Best Japanese Restaurant In Bangkok

[bonobo]

I can take Zen, Fuji, or even Oishi for a quick meal, (but then again, I can take McDonalds once a month even though it is not a real burger.)  I find the food edible even if not "real" Japanese.

But I would kill for some real sukiyaki.  I love the dish, and outside of Japan and a couple places in the US, I can't really find quality sukiyaki.  I have happily paid $60 for it in Tokyo, so I would love it if anyone knows where I can get even decent sukiyaki, much less good, here in BKK.

I am not an expert on cooking Japanese food (I cook katsudon, but not much else), but I would imagine that great sukiyaki is ahrd to make due to both the complexity and subtleness of it.

[LadyHeather]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions. With my limited time, it will take me months to try all these places.

I am with bonobo, I love sukiyaki as well, any suggestions for a high quality sukiyaki place?

[jfchandler]

OT, the missus and I headed over to Ramen Tei on Suk Soi 33/1 on Saturday for an early afternoon lunch, and came away mostly unimpressed. The food, with the exception of some very delicious and well-prepared gyoza priced at 120 baht for six, was pretty ordinary yet pricey, as you mentioned, in the 150 to 180 baht per entree dish range.

I was surprised and bummed from the very outset when ordering our drinks, I asked for iced green tea and was told they had none... it's not listed on the menu, and they don't serve it. Only iced Chinese tea available here, which seemed kind of strange for a Japanese noodle shop and put me off a bit for starters.

But while acknowledging that there is a certain style to Japanese ramen shops, what got me down about this place was the atmosphere. As we sat as a table trying to enjoy our meal, we were subjected to a horde of shouting (in Thai) waitresses scurrying back and forth past our table. Every time some guest would come in, shouting greetings. Every time a dish came out of the kitchen, more shouting and rushing past. And noise from the open kitchen nearby. Ditto on the order taking and order delivering style of the rushing waitresses.

The other thing about Ramen Tei is it does live up to its name... it really is just a ramen restaurant, with a nice menu of varied ramen choices, but very few other choices outside that genre....unlike some broader Japanese restaurants, that offer an array of ramen dishes as well as curries...and sushi...and nabe's and such...

I ordered the cold noodles, and ended up finishing most of my wife's pork and egg rice dish, when she was full from a bowl of hot pork noodles. I thought the cold noodles were fine, but nothing special or inspired... while the pork and egg dish was pretty dull in taste.

But what stood out here was the gyoza, even at 120 baht per order... Unlike the gyoza offering at KCa Ramen which comes out with heavy, thick skins and little filling, the little jewels at Ramen Tei arrive with very thin, moist skins with just enough substance to hold their filling. And the filling is tasty and has a good portion of meat mixture. And they were cooked to perfection, not oily or greasy, crisply browned on one side, but moist and white and tender on the reverse.

I'm not sure I'd go back to eat in at Ramen Tei on Sukhumvit Soi 33/1... But I would take out orders of their gyoza.

Another very nice Ramen place is in the same area as Villa market near Sukhumvit soi 33. It is diagonally across from Subway ("diagonally through" the building if you understand). Small place, I have seen plenty of Japanese in there, less non-Japanese. Not pricey.

Ramen Tei. Across from the Bull's Head and the 60 baht shop. Average price of a ramen dish is 160-180 baht. I would call that slightly pricey - but well worth the money. You can also find Ramen Tei on Soi Thaniya in the Silom area, and also in Sukhumvit 39 where the Fuji market is, right at the intersection.

As I mentioned before elsewhere, you can be sure that it's pretty authentic and high quality when the clientele is mostly Japanese.

[MickeyM]

There's a Japanese restaurant on Petchburi somewhere. I forgot excactly where. Was there only once but they had a good and relatively cheap Kobe steak. If only I could remember the name?

Name is 'Kobe Steak House' (Petchburi near Bantathong - Opp. Soi 5). Except for Kobe Beef, prices are in range of Zen/Fuji but quality is superior. (Formerly at Siam Square, but relocated to Petchburi over a year ago).

[jfchandler]

Lately, having introduced my TGF to Japanese food, I discover she's taken quite a sizable liking to it... so now anything BEEF and Japanese food rank as her favorites, meaning we're eating that a lot when away from home...

So on Mother's Day last week, while browsing about MBK Center, it came time for lunch... and a lot of places were pretty crowded.... So we ended up on a lark trying a place I've never heard anything about before on TVisa or elsewhere (which isn't necessarily a good thing), that being the Tagoto Japanese Restaurant hidden away on the fourth floor of the Tokyu Department Store.

Without the banner signs Tokyu has placed lately at their escalator landings, you'd never know this restaurant was located there. It's tucked away in a corner of Tokyu overlooking the Silom Skytrain line, without any especially visible signage. But as it turned out, Tagoto is quite a pleasant place to have a meal, the menu is reasonably priced, and offers quite a choice of different styles of Japanese food, and the service is prompt, efficient and unobtrusive... One caveat, on our first visit, we focused only on cooked foods, as opposed to sushi. (In short, it's everything almost opposite to the Ramen Tei experience mentioned above).

The interior of the restaurant is modern and comfortable, with good sized tables, comfortable booths, and the setting is peaceful and quiet...

Between the two of us, we had a beef sukiyaki set meal for 200 baht, a dish of cha soba (cold green tea noodles) for 140 baht, their Nishoku soba (half soba and half cha soba) for 120 baht, along with a tonkatsu and egg over rice dish for 120 baht, along with an order of iced green tea that was regularly refilled from a pitcher.

All of the food was satisfying... not extraordinary, but fine and reasonable for the prices. One thing I liked was they have an entire large noodles menu page filled with about 20 different choices of various sobas, udons and somens. Ditto on a half menu page with a half dozen curry choices, including all the basic (beef, chicken, fried pork cutlet, shrimp and vegetarian.

On the down side, I found it a bit strange for the sukiyaki set to be accompanied by a small bowl of somwhat pickled sliced vegetables (cucumber, carrot and radish) as opposed to actual Japanese pickles... Especially for a Japanese restaurant located inside a Japanese department store... But, if that's the only demerit to report, they must be doing a pretty decent job at Tagoto. It's a worthwhile stop while visited MBK...

[Nordlys]

The other thing about Ramen Tei is it does live up to its name... it really is just a ramen restaurant, with a nice menu of varied ramen choices, but very few other choices outside that genre....unlike some broader Japanese restaurants, that offer an array of ramen dishes as well as curries...and sushi...and nabe's and such...

As I mentioned before elsewhere, you can be sure that it's pretty authentic and high quality when the clientele is mostly Japanese.

And most clientele of Ramen-tei is Japanese.

You went to a Ramen noodle shop, not a "Japanese restaurant". Its menu is typical of any Ramen noodle shop in Japan (more variety than typical ramen shop atually). Ramen-tei isn't that bad but neither is great, be it ramen or gyoza. I'd rate it as above average. And I haven't encountered a single Ramen noodle shop in Japan that serves green tea.

[bkkjames]

The other thing about Ramen Tei is it does live up to its name... it really is just a ramen restaurant, with a nice menu of varied ramen choices, but very few other choices outside that genre....unlike some broader Japanese restaurants, that offer an array of ramen dishes as well as curries...and sushi...and nabe's and such...

As I mentioned before elsewhere, you can be sure that it's pretty authentic and high quality when the clientele is mostly Japanese.

And most clientele of Ramen-tei is Japanese.

You went to a Ramen noodle shop, not a "Japanese restaurant". Its menu is typical of any Ramen noodle shop in Japan (more variety than typical ramen shop atually). Ramen-tei isn't that bad but neither is great, be it ramen or gyoza. I'd rate it as above average. And I haven't encountered a single Ramen noodle shop in Japan that serves green tea.

Interesting: this website seems to differ in that opinion (scroll down to the section on eating ramen) http://www.tokyotopia.com/ramen-noodles.html

[Nordlys]

Interesting: this website seems to differ in that opinion (scroll down to the section on eating ramen) http://www.tokyotopia.com/ramen-noodles.html

which is?

[bkkjames]

Interesting: this website seems to differ in that opinion (scroll down to the section on eating ramen) http://www.tokyotopia.com/ramen-noodles.html

which is?

something about them serving green tea with their ramen in tokyo. btw, had ramen at the japanese business association (club?) at ground floor of standard chartered building (back building). seem to recall green tea being served to me there - and to all the japanese nationals as well.

[Nordlys]

something about them serving green tea with their ramen in tokyo. btw, had ramen at the japanese business association (club?) at ground floor of standard chartered building (back building). seem to recall green tea being served to me there - and to all the japanese nationals as well.

It's the cheap eatery inside Thai Japanese Association on north Sathorn, isn't it? And they might serve ramen there but it's not a ramen noodle shop from what I remember. I must have had ramen noodle a couple of hundred times in Japan but don't remember ever being served green tea (ryokucha) for drink, iced or hot. Most recently last month in Tokyo, they only seem to have iced water (free) and beer there. But "iced Chinese tea" as fchandler described is commonly served.

Edited August 17, 2009 by Nordlys

[bkkjames]

something about them serving green tea with their ramen in tokyo. btw, had ramen at the japanese business association (club?) at ground floor of standard chartered building (back building). seem to recall green tea being served to me there - and to all the japanese nationals as well.

It's the cheap eatery inside Thai Japanese Association on north Sathorn, isn't it? And they might serve ramen there but it's not a ramen noodle shop from what I remember. I must have had ramen noodle a couple of hundred times in Japan but don't remember ever being served green tea (ryokucha) for drink, iced or hot. Most recently last month in Tokyo, they only seem to have iced water (free) and beer there. But "iced Chinese tea" as fchandler described is commonly served.

I concede you are the ramen expert. didn't ubc excite / axn used to run a weekly programme from japan dedicated to ramen?

[mrnosey]

Theres a place on soi Ekami, on the left at the mouth of the soi nearest the BTS. Forget the name. Very good resturant and not too expensive.

[Vit77]

There is one on Ekkamai, 200m from Sukhumvit on left side.

The name is.. hmmm.. SAKURA or something similar.

They have great, fresh sashimi - and u can take buffet, which costs 400 THB.

There is couple of other good stuff there.. and some not really special,

but if u wanna eat salmon, tuna or other fresh sashimi and don't pay

much, that's the place.

[Nordlys]

For Ekkamai, try this sushi/sashimi place called Uomasa. Best value-for-money sashimi in terms of both the quality and volume I had in Thailand (doubt it can beat the quality of Japanese restaurant in 5 star hotels though). Ekkamai Power Center 3rd Fl.

http://www.asanservice.co.th/customer_link...asaeka/cust.htm

[roamer]

Just tried Tsu at the Marriot for the lunch deal, 5 type Sashimi at 300B++, but you can double that with a beer. Very good sashimi but I would prefer someone else to pay if I went there for dinner, if you like your raw fish and a reasonable sake can't see it as being less than 5000B per head and you can double that if you go for the beef at 4950B a pop.

[Nordlys]

I've been to Tsu when I had Marriott gold card and thought the food wasn't worth the price even at 50% discount we got with the card. Hardly authentic but maybe meant to be Japanese - western fusion, but then I know better Japanese fusion restaurant at far reasonable price than Tsu. Nami (Teppanyaki, part of Tsu-Nami Japanese restaurant in J.W. Marriott) was better.

[Gaccha]

Delicious Izakaya finally rediscovered!!!

I had been taken twice to this place by different Japanese friends. It is taken as read among japanese that this is the best Izakaya in Bangkok. I then lost the place and my Japanese friends have left the country so I spent half an hour asking Japanese restaurant owners for its location... and here it is:

Go down soi24 off Sukhumvit for around 20 metres and it is in the Terminal Plaza on the 3rd floor. It is called Imoya.

It is cheap, totally authentic with a real feel that you are in downtown Shitamachi in Tokyo. I have not seen another farang in the premises.

I recommend the steak where you roll dice to see how many pieces of steak you get for your money.

So sit down on the tatami mats, buy some hot sake, eat fried chips with cheese and korean pizzas, and enjoy paradise.

[jfchandler]

Yes, Imoya has been favorably mentioned here on TV previously. TV member OneThailand likes it, so that's a good recommendation for me... But on the day we went (Monday, I believe) they were closed. So it's still on my need to try list....

[onethailand]

OT, the missus and I headed over to Ramen Tei on Suk Soi 33/1 on Saturday for an early afternoon lunch, and came away mostly unimpressed. The food, with the exception of some very delicious and well-prepared gyoza priced at 120 baht for six, was pretty ordinary yet pricey, as you mentioned, in the 150 to 180 baht per entree dish range.

I'm not sure what you define as ordinary - but the acid test is who eats at Ramen Tei - the answer is - it's full of Japanese people - but that's usually evening. I have never eaten Ramen Tei in the afternoon.

I was surprised and bummed from the very outset when ordering our drinks, I asked for iced green tea and was told they had none... it's not listed on the menu, and they don't serve it. Only iced Chinese tea available here, which seemed kind of strange for a Japanese noodle shop and put me off a bit for starters.

Traditional. Green tea is usually served at nice restaurants. Chinese tea is served at most other places - furthermore, it's free. And btw, most good Japanese restaurants only serve hot green tea, rarely iced. Hot tea? Green tea. Iced tea? Jasmine (chinese) or barley tea.

But while acknowledging that there is a certain style to Japanese ramen shops, what got me down about this place was the atmosphere. As we sat as a table trying to enjoy our meal, we were subjected to a horde of shouting (in Thai) waitresses scurrying back and forth past our table. Every time some guest would come in, shouting greetings. Every time a dish came out of the kitchen, more shouting and rushing past. And noise from the open kitchen nearby. Ditto on the order taking and order delivering style of the rushing waitresses.

Also traditional. The funny thing is I was there Thursday night - and for the first time ever, I saw the owner - standing inside the kitchen, checking and tasting everything. The atmosphere is completely authentic (well, if you consider Thai waitresses shouting in Japanese and Thai authentic).

I've been there on many occasions with friends (Thais) - and not one of them ever seemed bothered. Certainly the Japanese aren't bothered because it's actually what they expect!

Nowadays, if I go to a ramen place anywhere in the world - I know what to expect - if the atmosphere is different, and it's not full of Japanese, the food isn't going to be authentic or as high in quality. I did this in Manila week before last - took some colleagues there - sat down, looked at the menu, and thought to myself "this is not right" - and sure enough, the only authentic thing about that place was the Japanese prices!

The other thing about Ramen Tei is it does live up to its name... it really is just a ramen restaurant, with a nice menu of varied ramen choices, but very few other choices outside that genre....unlike some broader Japanese restaurants, that offer an array of ramen dishes as well as curries...and sushi...and nabe's and such...

I ordered the cold noodles, and ended up finishing most of my wife's pork and egg rice dish, when she was full from a bowl of hot pork noodles. I thought the cold noodles were fine, but nothing special or inspired... while the pork and egg dish was pretty dull in taste.

Katsudon - it's essentially fast food, don't expect anything spectacular

Ramen Tei is a noodle house with some rice dishes, as well as a decent selection of side dishes. Gyoza is very good there - my favorite is the niku dango (meatballs). And my usual noodle dish is the curry ramen... the chyahan (fried rice) was quite decent but pricey.

Don't go there expecting sushi or sashimi or tempura (unless it's with noodles) - you won't find any. This is a salarimen's hangout - middle management getting a quick meal before going home late evening.

Let's do Imoya some time this week - really shouldn't put it off much longer But in closing, Ramen Tei is the most authentic and best tasting Japanese noodle shop in Bangkok, bar none. I don't go that often because it is a bit pricey - but usually still at least once every two months.

Also, I've been to Tagoto - it's pretty good, but given that there are plenty of other choices in MBK, Tagoto isn't a big attraction for me.

Edited August 22, 2009 by onethailand

[jfchandler]

Ramen Tei is a noodle house with some rice dishes, as well as a decent selection of side dishes.

Don't go there expecting sushi or sashimi or tempura (unless it's with noodles) - you won't find any. This is a salarimen's hangout - middle management getting a quick meal before going home late evening.

But in closing, Ramen Tei is the most authentic and best tasting Japanese noodle shop in Bangkok, bar none. I don't go that often because it is a bit pricey - but usually still at least once every two months.

Also, I've been to Tagoto - it's pretty good, but given that there are plenty of other choices in MBK, Tagoto isn't a big attraction for me.

Hey OT.... Nice to hear from you.... Gotta agree to disagree on this...

Leaving atmospherics aside... apart from their excellent gyoza, I found just the food at Ramen Tei ordinary and uninspiring...and relatively expensive for serving up ramen. And that's based on my experience living with and eating with Japanese for many years back in the USA.

Ramen Tei may well indeed resemble an authentic Japanese ramen shop in terms of its style and appearance. If it's the "best tasting" Japanese noodle shop in Bangkok, I feel sorry for the Japanese folks living here... I thought it was interesting...and maybe telling....to hear you say your favorite dish at this "ramen" shop was their meatballs!!!

Re MBK and Tagoto, other than the usual chain outlets there (Fuji, Oishi, etc etc...), what do you like for Japanese food there???

Lastly, re Imoya...that's a deal. Let's do that... Probably later in the week is better. I'm headed to Suan Plu middle of this coming week... Cheers....

[onethailand]

Leaving atmospherics aside... apart from their excellent gyoza, I found just the food at Ramen Tei ordinary and uninspiring...and relatively expensive for serving up ramen. And that's based on my experience living with and eating with Japanese for many years back in the USA.

I have to say this - in nearly every situation I've encountered, the Japanese food in the US does not resemble the Japanese food in Japan. There is a vast difference in quality and sometimes taste.

My experience comes from frequently visiting Japan and being taken to authentic places by locals, as well as my own travails in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Ramen Tei may well indeed resemble an authentic Japanese ramen shop in terms of its style and appearance. If it's the "best tasting" Japanese noodle shop in Bangkok, I feel sorry for the Japanese folks living here... I thought it was interesting...and maybe telling....to hear you say your favorite dish at this "ramen" shop was their meatballs!!!

My favorite side dish was meatballs... haha... my favorite ramen is the curry ramen. Ramen Tei is authentic in every respect including taste, however, not just style and appearance. The Japanese rarely eat Japanese food which is not authentic - or they do it once and never go back. The clientele at Ramen Tei is a 100% indicator of its authenticity.

Re MBK and Tagoto, other than the usual chain outlets there (Fuji, Oishi, etc etc...), what do you like for Japanese food there???

Honestly - I don't eat Japanese there except for Fuji, and that's just for convenience. The malls are not always great places to find authentic Japanese food.

Edited August 24, 2009 by onethailand

[Ulysses G.]

I have to say this - in nearly every situation I've encountered, the Japanese food in the US does not resemble the Japanese food in Japan. There is a vast difference in quality and sometimes taste.

I have to say this, in San Francisco, most of the Japanese food that I had was exactly the same as in low budget restuarants in Japan - exactly!

[jfchandler]

I think you're dead wrong about that... OT...

Los Angeles, by wide repute, has some of the best and most innovative Japanese chefs and restaurants in the world... not to mention a large native Japanese population.

Start with Matsuhisa... and it's a long list onward from there...

[tangoll]

Niku, Japanese restaurant on supermarket/restaurant floor of Emporium Mall, Sukhumvit soi 24, BTS Phrom Phong. The restaurant is at the back, past Burger King and Swensen's. From 10:30 am - 4 pm, daily, lunch special, either sukiyaki or shabu shabu, cook yourself, lunch set from 169 baht for pork to 199 baht for beef, with veggies, rice, kimchi, sauces. Very fresh ingredients. Dinner buffet is about 400 baht per person, so the lunch set deal is a good one.

Since you cook the food yourself, the cooked items are only as good as you wish to make it. Reasonably authentic, and when compared to Tokyo prices, like Serena's at Roppongi, Niku's is like 800 yen for lunch set vs. Serena's 10,000 yen for dinner set. Not exactly comparing like to like, but you get the idea.

[onethailand]

I have to say this - in nearly every situation I've encountered, the Japanese food in the US does not resemble the Japanese food in Japan. There is a vast difference in quality and sometimes taste.

I have to say this, in San Francisco, most of the Japanese food that I had was exactly the same as in low budget restuarants in Japan - exactly!

Well, low budget I will agree... LOL... most commonly teriyaki chicken... most of them seem to modify their dishes to accommodate American tastes, not surprisingly. By comparison, Ramen Tei is not modified to accommodate Thai tastes, it is very authentic.

JF - Ramen Tei is not exactly trying to emulate Matsuhisa or Nobu... neither of which I've been to. Went to a number of places in Little Tokyo with my Japanese classmate and the majority of them are - as Ulysses put it - low-budget restaurants. Just as you can't compare McDonald's to Fuddruckers, it's really not sensible to compare Ramen Tei with Matsuhisa.

Only once in Japan did I have food I didn't like - but it was 100% authentic - just that I don't particular care for Kyoto-style food. I've eaten at sukiyaki, teppanyaki, izakaya, yakiniku, Kyoto-style, and especially ramen shops in Japan. And strangely enough, Yoshinoya (Beef Bowl) is not even as good as it is in LA... but every ramen shop (probably 7 or 8 of them in Tokyo and Japan) was very high standard, and Ramen Tei meets this same standard.

To be dead honest - if it had served something of the standard of US Japanese food, I wouldn't be going back for sure. Cheaper to go to Fuji for that.

Tangoll, do you know what time Niku serves lunch until?

[bonobo]

.

Only once in Japan did I have food I didn't like - but it was 100% authentic - just that I don't particular care for Kyoto-style food. I've eaten at sukiyaki, teppanyaki, izakaya, yakiniku, Kyoto-style, and especially ramen shops in Japan. And strangely enough, Yoshinoya (Beef Bowl) is not even as good as it is in LA... but every ramen shop (probably 7 or 8 of them in Tokyo and Japan) was very high standard, and Ramen Tei meets this same standard.

But the Yoshinoya in Japan have pork bowls which I find guiltily delicious.

I lived in Japan for a total of three years, and excepting some very high end noodle shops and perhaps some high-end sukiyaki shops, I have had bascially the same level of food in the US as in Japan.  But I have have more innovative Japanese in LA and New York, to be honest.

But then again, I will eat at Oishi, Zen, or Fuji, not because it is so delicious, but because it is at least acceptable and very convenient.

[onethailand]

But the Yoshinoya in Japan have pork bowls which I find guiltily delicious.

I lived in Japan for a total of three years, and excepting some very high end noodle shops and perhaps some high-end sukiyaki shops, I have had bascially the same level of food in the US as in Japan.  But I have have more innovative Japanese in LA and New York, to be honest.

But then again, I will eat at Oishi, Zen, or Fuji, not because it is so delicious, but because it is at least acceptable and very convenient.

Haha... actually you're right, those pork bowls were pretty good. But it's just not the same without beef... they finally got it back last year after a long ban on US beef.

Innovative Japanese - yes. Lots of great fusion and stuff in the US - but you can only be so innovative with ramen! And I confess that most places I went to in Japan was as someone else's guest. But definitely not the ramen shops... there's also a great Italian in the supermarket of Mitsukoshi at Shinjuku station where you pay the same price for three different sizes of pasta... something like 468 yen - what a superb deal, though don't expect it to be the best Italian pasta you've ever had... still plenty good.

Edited August 26, 2009 by onethailand

[jfchandler]

I agree with Bonobo about this 100%.. I rarely have had anything bad or objectionable at the better Japanese chain places here...though I do tend to stay away from their raw fish dishes and stick to cooked stuff.... I'm still a little uneasy about eating fresh sushi/sashimi at chain places in Thailand... not because of any experience at all... just hesitant and a bit fussy about that...

OT... really.... if you haven't ever eaten at Matsuhisa or Nobu... you HAVEN"T eaten Japanese!!!!! (ramen excluded)!!!! I've eaten some of the best food and drink ever in my life at those two places.... Ohhh my!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I'm crying.....

But then again, I will eat at Oishi, Zen, or Fuji, not because it is so delicious, but because it is at least acceptable and very convenient.

[tangoll]

onethailand, lunch special at niku goes from 10:30 am (which is when Emporium opens, I think) until 4:00 pm. Not sure whether this is available on Sunday or not, but certainly weekdays.

[jfchandler]

Niku, Japanese restaurant on supermarket/restaurant floor of Emporium Mall, Sukhumvit soi 24, BTS Phrom Phong. The restaurant is at the back, past Burger King and Swensen's. From 10:30 am - 4 pm, daily, lunch special, either sukiyaki or shabu shabu, cook yourself, lunch set from 169 baht for pork to 199 baht for beef, with veggies, rice, kimchi, sauces. Very fresh ingredients. Dinner buffet is about 400 baht per person, so the lunch set deal is a good one.

Since you cook the food yourself, the cooked items are only as good as you wish to make it. Reasonably authentic, and when compared to Tokyo prices, like Serena's at Roppongi, Niku's is like 800 yen for lunch set vs. Serena's 10,000 yen for dinner set. Not exactly comparing like to like, but you get the idea.

Gotta give a big thumb's up to Tangoll for this recommendation. It's certainly not the "best," but.... I tried Niku for lunch today, ordered one of their specials, and had a very good meal at a very good price. The quantity of food was plenty to satisfy a big guy and big appetite such as mine, and everything tasted great. I'd say the lunch specials at Niku are a definite value contender for shabu-shabu or sukiyaki eating. (Note, Niku, which I missed the first time walking through, is in the far rear left corner of the food court at Emporium, next to the Sunrise Tacos outlet.)

To elaborate a bit on the above post, my waitress today clarified that their lunch specials are only good Tuesday through Friday. In one of those half-English, half-Thai conversations that always leave a bit of doubt, she seemed to indicate they are closed on Mondays and that their one-page, separate lunch specials menu is not offered on weekends.

Indeed, I went there today about 3:30 pm and they placed their regular menu and lunch specials menu in front of me. So it's a definite good deal that they continue to offer their lunch specials until 4 pm, past the usual 2 or 2:30 pm times typical in restaurants. The top choices for lunch sets are pork shabu shabu for 169b, pork sukiyaki for 179b, beef shabu shabu for 189b, and beef sukiyaki for 199 baht. (I believe I got that right, though the middle two of those may have been reversed in price). (All of their menu prices are excluding a 10% service charge and 7% tax).

Each of those sets comes with your plate of thinly sliced meat, along with a bowl filled with accompaniments--a couple slices of fish cake, a wedge of tofu, udon noodles, lots of slices of cabbage, a wedge of corn, etc. Likewise, they serve three dipping sauces, including a chili sauce and a ponzu sauce. You also get a small lettuce salad, a small cup of kimchi, and a small bowl of Japanese rice. I ordered a refillable glass of iced green tea that ran 40b.

To compare the lunch specials with their regular menu, their regular menu offers a 399b++ all-you-can eat shabu-shabu or sukiyaki buffet with your choice of beef or pork or seafood. Or, for individual orders, they have sets of your choice of meat and vegetable, etc. accompaniments for 349 baht. Or, you can order just dishes of meat only starting at about 250b++ and going up from there...

How much up from there??? It was very interesting to see on their regular menu that they claim to also offer several varieties of sliced beefs, including Australian and three very pricey Japanese varieties--Wagyu, Matsuzaka and Kobe... If memory serves right, the first Japanese variety was about 600-700b per order (meat only), the Matsuzaka about 1,200 per order and the Kobe about 2800b per order. I believe they also offered an Emperor's combination plate of their three varieties of Japanese beef also priced at about 2,800b. (For those who have never tried it, real Kobe beef is a very expensive, wonderful delight. I've had it grilled before on top of sushi rice, and it was worth every penny (or dollars, in the case of Kobe beef). But I'm not sure I'd want to take real Kobe beef and dunk it in boiling water for shabu shabu.

For those who prefer other choices for lunch, Niku's lunch specials menu also includes probably a dozen other items, beyond the pork/beef shabu/suki set choices mentioned above. Individual entree items of grilled salmon, grilled saba, sliced beef over rice and a variety of other choices are among them, all priced in the mid-100b range.

The atmosphere is nothing special...just tables and chairs for groups of four, each with its own electric table-top stove, and a fairly large eating area.. But the food choices are good and attractively priced, making Niku a good lunch or early dinner option.

PS - With the rain pouring down on Tuesday (and seemingly every day lately), I chose Niku today because I knew I could get to and from the Emporium via SkyTrain without having to venture into the uncovered outside. But it was only today in doing so that I fully realized just HOW MANY different Japanese eating choices are available inside the Emporium, not to mention of course the many more in the surrounding Japanese influenced neighborhood.

But at the Emporium now, just for the record, there are outlets of: Fumi, Ootoya, Niku Shabu-Sushi, O-Ho Japanese Curry, and Nippon Kai (all on the 5th fl.), Aoi and Fuji (4th fl.), and Utaandon (3rd fl.), based on my exploring today and the Emporium's somewhat out-of-date restaurants directory.

Suffice to say, you could do a lot of Japanese food eating there, without ever venturing outside.