New signature and a la carte menus are making massive waves again at JW Marriott Bangkok's subterranean Nami restaurant, the teppanyaki dimension of Tsu-Nami's indulgent Japanese dining bifurcation.
Kudos for the more daring dishes to “new sensei”, or teacher, 2-Michelin starred, Umu Japanese restaurant in London-experienced, Yukio Takeda, who only took over as Head Chef last October on the condition that he could shake things up.
There was nothing wrong with the former formats, mind you, and their loyal following isn't facing anything too disturbing. But with a new willingness to cross culinary borders in search of intriguing flavours, sharper focus on side dishes, and extra bottom-up homemade activity, Nami is more sharply differentiated than it has been since it first opened, evidently not inauspiciously in the wake of the terrifyingly real Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
Nami's new signature menu of 07 palate-provoking dishes covers the new bases beautifully.
Salads in teppanyaki restaurants tend to be token. But Nami borrows from neighbouring Tsu's exemplary playbook with crisp salad leaves, red cabbage, button tomatoes and whatnot topped with al dente sweet, mild and earthy gobo, or burdock root, and white sesame dressing (B400++).
Prawn-Corn Wrap (380++) takes a leaf from Vietnamese cuisine's vegetables fetish and finds the flavours perfectly compatible with Japanese culinary values. An idealized Japanese crispy batter spring roll stuffed with shrimp and sweet corn seasoned with coriander and sesame oil is drizzled with an exquisite avocado and lemon sauce.
Yet more multicultural is Mussels, green herbs, garlic butter (350++), a Japanization of the classic French Mussels Meuniere, conflating sweet Chilean mussels with Japanese herbs, butter, garlic and white wine. The ingredients are wrapped in cookable clear plastic and teppan-simmered for 3-4 minutes. On opening, the aroma makes one swoon.
Baked Tuna salad (530++) further underscores Chef Yukio's virtuosity. Sesame-crusted tuna and perfectly ripe avocado are wonderful but the sweet onion dressing in which they sit is sublime.
Of course a Japanese chef wouldn't play around with good beef which speaks for itself. Not. A5 Miyazaki sirloin sliced Usuyaki style (1,800++) not only marinates the awesomely marbled meat simply in salt and pepper but wraps it around shallot and garlic before sizzling on the teppan in wagyu jus-infused olive oil. The melt-in-the-mouth outcome is raised another notch with wagyu jus-infused soy sauce. A star is born!
The three main sauces have also been revised, making way for ginger, curry mayo, and black pepper.
Wagyu oil and jus also inspire Japanese Wagyu fried rice (420++). Moreover, the rice, chunks of wagyu and veggies are teppaned with Japanese curry powder, creating another original classic.
For dessert, Homemade Yomogi Mochi (200++), deep forest green Japanese mugwort-infused dumpling filled with red bean paste and sizzled till the skin is crispy, is delish.
Altogether at B2,705 net the set signature menu makes good cents.
One thing hasn't changed is the showmanship with which the menu is rolled out. Our Khun Peak didn't drop the egg before cracking it with no hands, or spill any fried rice on the floor when he spun the bowl, or lacerate anyone's eyebrows either with his spinning spatulas or piece de resistance fire show, and his percussive implement rolls were smooth as a cat's purr.
That's only the tip of the new Nami menu which still panders to most surf and turf preferences, including beef, scallops, lobster, abalone, chicken, kurubota pork, eel, snowfish, lamb, chicken.
Décor of state-of-the-art teppanyaki tables arranged like a casino of culinary adventure also remains unchanged.
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