When there’s a city of pad thai, tom yum, sweet-and-sour papaya salads, salt-encased grilled fish, sticky rice and wonderfully slimy okra at the tip of my tongue, why would I possibly be hunting down the city’s best sushi? Because there’s only so much oil, salt and MSG a girl can take, that’s why. And Bangkok belly is no fun at all. So in walks Japanese food with its promise of lightness, freshness and awareness of the importance of keeping fish on ice…
Seriously, Thailand, get with the food safety.
At the recommendation of a manager at Boyy Café, a very respectable upscale espresso bar and North American comfort food spot near BTS Thong Lo (think shrimp and avocado salads and artistic pastas with properly pulled lattes that don’t necessarily need condensed milk, heaps of sugar, and instant coffee powder, as most Thai establishments wholeheartedly believe.
But I was talking about sushi, not the cafe below the flagship Bangkok bag and accessories shop of a Canadian expat.
I asked what the best sushi was in the area and the woman said Ka Ze Fresh. I wouldn’t know if she was wrong, but I’m pretty sure she wasn’t. It was better than the best sushi bar in Montreal. Better than the best sushi bar in Toronto. And that’s 60% because of the quality of the fish, 20% because of the price : quality ratio, and 20% because of the atmosphere. In the perfect sushi bar experience, atmosphere is very important.
First of all, there was nothing fusion about the straight-up sushi here. There’s a huge Japanese community and Japanese food is very popular. In addition to sushi places, there’s a healthy amount of izakaya, shabu shabu, and sukiyaki places. But sushi is the healthy binge I craved.
The lunch menus are mostly donburi rice bowls topped with pork katsu, chicken, or even fois gras (it’s a trend here, as I’ve seen in on a couple other upscale sushi restaurants since). There are a handful of North American-style (California-style) sushi places in Bangkok, too, doing fusion rolls with mango and mayo-heavy sauces, and Ka Ze Fresh has some of that, but not on the sushi lunch special.
…which at ~$22 (650 baht) is not a steal for lunch in Bangkok, but is a steal for some of the best sushi I’ve ever eaten.
I did not splurge on the $10 raw clam. They had geoduck, but as it was most likely Pacific and I’ve had it fresh in Seattle, I opted to skip that one. The salmon was the cheapest fish on the menu because it was either Chilean and farmed or Scottish and farmed—neither of which I support. But because it was the cheapest I couldn’t replace it with anything else on the menu. Fortunately, with Bangkok’s relative proximity to Tsukiji market in Japan (and a bunch of the fish—mackerel, shrimp and I think even tuna—comes from Phuket in southern Thailand, the rest of the fish they have here is just better than what most places get in North America. Most of it didn’t need to be frozen and thawed for shipping, even.
And while $22 seemed like a lot when we could get all-you-can-eat sushi for $10 down the road, the little extras made it more than enough food and more than worth the price for the quantity and overall experience. And you know how I feel about all-you-can-eat/unsustainable sushi. It breaks my heart.
First, a small tempera amuse-bouche. Then a fresh salad with red roe, lettuces, and artfully shredded vegetables in a light, uncloying mayo-based dressing.
Then a special offering of sushi from the chef. A sweet white-fleshed fish with the tiniest bit of shredded scallions and ginger on top. With the fresh wasabi (not from a tube or powder!) followed by the house-pickled ginger (yes!), it was light and perfect.
Then the sushi: Maguro tuna, medium fatty tuna (albacore or yellowtail? I’ll admit I know flavours, not names), impressive saba mackerel (not vinegary or sweet or covering any flaw. Thailand loves mackerel so it’s good to see they used quality and didn’t have to hide any imperfections or day-old funky flavours) with this marinated fish.
It may not seem like a lot of sushi, but these were huge pieces. They weren’t too thick, though. They were expertly cut, and the interesting thing about the cut was that the pieces used the middle of the fish, which normally is avoided, I thought. But it divided the sushi pieces perfectly. These were no ladies-who-lunch polite mouthfuls, but generous servings.
Before the miso soup came (I love it when the soup comes at the end as it should! I also love it when it’s not from a package or too salty. Here, it was perfect, with plenty of fresh seaweed and just enough scallions and tofu), the chef gave an extra piece of tamago omelet with a slice of Thai mango. It was essentially the Japanese equivalent of Thai mango with sticky rice dessert. So sweet. The mangoes here have no acid in them, so it’s pure sugar. Paired with the sweet omelet (not overly sweet from mirin, because the mango does a good enough job. I respect the chef for knowing this), it was heaven. And I was stuffed.
The only less-than-traditional part of the meal was the iced green tea served with lunch. When it’s 40°C outside I suppose the cold green option is a good idea despite the break with tradition. And you could get hot tea if you wanted it.
I didn’t even mention the rice! It’s the make-it-or-break-it of a great sushi restaurant! Every kernel was plump and unbroken. Nothing was squished but nothing was falling apart. I watched the sushi chefs shape the nigiri and was impressed. I watched the man with the sushi knife cut long strokes, never sawing through the fish. I assumed they were Japanese, these men, and wanted to say thank-you in Japanese, but they didn’t speak it! Only Thai. And the restaurant had a Chinese cat, indicating it was a Chinese-owned business.
So maybe my Japanese friend wouldn’t eat here. But he’d be missing out. Sure, he could go spend a couple hundred more baht at a number of fancy sushi places in J-Town in Bangkok (Thong Lo, Ekkamai, Prong Pong BTS stations), but what a waste that would be. Oh well, more great sushi here for the rest of us.