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Published on August 12, 2007

Ask Hirokazu "Sonie" Koyama to describe the cuisine he serves at his two restaurants and he hesitates. "I'm not sure," smiles the personable chef, "but I would never call it 'fusion'."

His wife Sawanee "Oy" calls it "home-style". "It's just like the food we serve at home."

Whatever you want to call his cuisine, today for Mother's Day, Sonie is offering a special treat. Bring your mama, grandmama, mama-in-law or even stepmama, and she'll be rewarded with a slice of Sonie's special Japanese-style blueberry cheesecake. Just be sure to book. Supplies of the popular dessert are limited.

Sonie's guests don't worry about what to call his cuisine. They like the way he takes the basic ingredients of Japanese cuisine and makes each dish his own.

 They are a loyal following. First set up on Sukhumvit Soi 31, the restaurant moved to Soi 39 a few years ago. The location was charming, but, alas, the owner has decided to develop the property into a condominium.

Just last month, Sonie's relocated to a townhouse on Soi 31, right next door to his very first location. Seating around 40 people, the smallish restaurant feels almost Italian, with a home-like atmosphere pervading the two floors of the restaurant.

Despite the smaller size of the restaurant, however, Sonie himself has very little time on his hands. About two years ago, he opened a branch in the Playground Complex on Soi Thonglor. Here, he's decorated the restaurant in a modernistic Japanese style. The walls sport woven screens and brick, as well as old-time photos of Nashville, where he spent eight years honing his skills in an eclectic range of cuisines.

The menus in both restaurants are the same, all the dishes that Sonie's personal dining public has come to love. His sushi pizza (Bt240) - Japanese rice topped with shrimp, avocado and tempura batter and then baked - is one of the restaurant's all-time favourites, as is his "Dragon Eye" (Bt380).

"It's just like a sashimi roll, only I deep-fry it very lightly," Sonie says.

It's lovely, a combination of seared tuna, Japanese rice, along with crunchy tempura batter, all wrapped in seaweed.

Sonie also has surprises up the sleeve of his chef's uniform. Both restaurants offer "chef's specials", such as a "Yuppie Lobster" (Bt390), rock lobster, shitake mushrooms and red bell-pepper cream gratin. This dish is bound to end up on the permanent a la carte menu.

With Sonie's love of all types of cuisines, the a la carte menu ranges far and wide. Appetisers, for instance, showcase his creativity, but they also feature some standard Japanese dishes as well: sashimis, tempura and such.

The menus also offer soups, salads and even a "mini pita pizza" section, as well as another section of pasta dishes.

In the section for main dishes, you can try any of Sonie's cajun specialities, a throwback to his time in Nashville, or you can try a dish that showcases his abilities to pull in Japanese ingredients to make a Western dish even better. His salmon fillet with leeks (Bt420), for instance, is accompanied by a white miso cream sauce. The white miso serves as a healthy thickener for the sauce. The fish is topped with seaweed paste, which, crunchy, slightly sour and bitter, complements the fish.

Another reason for dropping by either restaurant is the beer and wine promotions that Sonie features every two weeks. The wines are fine, and available by the glass, starting at a very reasonable Bt100.

At Sonie's on Soi 31, parking is available through an agreement with Silom Village next door. At Sonie's Playground, valet parking is available.

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation