Palate pleasers on a paddle

Step inside Akanoya Robatayaki on Sukhumvit Soi 49 and you feel like you’re visiting a lively wet Japanese market. Wicker baskets are piled high with luscious fresh vegetables and all sorts of seafood are set out on ice. Both sides of the restaurant boast long, U-shaped counters and behind each counter are two chefs in traditional Japanese garb kneeling on a platform with braziers in front of them.

Akonoya doesn’t have a menu. Here you choose your ingredients by pointing at the impressive counter display. The selection includes prime cuts of meat, king crab legs, scallops and tiger prawns as well as chicken and pork while the vegetables vary from asparagus, cabbages, aubergine and mushroom to tomato and gingko nut. The ingredients are seasonal so expect them to vary from month to month. You will have to ask the staff for prices and will probably also require them to translate the signs as they’re all in Japanese.

Orders are yelled out in Japanese by your waiter and repeated in unison by all the other waiters and the chefs. That may sounds strange but it adds to the relaxing ambience. The chefs will then grill your selected ingredients and deliver your meal to you at the end of a long wooden paddle, robatayaki style.

“About 90 per cent of our ingredients are imported from Japan though both the tiger prawns and chickens are local,” says managing director Virawat Dangsubutra. “The varieties in the seafood, poultry, red meat and vegetable categories are renewed and rotated twice a week. Prime ingredients are key.”

Virawat is the man behind the success of French restaurant Le Vendome, Hokkaido Soft Serve and Yamagoya Ramen. His latest brand is a joint venture with the Singapore-based Akanoya Robatayaki.

“Thai people are familiar with several kinds of Japanese dining. Robatayaki is a new dining concept and offers plenty of fun together with dynamic action from the chefs and noisy interaction between the staff. 

“Robatayaki or Robata for short means fireside and refers to a style of cooking that’s reminiscent of old-fashioned 

 Japanese farmhouse meals cooked over a charcoal fire in an open hearth. It began with Japanese fishermen in Hokkaido who would grill their daily catch over a communal hearth. They shared the food by passing it around on wooden oars,” Virawat explains. “So it’s become a custom of robatayaki-style eateries to use this sort of paddle for serving.”

Each counter can only seat 18 people so reservations are recommended. Upstairs is a lounge that’s available for private dining. But Akanoya is more a place to drink, dine and chat than feast on a parade of platters.

Among the recommended appetiser choices are tatami iwashi, mat-like sheets of dried baby sardines served with mayonnaise (Bt260), awabi take or abalone mushroom (Bt375), which is thick and meaty, and the wonderfully fresh kampanchi fish cheeks (Bt700).

The highlight is omi gyu beef, premium Japanese Wagyu that just melts in the mouth, but at Bt990 for a 45-gram skewer, is probably more occasional treat than regular order. Second to none are the taraba king crab legs from Hokkaido that are dense and naturally sweet but they too are pricey, ranging from Bt1,500 to Bt2,700 a leg.

Another pleasing choice is tsukune or chicken meatball (Bt180), which is sprinkled with teriyaki sauce and served with a raw egg to allow you to dip into the yolk. Also worth sampling is the rich and delicate hotate scallop (Bt950) and kuruma ebi or tiger prawn (Bt280). 

A real treat is the satsumaimo or sweet potato (Bt350) with its creamy and sweet flesh. This sweet potato is from Satsuma in the southern Kagoshima Prefecture, a subtropical land with rich farmland.

In addition to the grilled dishes prepared to order, assorted tempura and sashimi, rice dishes, soups, noodles and salads are also available. Just ask a waiter – in Japanese, of course!

 

UP THE CREEK

Akanoya Robatayaki is on Sukhumvit Soi 49 (opposite 49 Terrace mall). It’s open daily from 6pm to midnight. Call (02) 662 4237 or visit www.AkanoyaBangkok.com.