To be at a most-trusted restaurant and knowing that they would never go wrong with dishes on the menu creates a peace of mind for gourmands.
That's more or less the case during my weekend lunch at Tsu.
Regarded as one of the best-treasured Japanese restaurants in Bangkok, Tsu at JW Marriott is helmed by head chef Yukio Takeda.
Takeda joined the hotel in 2017. Prior to that he had worked at several preeminent dining establishments including two-Michelin-starred Umu Japanese restaurant in London.
At Tsu, Takeda's cuisine showcases his steadfast approach to Japanese culinary sophistication -- a marriage between authentic ingredients and time-honoured recipes.
Of course, such subtlety does not come with cheap prices. As your meal here multiplies in delight so does the cost in your food bill.
I admit that it slightly has drawn me back from visiting Tsu more often.
So, when I learned that Tsu now offers a new weekend lunch concept, in which a la carte dishes come limitless but guests pay a fixed price, I was delighted as much as I wondered if the deal was real.
Grilled Australian angus tenderloin with asparagus.
Prices, 1,950 baht per person, seem quite a good catch for what you will get.
The menu, from which you can order as many dishes as you want, lists 50 items from sushi and sashimi to main meat and seafood course, rice and noodles and desserts.
Everything is a highlight here as the selection is generously built on the chef's popular creations.
You cannot miss the chef's signature white sesame tofu with bonito soy sauce. The homemade delicacy with its silky wobbly texture and mild nutty taste, complemented by salty sweet dry-fish soy sauce, is guaranteed to send tofu connoisseurs to culinary cloud nine.
Other starters ideal to kick off the meal are green salad with crispy shirauo (Japanese whitebait) and teriyaki mayo dressing; grilled asari clam with garlic butter; and piping-hot steamed egg custard.
For the sashimi, sushi and rolls I highly recommend salmon wasabi with salsa and ponzu; grilled unagi sushi; spicy tuna rolls; and deep-fried softshell crab rolls.
The deep-fried category features the likes of tiger prawn tempura; sea conger eel tempura; deep-fried oysters; spicy chicken; and kurobuta pork cutlet. All were masterfully prepared.
Grilled Australian angus tenderloin steak and black pork sukiyaki promise to satisfy meat addicts. Otherwise, go for the seafood counterpart such as grilled salmon, grilled saba mackerel and grilled eel with sweet barbecue glaze.
Regardless of how full I was, I could not afford to miss Kyoto uji cold green tea noodles and hot udon. The latter is prepared with himi udon noodles from Japan's Toyama prefecture and comes in a very tasty concoction of stock.
Desserts are some of the best of its kind in town. Should you be in for a refreshing finale, go for chilled uji green tea pudding or house-made green tea ice cream. Otherwise a warm green-tea mochi rice cake, pan-fried and filled with thick red bean paste, will make you whimper with joy.
Grilled eel with sweet barbecue glaze.
Homemade yomogi red bean mochi.
Uji green tea pudding.
