We blinked and it happened. Like the teashops that pop up in every corner, the cafes that dot our town, there is no roaming about BKK1 these days without a new Japanese dive seemingly rising up from nowhere. And unlike the usual Japanese chain that serves a little bit of everything, these new haunts are reminiscent of little Tokyo joints, where just one specialised kind of Japanese cuisine is served. And oh, lucky, lucky us!
Toritetsu, Street 302 & 63
Unless you know exactly where to look, it’s unlikely you would stumble upon this gem. In a nondescript house on a quiet stretch of Street 302, you will have sped past Toritetsu a dozen times. Stop. Do go in.
The tiny grill by the front door is the only clue they serve yakitori – grilled skewered meat and veg – mostly from chicken parts. Skin, thighs, heart, gizzard, liver: grilled, glazed with Japanese flavours, skewered with veg. You’ll feel like you woke up in a Tokyo back street.
There are less than ten tables which fill fast and the speed of service is not for the famished, but if you’re up for long and leisurely and can manage a table on a weekend, consider yourself fortunate. Every stick is well priced at a dollar apiece. Try it all and ask for the special dipping sauce on the side.
Kazu, #2A Street 302
There are already a few Japanese/Korean BBQ places in hopping PP – think the ever-popular Uratei and less known Jin – but Kazu is definitely the most current. Just two months old and the offspring of a Tokyo restaurateur with its sparkling walls, modern interiors and state of the art copper grills, Kazu is already more inviting and infinitely more exciting.
Cosy black (p)leather booths fill Kazu’s white space, but what’s really interesting are its distinct grills, so different from the ones we are used to (those built into the tables). At Kazu, exhaust tubes hang from the ceiling, aimed perfectly towards a copper grill in every table. This is a winner: meats are charred perfectly, while the smoke and smell are kept at bay.
When we dined the only other guests were Japanese, who clearly knew their meat. Everything we tried was delectable. Short ribs were soft and tender, hanging perfectly marinated and so soft that a knife to slice the meat was superfluous.
Generous plates of US meat start at $7 while Japanese meat starts at $25. Lunch specials are a steal with most sets between $6 and $10.
Maru Shabu, #231 Street 352 & 63
Every new Japanese haunt is initially quite mysterious, but Maru Shabu proved to be the most curious of all. Good shabu shabu – a Japanese style of cooking where top quality beef, seafood and vegetables are boiled in flavoured broth – is not easy to find and we were excited by the promise.
Yes. Maru Shabu makes good on its promise to deliver top quality shabu shabu and much more. This was the surprise: Maru Shabu, the PP branch of a quickly expanding Korean chain, is actually a buffet that includes not only shabu shabu, but also many other thises and thats.
White, bright and with lovely decorative lamps, Maru Shabu is bound to become a lively lunch hangout. Weekday lunches have the best deal: for $12, you get a generous portion of sliced beef ($15 for seafood) to boil in your own pot on the table, plus unlimited access to an interesting buffet spread that includes seafood balls and noodles for shabu shabu, plus sushi, pizza and pasta, Japanese kebabs and dessert.
Despite it being a buffet, the meat and seafood plates for shabu shabu are limited to one serving, which ensures consistently good quality. Beef is fresh and soft, and a bowl of steaming broth is warm and comforting. We finished one generous serving quite satisfied, not needing any more… but ice cream from Blue Pumpkin, included in the buffet, was the icing on the cake.