Restaurant Review: Kaizen Sushi & Hibachi
As a renowned sushi restaurant in Bangkok, I had high hopes when I entered the front door of this highly recommended restaurant.
I was seated at the bar. In front of me were the cooled showcase shelves of the seafood they were about to prepare. All of it looked delicious, the texture looked moist and the colors were just the right shade. Some places have very bright colored fish, the result of food coloring. The room itself was well lit and it was clear they attempted to give the restaurant a Japanese feel. They placed Japanese paintings and flowers around the restaurant in order to let the customers feel like they are eating in Japan. The empty tables around the room were clean and all the table settings were set and ready to serve any hungry customer who walked in.
The Snowman Roll, one of their recommended dishes, appeared in front me. The presentation was exquisite. Each roll was topped with a few Ikura and crushed fried tempura flour. As an additional decoration, they added the crushed fried tempura flour around the rolls themselves. On top of that, they drizzled a sweet brown sauce and sprinkled chopped leeks to add color. Not only was it well presented, the flavor was amazing as well. The roll was composed of avocado and imitate crab wrapped in seaweed and rolled up in Japanese rice. On top of the rice was a piece of Engawa, which gave the bite an extra burst of juice, which allowed the flavors to blend perfectly. The Engawa made it so that the roll wasn’t too sweet, but also didn’t take away too much of the flavor of the drizzled sauce.
Engawa, as sushi, was served on a plate, topped with minced fish and Tobiko. It came with its own special sauce, a salty and sour tasting sauce that fit perfectly with the flavor of the fin. The fin itself is known to be somewhat bland, but the juices and oils from the fin are what make this delicacy desirable. The fin let out an aroma of a light sear as the flavors burst in my mouth. The mix of the flavor and aroma of this fin proved their worth immediately.
Kanpachi, a white skinned fish, was served and topped with chopped tuna and Ikura. My first thought was, tuna is a strong smelling fish that will cover up the real taste of a white skinned fish if eaten together or even before. Why did they add it? The answer I received was a simple, to give it color. No more information.
The meat itself was a pinkish color but the skin on it was completely white and opaque. The fish was dipped in Shoyu with a hint of wasabi added on top. I was expecting a soft moist fish that would almost completely melt in my mouth. What I got was a crunch. There was something in there that crunched. The fish meat wasn’t as soft as I had expected, the crunch caused my palette to immediately ignore the flavor of the fish; I cringed at the texture instead.
Foie Gras, a delicacy in many countries around the world. The presentation of this dish was beautiful. The Foie Gras was wrapped with a strip of seaweed, holding the Foie Gras together with a rice ball. There was a light drizzle of a brown sauce on top with a few Ikura as a finishing touch. This one was truly going to be a winner. Those were my thoughts before I placed the bite into my mouth. The Foie Gras almost immediately disappeared. There was little to no thickness in the piece I had just eaten. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the texture and taste of the Foie Gras. Aside from that, the flavors didn’t mix well. The sauce never blended with the flavor of the Foie Gras, it disappeared too quickly me to taste how the sauce was supposed to compliment the Foie Gras. It left a lingering bitterness in my mouth for a few minutes.
Aside from the dishes I was served, there is also something else worth mentioning; the service. It was clear the sushi chefs were not adept at their craft. They didn’t make the sushi in a fluid motion, instead they had to pat the rice back and forth and took much time cutting the fish. It took over half an hour before I began receiving my food. The restaurant was practically empty.
I asked them questions about the fish. For the most part, they would have to ask another chef or think for a long period of time before being able to answer my question. A lot of the time they were watching the TV behind them. They had a CH-7 horror soap opera on, which destroyed any attempt at a Japanese feel.
The waiter wasn’t too friendly either, there was no smile on her face and every time she came over to place a plate on the table, if there was something in the way she would stand with one hand holding the plate while the other was placed on her hip. Even when she placed the plate on the table, it was more like she somewhat tossed it.
The service charge was already added to the bill. I’m not surprised.
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