A friend once spoke to me in jest about the gastronomic imperialism that has taken hold of this country while we were poking around on our side plates a couple of sushi tempuras helplessly drowned in salsa verde.
Amid cut-throat competition, so many Japanese restaurants have resorted to excessive twisting and reinventing of their offerings that it has become confusing to just browse through the menu. But these few suicidal sushi tempuras on our plates that day did not lose their lives in vain. In fact, they led me back to the basics and hammered home how taste buds respond best to honest comfort food.
The other week, I sat at a table surrounded by large tanks full of fish; but ornamental ones, not those which are fried or poached on order. Tank Restaurant & Cafe is tucked away in a Pracha Chuen neighbourhood north of Bangkok. Its owner, Attapol Chantkam, wasn't coy, saying that he wants his customers to have happiness and be able to eat it, too. He said many of his customers are regulars; mums and dads, and occasionally the grandparents as well, being ushered in through the restaurant door by their wide-eyed children in awe of the schools of "nemos" swimming about in the crystal-clear water tanks behind their seats.
Tank's menu is bursting with fares which the whole family can tuck in together. The dishes are mostly non-spicy but packed with flavours. For those who just cannot decide what to order, the menu offers suggestions. If you come alone and want something quick and easy, look for dishes under "quick eats". There are also several dishes under the "for sharing" category for groups.
My lunch kicked off with glazed, crispy tofu with tempura sauce (125 baht). The tofu came in cubes lightly coated in thin batter that turned yellowish when deep-fried and was sprinkled with chopped spring onions.
The batter was crispy and not oily at all while the bean curd had that chewy texture with mild beany flavour I like in tofu. Dip it in tempura sauce if you need something to tickle your taste buds.
Next came salmon and avocado salad with Tank's own hand-whipped dressing (285 baht). Salmon and avocado might sound too "creamy" for a salad dish. But the mellow chemistry between them has turned the dish into a fixture on the menus of many restaurants.
The freshness of this dish has to be tasted to be believed, with a bed of leafy greens and crunchy tomatoes. The greens were topped with sashimi-grade salmon slices. Generous drizzles of Tank's dressing brought out the salad's crunch as well as the natural, scented creaminess of the avocado.
But if you want something satisfyingly adventurous for your palate, the Thai spicy sashimi salad (265 baht) can present quite a twist.
Crushed fresh garlic, green chilli and lime juice gave the dressing a full aroma and a tangy flavour. With fine quality sashimi (mixed cuts of tuna, salmon, hamachi and tako), fresh garden vegetables and red and green seaweeds thrown in, the dish made for a refreshing gastro-encounter and worth a try even for those who don't handle capsaicin well.
Next came the fried free-range chicken marinated with shio koji sauce (285 baht for half).
Fried chicken is a simple comfort food for many Thais and this one is definitely for sharing whether ordered half or whole.
The shio koji (koji is Aspergillus oryzae used to make soy sauce, miso, fermented bean paste) was massaged into the chicken which was then deep fried until golden.
The poultry was evenly cooked and its meat moist with the touch of the mild, permeating flavour of the shio koji. The fried chicken was left to rest properly after being taken out of the deep fryer to ensure it doesn't end up soggy from the inner steam and retains its crispy skin.
It came equipped with mixed pickles but no sauce or condiments. If one is accustomed to salty and heavily seasoned chicken, this dish could come across as being on the bland side. Having said that, one shouldn't call out nam jim jaew, the Isan dipping sauce for grilled meat. It may be wise in this case to keep an open mind and do the chicken justice by enjoying it for what it is. The restaurant admits, however, that it gets requests for the nam jim jaew once in a while.
And to satisfy the cravings for something deep fried, Tank has a line up of authentic Japanese tonkatsu (325 baht à la carte) and tempura (185 baht à la carte).
The tempura I ordered came with the typical offerings of eggplant, mushroom, pumpkin and two prawns. The prawns were sweet and tender. The tempura battering was crisp, incredibly thin and not too oily.
Switching to everyone's favourite, the beef tongue stew (495 baht) was indeed the show-stopping killer. The suggestion is to leave some room or to go straight for it.
The chunky slices of beef tongue, cut in about the right thickness, popped out from the piping hot, chocolate brown, oozing gravy served with boiled carrots, potatoes and green beans -- a stark difference, appearance-wise, from the light watery gravy version of the dish at some eateries.
I was drawn to it just by the fragrant smell of the springy home-made toast cubes loaded in a small basket. The bread itself constituted the perfect accompaniment. Being unsweetened, it is, therefore, "neutral" in taste and can convey the full extent of taste soaking up the gravy like a sponge.
The tongue slices were juicy and tender and did not leave too much of a beefy aftertaste. This was most satisfying and filling.
To my surprise, Tank does not have a separate dessert menu. I asked for the specials and moments later, chocolate lava cake, toffee nut latte cupcake and home-made ice creams -- umeshu, raspberry beer gelato, and green tea -- arrived.
If you don't have a sweet tooth but want something to cleanse the palate with, the umeshu comes highly recommended. The sorbet was light and refreshing without a strong punch of sharp sourness that pierces through the roof of your mouth. There were also tiny pieces of plum flesh to nibble on.
For those who crave more, the chocolate lava is the real deal. It can be paired with an ice cream of your choice and I had it with tofu gelato. The ice cream was slightly sweet and went down well with the flowing warm dark chocolate sauce. It was a wonderful way to round off the meal.
