While fans of your standard Japanese buffet are used to the Thai-ified concept of sushi - thin pieces of raw fish that barely cover a rice ball to be dunked into soy sauce so pungent because a big dollop of wasabi has been mixed in it - true sushi enthusiasts know that savouring a piece of sushi is a more delicate affair than that.
First, you don't mix wasabi in soy sauce. Put it directly on the fish. Then you flip it and dip the flesh into soy before landing it in your mouth. You're supposed to eat one piece of sushi in one go, not leaving half of it on the plate. Then you eat a piece of pickled ginger to cleanse your palate before moving on to another. And, phew, these steps are just the gist.
Well, it's not a crime if you didn't know that and, fortunately, there's a place where you can learn how to appreciate sushi and sashimi in a manner that won't offend Jiro.
Gindara steak
Recently opened sushi bar Sankyodai, meaning three brothers, is trying to present sushi in a sophisticated and authentic light. Decor-wise, Sankyodai is warm and inviting. It's brightly lit from above through a ceiling made of many pieces of wood in triangle shapes, painting the white walls with shadows and warm light.
While the venue is small, its menu is big with an extensive selection of the usual suspects in Japanese cuisine such as sushi, sashimi and fusion-y rice rolls.
Served with ponzu, Seikai aburi (B1,450; prices subject to tax) combines six partially grilled delicacies on one plate from slightly smoky and melt-in-your-mouth otoro to majorly marbled Matsusaka beef to chewy Swedish cow tongue.
San umi sake sashimi (B420) gives you a tasty trifecta with three types of raw salmon. While you might be familiar with the oily umami of Norwegian origin or the firmer touch of Tasmanian tuna, Scottish Loch Duart should please you with its unfamiliar and mellow texture.
Another triple treat is San maguro (B920), which offers three cuts of bluefin tuna, giving you different degrees of juiciness and fat. Chutoro is not as oily as otoro but still dissolves with flavours effortlessly while tenmi (the reddest one) offers a leaner and meatier touch.
San umi sake sashimi
On the rice-rolls front, Sankyodai does quite well with some well-calculated creations. The idea of mixing raw fish with fruit may not sound appetising but Salmon mango roll (B380) works. The refreshingly sweet ripe mango counters the fatty fish. Creeping in like a stealth samurai are bubbles of fish roe.
It's a delicious sumo-wrestle between two oily delicacies in Matsu passion roll (B1,550), which is basically seared foie gras inside a rice roll that is wrapped in Matsusaka beef. While that may sound like an overwhelming fatty feast, other ingredients like pickled wasabi bring a nice balance to the dish.
Although generously dressed in veggie sauce, Hamachi roll (B400) doesn't go soggy or fall apart. Freshness and crispness from the veggies cut through the oily fish, rendering it scrumptious.
Besides pay-per-piece sushi choices such as Unagi (B70 per piece) and Anago (sea eel; B140), there are also some value sets to choose from. Salary earners with a middle-level job should be able to afford Nami (B460), which offers some variety but not so much quantity. It features four types of fish, tako, tagomaki and some sad space that should have been filled with more sushi.
Seikai aburi
Those who feel icky about eating raw stuff also have other choices in the form of teppanyaki and rice bowls. Gindara steak (B500) offers flesh of snow fish that can really kick-start your appetite with its silky touch. The accompanying veggies are grilled just right, offering some smokiness while remaining moist.
A visit to Sankyodai will be memorable if you have a thing for raw delights but it won't be cheap unless you stick to the affordable items on offer (we eat expensively because we're VIP and all that).
Visit before the end of June and receive a complimentary San umi sake sashimi for every two customers. For every paying four customers, they offer San umi sake sashimi and Australian beef tataki for free.
Sankyodai should please die-hard fans of sushi with the extensive choice the place has to offer, none of which taste or smell fishy.G
Sankyodai
Japanese/Fusion 11:30am-2:30pm, 5-10pm 88/1, 24th Avenue, Sukhumvit Soi 24 02-261-7946 http://www.facebook.com/SankyodaiJapaneseCuisine
Matsu passion roll
