It was a drizzly Friday evening and Shintaro was enjoying brisk business as it has been since 1997.
During my visit, the 60-seat Japanese restaurant seemed to maintain its appeal. The happy crowd that day was a mix of families, friends and corporate folks, most of whom looked like regulars.
Among the things that keeps them coming back is the laid-back vibe despite its luxurious address. It's the kind of folksy atmosphere you would find at a neighbourly sushi restaurant in Tokyo.
All the charms are still there, except chef Satoshi Sawada, who, for more than two decades had been the restaurant's head chef.
Taking the helm of the 25-year-old restaurant in September was chef Tomoaki Taki, a young cooking pro from Chiba.
A trained jeweller-turned-kaiseki master, Taki boasts a career profile that includes years at top Japanese kitchens in Australia, Germany and UAE.
He aims to bring fresh artistic flair and culinary sensibilities to Shintaro, following his imagination and availability of the best seasonal ingredients. This means a wide selection of a la carte dishes and multi-course omakase meals.
The 70-item a la carte menu features an impressive list of sushi and sashimi, fresh from Tokyo's Toyosu Market, every Tuesday and Friday. A moriawase platter (3,600 baht for sashimi and 3,100 baht for sushi) allows you to enjoy various seafood in one go.
The Ginza sushi moriawase we had featured eight pieces of perfectly-crafted sushi rice topped with thick slabs of chutoro (tuna belly), otoro (fatty tuna belly), hamachi (yellowtail), madai (red seabream), salmon and glazed grilled unagi (freshwater eel) and ample helpings of uni (sea urchin roe) and ikura (salmon roe). The platter also included four pieces of negi toro maki (chopped tuna sushi), two pieces of tamagoyaki (sweet omelette) and a miso soup.
To offer more convenience, there's a separate section in the menu highlighting the signature dishes of chef Taki. Our dinner was built from that list.
The madai usuzukuri, a cold plate of paper-thin red seabream with ponzu and spicy white radish (790 baht), truffle Wagyu gyoza, or pan-fried dumplings with Wagyu beef filling, served with a duo of ponzu sauce and honey mustard (500 baht) provided us with an orientation to the chef's culinary tact.
For the main course, options are plenty no matter whether you prefer red meat, seafood, or poultry.
A friend had the gindara saikyo-yaki, or miso-marinated Chillian black cod (1,400 baht), and was pleased with the firm quality of the glossy white meat fish and its savoury sweet glaze.
Although I'm not a big fan of poultry, I was impressed with the chef's rendition of grilled duck breast with miso green pepper (800 baht).
Served on a large hoba leaf over a sizzling hibachi grill were neat slices of duck breast exhibiting firm pink meat with supple skin intact. The juicy and tender duck was lent a piquant finish by a chunky spread of miso and green pepper sauce that came underneath.
As a discerning beef loon, finding excellent quality steak is not an everyday reality. So I didn't expect much here either.
But the Kagoshima A5 Wagyu rib-eye (240 baht per 10g) turned out to be one very fine steak, albeit with a humble look. The beef, from Nozaki farm's champion-grade cattle, displayed a naturally flavourful taste with sweet fatty juice. It was tender but still gave a nice chew.
The other red meat dish we had was grilled Australian lamb chop with truffle soy mustard (1,250 baht).
I loved how the lamb was presented -- unpretentious and requiring the use of the hand. It's a tasty, finger-licking dish enjoyed with friends or family.
The evening wrapped up on a sweet note with lovely-looking desserts or Hokkaido milk and mango pudding (250 baht) and Japanese rare cheesecake with shiny muscat grapes and yuzu gel (290 baht). They tasted as wonderful as they looked.
Should you wish for a carefully-choreographed and more interactive dining experience, go for the omakase dinner. The prices start from 4,500 baht per person.
During lunchtime, the three-course lunch sets are popular.
Options include a sashimi lunch set, sushi set, grilled saba, salmon teriyaki set, glazed grilled eel set, beef or pork sukiyaki set, tonkatsu set and tempura set.
- Shintaro
- Anantara Siam
- Ratchadamri Road
- Call 02-126-8866
- Open daily from noon to 2.30pm and 6-10.30pm
