintains the Japanese traditional essence with fresh ingredients served on a bed of specially frozen ice.

Another pleasing delicacy is Zaru Dofu (Bt190) offering a plate of chilled home-made tofu served with condiments of sweet barley miso, white sesame, wasabi, mashed ginger and chopped spring onion.

“We try to make flavours accessible to many people. To me, one texture is boring. The spring onion and crisp sesame will bring more textures to creamy tofu just like the way crispy fried garlic goes with fresh tuna,” says executive chef Patrick Martens. “However, food is food, we should make it clean and straightforward, not complicated.”

The Zuma salad (Bt280) is delightful thanks to fresh mixed leaves of asparagus, sweet tomatoes, beetroots with barley miso and maple dressing. It compliments the fried dice-shaped tofu that is crisp outside but soft inside.

The foods are generally served in beautiful Japanese-style, organic-shaped earthenware giving traditional Japanese touch, which makes the disposable chopsticks all the more disappointing.

From the robata grill, you can have zucchini skewers served with tarragon-miso dip, green tea sea salt and BBQ sauce (Bt180) or spicy Australian beef tenderloin with sesame red chilli and sweet soy (Bt1,850) that is juicy and tender. The beef chunk is 180 grams but you can opt for the premium Japanese wagyu and pay Bt4,800.

There are extensive mouth-watering choices in the way of desserts. The most pleasing creation to me was jasmine poached white peach with wild strawberries and peach sorbet on a bed of frozen ice (Bt420). Other delectable choices are green tea banana cake with coconut ice cream and peanut toffee sauce (Bt240) and three sorbets with berries (Bt350).

For drinks, a variety of sake from different regions of Japan is offered together with signature mocktails like sweet-and-sour Norisan (Bt160) that is made with mint, passion fruit and pineapple shaken with orange juice or Bishonen (also Bt160), which melds raspberries and strawberries muddled with yakult and white peach topped up with ginger ale.

ZOOM ALONG TO ZUMA
>> Zuma is on the ground floor of St Regis Bangkok on Rajdamri Road (BTS: Rajdamri station). Call (02) 252 4707 or visit www.ZumaRestaurant.com.
>>The restaurant is open Monday to Saturday for lunch (noon to 3pm) and dinner (6pm to 10.30pm).
>>The lounge and bar is open Monday to Thursday (noon to midnight) and Friday to Saturday (11.30am to 2am).