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By Martin Dean
With a stride in my step I walked through the lobby of the Regent
Hotel on my way to the Shintaro Restaurant. I bypassed the ornate
design and fresh flowers whilst listening to the beautiful voice
of the lady singing classical tunes with a piano accompaniment.
I walked into the restaurant with the strains of Jean Michel Jarres'
"oxygen" playing in the background - I knew I was in for
a contemporary dining experience.
The word Shintaro comes not unexpectedly from the Japanese language
meaning amongst other things; new vision, conjuring up the sublime
in art and cuisine and the stimulation of the imagination that heightens
the senses. I was left pondering if their approach to cuisine would
leave me in a meditative moment dwelling on the frontiers and horizons
of Japanese cooking.
As I sat with Khun Annabelle - the PR and Marketing lady for the
Regent and also with my dinner companion for the evening she remarked
that the Chef Satoshi Sawada has already "had a number of his
new designs imitated by other restaurants in the Bangkok metropolis"
and furthermore "he has brought new eloquence "and approach
to preparing sushi, tempura and noodles."
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Looking around prior to ordering I noticed the d?cor and lighting,
which gave a contemporary yet exotic feel to the imminent proceedings.
The lighting system, I was informed, is set on a timed dimmer system
and can be adjusted depending on the time of day with the focus
on the sushi bar and chefs. The rich fabrics are from Jim Thompson
including the traditional Japanese styled Noran banner at the front
of the restaurant. The cabinets and floor coverings include a "combination
of cherry ash and teak woods, cabinets are designed to incorporate
both artwork and stacking or storage of beverages, plates and glassware.
It was time to order as my appetite had been whetted.
As I glanced trough the menu I was spoilt for choice as to what
to order. We decided that the best way forward would be to ask for
lots of small dishes so that we could sample as many as possible
- not to be greedy of course but Chef Sawada has so many styles
of sushi, noodle and tempura dishes with contemporary, colourful
and artistic presentations that it was the only fair way to gain
a full understanding of the dining experience here in the Shintaro.
We opted for Soft shell crab salad - which is partly based on the
world famous Caesar salad and the Viking Rolls. These are filled
with salmon, cr?me cheese, rice, cucumber and seaweed - it proves
very popular with foreigners and locals alike and it certainly is
an exotic assault on the senses. As we sat drinking our cocktails
and waiting for the next dish, Chef Sawada informed me that he "loves
the creative aspect of the restaurant" his favourite being
the combinations he can imagine and then prepare. It seems he spends
a lot of his time just thinking up dishes to delight his customers.
He went on " many of the customers come from outside of the
Hotel, up to 70 %; many of them are repeat clienteles."
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The next dish to be served was something that I have never heard
of in my life in restaurants or elsewhere for that matter; sushi
pizza. These are small and rounded in design and we were served
six of them. They are made of shrimp, crab, cheese, onion and bell
pepper. The preparation was stunning and the taste exquisite. I
would recommend them to anyone with a taste for adventure. We quickly
followed this with Avocado and eel sushi also known as crazi sushi
-this is the Chefs' creation also. These dishes cannot be compared
to any other as they come from the mind of the Chef and only if
they have been imitated or paid homage to at another restaurant
will you have experienced them before.
Chef Sawada completed a Japanese cooking course from Osaka Abeno
Tsuji Cooking College with minor courses in Western and Chinese
cuisine in 1992. He received a cooking license from the Japanese
government and a diploma as a wine connoisseur from SOPEXA, a Tokyo
branch of the wine association based in France in 1991. Prior to
joining the Regent in1998 he was a Restaurant Chef in another Bangkok
Hotel and before he became a Chef he taught Japanese cooking in
Malaysia and was a cook at Hotel Nikko Dusselldorf, Germany as well
as in Tokyo Japan at Ohtsu prince Hotel.
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He personally served our next dish - a combination Sashimi, consisting
of Toro, Hamachi, Amaebi, Hotategai, Shake imported prime tuna,
Yellowtail, Sweet shrimp, Scallop, Ark shell and Salmon. We remarked
that is was a good thing our previous dishes were small, as we needed
an appetite to finish off this one. The fish is imported mainly
from Japan but the salmon is from Norway. Chef informed me "the
fish is never frozen, I have a secret way to keep fish fresh for
up to two to three days." Of course being the professional
that he is, he would not disclose this to me for fear of the competition
finding out.
The belly tuna or Tora is very expensive and Chef informed me of
the proper way to eat it. He said to dip wasobi into the soy sauce
- slightly more than usual, then dip both sides of the Tora into
the sauce and eat as normal. This cuts down on chewing time and
makes swallowing easy - I would recommend this approach to anyone.
The Ark shell is opened and prepared straight away.
We were then served Codfish with spicy cr?me sauce and grilled
oysters with Yazu orange peel sauce. We sampled each other's dishes
and found them to be of as high a standard as all the previous dishes.
By this time we had still enough appetite left for dessert as we
finished of what was left in front of us.
I had been remarking on the table top and the materials used, Khun
Annabelle informed me that the "placemats and napkins are locally
hand made of woven cotton, she continued "the earthenware and
china are specially designed in different shapes and colours to
offer variety." I also remarked that the handcrafted lattice
woven glass dishes and plates looked more like works of art than
for serving. The chopsticks are presented in beautiful hand-woven
rattan; the lacquered holders are made locally. A party of three
or four dining at the Shitaro may have an assortment of different
plates of design and colour, eight styles of sake cups are offered
to guests.
For dessert I ordered the signature dish of natural green tea ice
cream topped with red bean sauce while my dining companion opted
for caramelized black sesame pudding with orange zest. As is our
practice we sampled each other's dishes and found them both very
appealing and a suitable way to round off a perfect meal. As we
chatted over some coffee, the music played in the background and
time passed quickly and, in what seemed like a heartbeat, it was
time to leave. We said our goodbyes to the staff and especially
to Chef and Kuhn Annabelle. I had been delighted with the entire
evening and the innovative cuisine on offer. Not only does Chef
prepare these new dishes, he also thinks them up and to be honest
they are wonderful. Shintaro had lived up to its name of new vision
and it is, as the banner reads outside the restaurant - a break
from the conventional mode, leading to discoveries of countless
joys.
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