Cuisine: Japanese (sushi)
Price: THB2,500 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 8 November 2014
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Value for money: 4/10
Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]
Japanese restaurants have been the popular choice for Bangkokian during the last decade and undoubtedly sushi kind of restaurant is one at the top list. New stores have kept opening, especially in 2014, with omakase style of sushi and high end sushi as the new trend. Umi Sushi Restaurant, at Piman 49 Project (the same block of building as
Saigon Recipe) in Soi Sukhumvit 49, is no exception one of the kind. Umi has just been launched recently at the beginning of November 2014. As for atmosphere, it has been kept in classic Japanese style of simplicity with mainly wooden furniture in soft tone. Once walking into the restaurant, there you would see a sushi counter which can accommodate around 10 guests comfortably. There are also normal seats inside but we did not have a chance to take a look. It was only during soft launch when we visited and even the menu was not completed. Only course menu was offered.
As for service, staffs are lovely and friendly. Though the service was slow (it took us almost 2 hours for lunch), it was still better than expected for newly launched restaurant. Perhaps sushi chefs need to have assistant in order to perform faster. Chef Poj, who is the head chef and co-owner, is skilful and was an apprentice at
Sushi Cyu at All Seasons Place. I was rather impressed with sushi he made. Not entirely matched with those classy ones in Tokyo but enjoyable in the light of Thai sushi chef.
Just one little thing that other co-owners who were at the restaurant during the meal did not pay much attention to customers as ones would expect a newly opened restaurant to do. There were 2 other groups of a few guests, in which I believe to be owners' friends, dined at the same time. At first, they did not recognise my reservation and seemed surprise with our walk-in but one of the staffs did at least. Secondly, they seem to pay much attention with their friends and forgot all about taking care of other customers e.g. asking about how their food were or what could be improved and etc. Anyway, not a big deal but just would like to share impression.
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| Umi Sushi Restaurant @ Piman 49, Bangkok |
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| ingredients for the day |
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| a sushi counter for approx. 10 seats |
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| Chef Poj performing his skill |
It was only the soft launch period during our visit and as mentioned, there were still only course menu available ranging from THB1,800 for lunch and from THB2,500 for dinner. We were there for lunch and went for THB2,500 sushi course which comprised of 12 sushi (including maki). Just a little tip, some of lunch and dinner courses may look the same but are priced differently for example 12 sushi course would cost THB2,500 for lunch but THB3,500 for dinner. Many would have thought that it is only the different between lunch and dinner pricing scheme only. Well, it is not for Umi. Ingredients also get varied. Simply said the higher priced, i.e. dinner, does come with more expensive ingredients and vice versa. Management decision in such difference of lunch and dinner menu is questionable from the light of my view!!!!!
The mean began with a small appetiser of steamed egg (5/10) which was just on par with most of Japanese restaurants in town. There was a piece of prawn inside and nothing else special. A particular attention that should be made is the preserved ginger. It was made in-house with the style such that the level of sweetness and sourness are lower than usual. Spices' touch of ginger was still abundant. It was cut in thick pieces rather than this slices. Well, it was enjoyable in its own style but judge it for yourself though.
The first piece of sushi was Ika (Squid) - 烏賊 (8/10). It was served with a touch of salt and lime juice. Smooth, tender, and fresh in style. Not chewy nor fishy at all. Madai (Red Seabream) - 真鯛 (6/10) was then followed. Not an entirely wonderful bite. There was a trace of fishy aroma though served with grated yuzu and lime juice.
Before I forget, I better mention about rice. Of course, ingredients, which are mainly seafood, are largely imported from Japan. Rice is no exception. I was told that sushi rice at Umi is a blend of Akitakomachi and Koshihikari if I was not mistaken. Out of many sushi restaurants in Bangkok, this is perhaps one of the few that serves rather nice rice with almost al dente (I would say) kind of texture and sourness from vinegar still presents. Many places would serve rice that is too soft and soaky. Temperature was as well kept warm in rice cooker and only some part would be taken out at a time to be used.
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| steamed egg as appetiser |
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| in house preserved ginger |
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| Ika (Squid) - 烏賊 |
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| Madai (Red Seabream) - 真鯛 |
Next were fattier types of fillet. Akami (red fillet of tuna) - 赤身 (8/10), maguro zuke in this case, was marinated before being served and came along with grated yuzu. I like the lovely scent of citrus which cut through the sweet fattiness of tuna. This was a pleasant bite. Chutoro (medium fatty tuna) - 中とろ (7/10) had a nice fragrant of its own. Mild but compliment. However, the cutting proportion of fillet did look a little distorted for this piece. Then Shima Aji (White Trevally) - しま鯵 (6/10) was served. It was delicious but that was it for me. Only the balance between soft and firm texture that played their roles. On the palate, it was kind of bland. This was similar in the case of Aburi Kinmedai (Lightly Grilled Splendid Alfonsino) - 炙り金目鯛 (6/10). The texture and fattiness of kinmedai were wonderful. Nevertheless, the addition of momiji oroshi (condiments made from grated daikon radish and chilli) didn't seem to pair well with aburi kinmedai. Overwhelming, I would say.
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| Akami (red fillet of tuna) - 赤身 |
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| Chutoro (medium fatty tuna) - 中とろ |
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| Shima Aji (White Trevally) - しま鯵 |
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| Aburi Kinmedai (Lightly Grilled Splendid Alfonsino) - 炙り金目鯛 |
Saba (鯖) or Mackerel (7/10) happened to be a surprise for me. It was nicely marinated that yielded mild flavour that incorporated with natural tenderness. But still a trace of saltiness and fishiness. Kohada (Gizzard Shad) - こはだ (6/10), on the other hand, was presented with primary taste of sourness from marination. Not my style but can be enjoyable. At this point, I started to notice that it was coming towards the end of the course when Uni (Sea Urchin) - 海胆 (7//10) was served. It was sure a nice piece with the expected sweetness and creaminess. Still, this was not a fantastic one just yet. Ikura (salmon roe) - いくら (6/10) is usually one of my favourite sushi choice. This time at Umi, it was served in a small bowl rather than in gunkan maki style. When asked whether this supposed to be sujiko (salmon roe in sac), Chef Poj honestly agreed without hesitation. Problem was the quality was not quite there and Chef Poj decided to take the sac off and served in this style. Well, it was still nice with the balance between sweetness and saltiness. The grated yuzu on top did also help bringing up the flavour.
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| Saba (鯖) or Mackerel |
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| Kohada (Gizzard Shad) - こはだ |
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| Uni (Sea Urchin) - 海胆 |
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| Ikura (salmon roe) - いくら |
At this juncture, Chef Pof mentioned that tamago was not quite ready and he would serve something else instead. Aburi Toro (lightly grilled fatty tuna) - 炙りとろ (7/10) and Anago (Sea Eel) - 穴子 (8/10) were the final two pieces. Aburi toro was nice with the almost immediate melting effect as the key. The burnt aroma was pleasurable. Momiji oroshi did pair with this aburi toro better than the previous piece of kinmedai. Lastly, the anogo was served with the classic sweet tare sauce. Nice and soft texture, it possessed.
Negi-toro Temaki (fatty tuna hand-roll) - ねぎとろ手巻き was then served and followed by a soup that was made with minced toro as the main ingredients. Charcoal ice-cream was then served to end the meal. This was an enjoyable ice-cream with smooth and chewy texture but I could not really tell it was charcoal. Nice to have anyway. But not so sure which brand the ice-cream was though.
Well, Umi is a rather decent high end sushi at the end. Of course, it is very expensive with pricing almost in the same range as those in Japan. Surely there are some other more expensive out there in town. I am personally not a fan of this expensive trend in Bangkok though I do enjoy sushi a lot. But as an experience, I could not avoid experiencing, right?
P.S. Almost forget to mention that toro here would be preserved for 8 days before serving and 5 days for akami, in case you are curious.
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| Aburi Toro (lightly grilled fatty tuna) - 炙りとろ |
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| Anago (Sea Eel) - 穴子 |
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| soup with toro as base ingredient |
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| Negi-toro Temaki (fatty tuna hand-roll) - ねぎとろ手巻き |
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| Charcoal Ice-cream |
Umi Sushi Restaurant @ Piman 49, Sukhumvit 49, Bangkok - ร้านอาหาร อูมิ ซูชิ @ พิมาน 49 ซอยสุขุมวิท 49 กรุงเทพ
Floor 3, Piman 49 Project
Soi Sukhumvit 49
Sukhumvit Road
Khlongtan Nuea, Wattana
Bangkok 10110
Open Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11:30am - 02:30pm for lunch and 06:00pm - 11:00pm for dinner
