Wabisabi and its flawless Zen

IN THE wake of its success with Miyabi and Jousen in the “affordable yakiniku (grilled meat) buffet” business, Japanese restaurant chain Miyabi Group is going upscale with Wabisabi, joining the eateries on the new Groove Zone at CentralWorld.

Wabi-sabi is a term from Zen philosophy referring to “perfection in imperfection”. So at the restaurant of the same name you have tables and chairs whose black marble is slightly eroded and whose black stone partitions are of uneven height. There’s a calming effect in the smooth transition from chaos to orderly comfort, as there is also in the white acrylic boxes hanging from the ceiling projecting a fluctuating glow that brings to mind the changing seasons in Japan.

Rather than a buffet, Wabisabi offers an a-la-carte menu of grilled dishes, sashimi, sushi, tempura, rice and noodles with seasonal ingredients imported from all across Japan.

Hokkaido is famous for seafood, and Bangkok diners get to sample its taraba king crab. From Tohuku comes basahi – horsemeat served as sashimi topped with raw egg and sesame seeds. Freshwater and sea eels arrive from Chubu for the rice dishes, while Kanto shares its celebrated maguro fish, the best for making sushi and sashimi. 

Chugoku is tapped for its madai – red seabream cooked as tempura and mixed in salads, and Kansai provides the Matsusaka and Kobe beef and the blowfish. The saba fish comes from Shikoku and the hiogi (rainbow shell) grilled and seasoned with shoyu and butter, from Kyushu.

An appetiser assortment of “Japanese tapas” – anywhere from three to nine pieces and ranging in price from Bt90 to Bt280 – changes with the season. I got to try the nine-item platter with salmon sashimi, shredded chicken with Japanese dressing, a rolled egg, grilled vegetables, taraba salad with mayonnaise, rolled bacon with carrot, boiled egg, fruit salad and bread topped with raspberry sauce.

The Chef’s Salad (Bt450) has bacon among the leaves and, on either side, a boiled egg and mayonnaise and potato salad capped with mentaiko (marinated cod roe). 

The Tokyo Temari Sushi (Bt450) – temari means “thread balls” – is small spheres with a variety of toppings, from salmon, eel, buri, katsuo and akami to chutoro. 

The blowfish known as fugu in Japan is notoriously poisonous and can only be prepared by specially certified chefs. Anything to worry about at Wabisabi? Not at all: It imports poison-free fugu fillets from Kansai for a delightful tempura dish costing Bt480. 

Having survived the fugu effortlessly, finish off your meal with the irresistible Fondant au Chocolate or the chocolate lava with vanilla ice cream, Bt120.

There are more than 80 choices of Japanese sake available, some better with fried dishes, others best with sashimi. Once you select your food, order a big bottle of sake to match and an iced-sake dispenser will be brought to your table. It pours directly into the wooden cube cups called masu for an extra woodsy aroma. 

 

 

IN THE GROOVE

>>Wabisabi is on the first floor of the Groove Zone at CentralWorld and open daily from 11am to 1am (last orders at midnight). 

>>> Book your table at (02) 252 6451.