Sushi Oku serves up serious selection of sushi and sashimi.
THE SETTING
Judging from appearances alone, Sushi Oku may come across as being another run-of-the-milltype Japanese restaurant. But we would like to inform you that looks can be deceiving and that this place is quite the sensei when it comes to sushi and sashimi. Sushi Oku has been open for two and a half years at K-Village and is about to undergo a menu makeover, so we stopped by to check it out.
With a light wooden hue covering its outer façade and a black tiled roof, it looks unmistakably Japanese. A spacious venue with very high ceilings awaits you inside, one that is amply lit with natural lighting too. It’s decorated with a fake cherry blossom tree, mural art and other Japanese knickknacks. There’s a flat screen TV that shows cooking videos that serve to get your appetite going, but if you want a real time cooking show, opt for a high chair by the sushi bar and you’ll be able to watch real sushi masters at work.
Other types of seating available are the standard dining tables and chairs where, unfortunately, you’ll be able to hear what the other patrons sitting behind you are saying. This setting is perhaps a bit too casual for the asking price and the food quality. Read on and you may agree.
THE MENU
Sushi Oku’s kitchen repertoire is full-on, including a dozen appetisers, three salads, 40 choices of nigiri sushi, 10 don buri and, not to mention, many sashimi and sushi sets as well as maki rolls.
Santi roll (B480, all prices shown are net) is named after the head chef of Sushi Oku. First, it definitely scored something for daringly mixing mango with foie gras, but we had to deduct the score right back as the fattened goose liver was overshadowed by the sweet burst of nam
dok mai mango. This dish was still a good start, though, with other redeeming qualities, such as the pops of crunch from the sesame seeds that cover the rice roll.
Tuna salad (B240) is one of the new items that will soon be added. Chunky blocks of tuna are served on a bed of crisp veggies. The signature dressing, with some daikon mixed in it, added just the right amount of zest into the dish (but perhaps you shouldn’t dumb it all in). The akami tuna had a smoky touch from being seared but remained raw and juicy at the centre. It was one very savoury salad.
Beef lovers should consider Matsusaka roll (B890). The thin pieces of marbling meat were blow-torched and provided the melt i n your mouth effect. They sat atop a rice roll which enveloped crunchy asparagus and meaty shiitake mushrooms.
From the fusion sushi page of the menu, we tried Oku toro (B450) and risked increasing our cholesterol levels (but it was well worth it). In this one expensive piece of nigiri sushi, you’ll get four prized ingredients — otoro, black caviar, uni and ikura. There was such a savoury symphony when they all burst with different flavours and textures at the same time.
If you can afford to splurge, consider Oku matsu set (B2,100) which contains ten pieces of nigiri. We won’t list them all here but we will say that all of them were fine and fresh. The standout was Foie gras for its richness which went great with the teriyaki sauce. Engawa is also worth mentioning for its oily sensations and the somewhat bouncy texture of the tail fin. We’ve had some not-so-good experiences with uni at some other places before but the one we had from this set was so fresh and it didn’t have any icky taste to it.
For nothing but pure and raw delight, consider Oku sashimi set A (B450). It features thick pieces of salmon and tuna as well as a whole sliced platoo. The first two did their usual magic but the Thai fish pleasantly surprised us with its texture which was somewhere between firm and bouncy in our opinion. Dip it into the ponzu sauce with chopped scallion to add tartness for good measure.
INSIDER’S TIP
Sushi Oku doesn’t seem to skim on quality and is pretty generous when it comes to its monthly promotions too. Until the end of July, discounts of 20-50% on many selected items are available all day. Vanont Cheowtirakul, Sushi Oku co-owner, used to run Shori Sushi in Asoke while chef Santi Sompakdee has 15 years of experience working at Japanese restaurants under his belt.
VERDICT
We’ll vouch for this place and say that it certainly serves some fresh and fine sushi and sashimi. At the risk of sounding hard to please, however, we were wishing for a more attractive seating arrangement so we could properly savour our fancy sushi. This place is definitely good for sushi fans but, considering the price, there needs to be more frills added to the overall atmosphere.