Smooth flavours

Published on November 2, 2007

Uta-andon is a simple-looking Japanese restaurant located in a back corner of The Emporium mall. Its decoration is austere - the walls are adorned with subdued colours and Japanese-style sliding doors open up to two small private rooms in the back.

The tantalising food here is where the fun begins - the subtle range of flavours is a pleasant assault on the senses, in contrast to the low-key decor. The restaurant's subtle flavours are the fruit of patiently accumulating and experimentally on fresh and premium ingredients. Your taste-buds will find this place exciting indeed. Uta-andon, in fact, is a place with a very long history. The original restaurant was established in Japan about 130 years ago and its home-made udon noodle soups were so good it inspired a famous Japanese novelist, Kyoka Isumi, to write a novel, "Uta-andon", in which he tied the delicacy into his plot. "Uta-andon" the novel was also made into a movie back in 1943.

"Udon is our best known dish because we make our own noodles daily along with the soup from the best ingredients such as dried fish bones, seaweed, soy sauce and some secret ingredients to make it subtle and sweet," explains Uta-andon's manager Siriporn Musika.

Apart from arrays of udon noodles (in set meals and with various soups and sauces), Uta-andon's menu consists of many all-time favourites certain to please, such as sushi, rice with various toppings, pot-baked rice, curry rice and soba noodles, as well as grilled and slow-braised seafood.

I have frequented the restaurant for quite some time and was recently hooked by their fabulous set lunch, in which I was heartily filled with saba served with a very delicious udon noodle soup, grilled mackerel, steamed rice, steamed egg, a side salad and some pickles while my companion was more than happy with his maki sushi, a fabulous bowl of udon and a steamed egg. Uta-andon features other incredible sets of sukiyaki, tonkatsu, soy-braised sole or flounder, nigiri sushi or even nabeyaki udon that is a typical meal for a sumo wrestler. All sets cost from Bt200 to Bt220, and include a small plate fruit for dessert.

On the regular menu, sets like uta-andon are popular, especially among Japanese who crave the authentic tastes of the home-made noodles. The set, Bt240 or Bt300, with steamed egg, is served with udon soup, assorted tempura, rice, pot soup and pickles. You can try dunking the noodles into the tempura sauce and slurping the plain udon soup if you like. But you have to end it with the rice topped with the special and aromatic pot soup to enjoy the subtle delicious tastes of the soup this place is famously known for.

Their pot-baked rice is a must-try item. We choose mixed baked rice sashimi set (Bt600) with a pot of steaming hot baked rice served with a plate of mixed sashimi, squid tempura salad and a clear pot soup. The rice is aromatic with the baked flavours of chicken, shrimp, peas, eggs, fresh gingko nuts and shitake mushrooms and it is best shared and enjoyed with a pot of tea. For those who are health-conscious and look for something tasty, you might want to try their flavoursome karei netsuke (Bt270) or a meaty flounder piece slowly braised with soy-based sauce that makes the fish melts in your mouth. It has a distinct, sweet flavour. You

might want to enjoy it with a bowl

of rice.

But for comfort, nothing beats a hot bowl of their udon noodles. We enjoyed kaisen udon (Bt190), a clear mixed seafood bowl and tamagotoji (egg udon, Bt150) while my companion who loves big portions always go for their una-don (eel-rice, Bt350), katsu-don (pork-rice, Bt180) or gyu-don (beef-rice, Bt170) and a plate of his choice of nigiri sushi.

Udon noodles and soups are available for take-home orders as well, just in case you want to cook them yourself with choices of meats and veggies in your own home.

Uta-andon

Third Floor, The Emporium

(BTS: Phrom Phong)

(02) 664 8528

Open daily, 11am to 10pm

Sirin P Wongpanit  

The writer can be reached at ohsirin.blogspot.com.