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Published on August 8, 2007

For those with a passion for Japanese food, finding a balance between the delicate, delicious cuisine and the price you have to pay for it is always a quandary. You could opt for a buffet where the price is fixed, but that usually means tussling at the sushi station, and interrupted conversation as you ferry your food back and forth. At a top-notch diner meanwhile, you're pampered with five-star service but wind up with a bill to weaken the stiffest knees.

The good news for customers is that the fierce competition in Bangkok's booming Japanese restaurant trade is bringing fresh menu packages designed to attract discerning customers. These are the people who aren't interested in fighting in the line for freshly rolled nigiri or digging for the freshest looking steak, yet don't want to see their wallets empty at the end of a meal either.

Recently, sous chef Songchai Budsen at Swissôtel Le Concorde's Takumi restaurant was given something to stew over by comments from some of his customers. Their gist was that Japanese restaurants with comfortable seating tend to set prices beyond the means of many families' budgets.

"Price is always the main concern when it comes to Japanese food," explains Songchai. "And Japanese food is expensive because it demands the freshest ingredients to make the tastes work. Sushi is the best example - if the fish isn't fresh, people can immediately tell."

So Songchai and his team came up with a new way to serve more Japanese food aficionados. Takumi offers each customer a fixed price of Bt450 for an all-you-can-eat a la carte menu comprising more than 60 items. Also covered are the dishes on the regularly changing board of chef's specials.

"Offering customers an a la carte buffet also helps us monitor our costs," says Willment Leong, Swissôtel Le Concorde's culinary director. "Since we're not wasting our food in the piles at a buffet, we're able to serve the best and freshest to our customers. We only use top-notch ingredients and we still profit because we aren't cooking more than we need to."

Word has spread fast and Takumi now gets regular full houses for both lunch and dinner, especially at weekends, when families gather for a special treat. Takumi's 18 varieties of teppanyaki - from local beef to seafood, mackerel and salmon to deep-fried pork - are a big draw thanks to its delicious home-made sauce. The menu also reveals  sushi, sashimi, tempting rolls such as salmon skin-wrapped spicy makuro maki, nabeyaki (hot pot), assorted soba noodle dishes, and salads of raw tuna and wakame (Japanese kelp) - items that can cost hundreds of baht apiece in typical sit-down Japanese eateries.

But Takumi's desserts are worth leaving room for. Especially recommended is the green tea ice cream with caramel sauce. And if you dare, a plate of cheese tart will leave a satisfied smile on your face.

Reservation is recommended. Call (02) 694 2222.

Sirin P Wongpanit

The Nation