This Japanese restaurant is so popular that you could end up waiting for over half an hour to be seated if you don’t make a reservation in advance. The reason behind this is the shabu shabu / sukiyaki buffet that serves quality beef and pork for the price of 360 baht/person. (Additional 40 baht/person if you want both shabu shabu and sukiyaki.)

First time customers may get confused with the various sauces and cooking utensils, so the restaurant has provided instructions on how to properly cook shabu shabu and sukiyaki at the back of the buffet menu. Customers can also order additional dishes from the a la carte menu.

For shabu shabu, a pot of boiling broth is set on a portable gas stove and customers add their desired vegetables into the pot to cook. Meat is usually dipped one at a time into the soup and eaten right away.

There are two types of dipping sauces for shabu shabu — gomatare, a creamy light brown sauce made from grinded sesame seeds, and ponzu, a clear dark liquid with sour taste. Grated radish and chili, and chopped scallions are condiments added to the ponzu sauce for more flavor.

Shabu Shabu Sauce (Left to Right): Gomatare sauce, ponzu sauce and condiments to add to ponzu.

For sukiyaki, a shallow pan with lard is set on the same type of portable gas stove and once the lard starts to melt, vegetables are added in with the beef and sauteed until slightly cooked, then the dark sukiyaki sauce is poured in. The meat and vegetables are then cooked in the sukiyaki sauce and absorbs the sweet and salty flavor of the sauce. For this reason, the meats are eaten dipped only in raw eggs.

The beef, pork and vegetables can be ordered continuously until full; however, the restaurant will charge 100 baht per dish for any leftover meats. Garlic fried rice is included in the buffet as well.

Desserts include various flavors of ice cream, raspberry sorbet from ete, and shaved ice with red beans; however, desserts are not part of the buffet except during lunchtime, in which ice cream is included.

Akiyoshi
Taisin Square Building, 1st & 2nd Floor
Between Sukhumvit 67 & 69
Prakanong, Wattana
Bangkok, Thailand 10260
Tel: 02-381-2267-8
Open: daily 11:30am-2pm and 5:30-10pm

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Pomodoro is probably a well-known Italian eatery among Bangkokians, with many branches at the heart of Bangkok, but amici, it’s newly opened sister restaurant, serves Italian delicacies that are aimed towards the higher-end customers. This two-story restaurant is located inside Siam Paragon, the shopping complex with all the buzz right now. Upon entering amici, you will be greeted with a drinks bar before you encounter the dining area. The square tables are topped with white tablecloths while the circular tables, suitable for two, are topped with creamy colored tablecloths with huge white leather place mats that cover the whole table. The lighting is dim and there are outdoor seating in the balcony area for those who wish to be close to nature.

While some of the items on the menu are similar to that of Pomodoro, you can also expect to find foie gras, lobster, lamb chops and varieties of beef and fish at amici. There are also less pasta dishes and more main course dishes available on the menu and of course, the price is higher as well. Pomodoro brought its tradition over to amici and all guests are served complimentary warm bread sticks with two types of dipping sauce – a traditional tomato sauce and a tomato-with-mozzarella mixture in olive oil.

After browsing the extensive menu and much contemplation later, we settled on the Beef Carpaccio and Caesar Salad for starters and Italian Sausage Risotto and Black Tagliatelle with Crustacean Sauce for our main courses. The appetizers came and the Caesar Salad (320 baht) was the first dish up for scrutiny. Well-sprinkled with bacon and mozzarella cheese, this dish was your average Caesar salad. It would have made a better impression on us if the dressing had been more concentrated. Instead, all we could taste were the saltiness of the bacon and anchovies, which overpowered the dressing, leaving a mass of bland, creamy lettuce leaves.

The Beef Carpaccio (320 baht), on the other hand, was a show-stealer and it instantly became our Must Order dish from amici. Lined with rocket leaves on the bottom, the paper-thin slices of raw beef were then dressed with balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of the lemon wedge that came garnished with the dish, and sprinkled with shaved parmesan cheese. An explosion of flavors filled the mouth upon tasting this dish; the mixture of aromatic rocket and not-too-tangy balsamic vinegar with a hint of lemon complemented the fresh beef and the smoky parmesan helped balance the flavors.

The main courses came next and the smell of the Italian Sausage Risotto (360 baht) was enough to water our mouths. Hot steam rose as we dug into the risotto and the flavor was as good as the smell. The Italian sausages were salty so when eaten with the risotto, the overall taste was just right.

The Black Tagliatelle with Crustacean Sauce (420 baht) was interesting, as it had pieces of lobster and huge scallops which were tender and flavorful. Asparagus pieces were also present in the creamy crustacean sauce, although the dish would’ve been more delectable had the black tagliatelle (made from squid ink) not had texture like fine sand when chewing.

At first glance, the restaurant gives off the impression of a romantic trendy hangout and I would probably become a regular visitor had they not placed me near the kitchen doors where, towards the end of my meal, I witnessed something which made me decide never to step foot in this place again. In front of the kitchen doors stood a table where the complimentary bread and sauce were kept in big plastic containers. I sat facing this table and saw a waitress bring back the leftover complimentary bread basket and dump the contents back into the container to be re-used for the next customers. This disgusted me greatly and I thought, “If they reuse the tomato sauce and the bread, what other horrifying things are they doing behind the kitchen doors?!?” *shiver* Needless to say, I lost my appetite and quickly bolted out of there.

amici
Siam Paragon Shopping Center, Ground Floor
Rama 1 Rd., Pathumwan
Bangkok, Thailand 10330
Tel: 02-129-4331-2
Open: 11am-11pm

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This American country-style diner is originally located between Sukhumvit Soi 3 and 5 but the recently opened branch at Siam Paragon gives off a different atmosphere; one that’s more family friendly and with a sense of comfort. The bright lights from the high ceiling casting on the plush red velvet sofa gives the place an easygoing feel. Couples who wish to be secluded in their own world, don’t sweat…the restaurant offers outdoor seating with a view of an artificial pond.

The atmosphere at Tony Roma’s during the day.

Complimentary bread and herbed butter.

The menu features all American food with varieties of appetizers, salads and main courses such as ribs and burgers. For those who can’t decide on what to order, combination platters are also available. The Appetizer Sampler (385 baht) comes in a combination of Mozzarella Sticks, Fire Wings and Potato Skins with three types of dipping sauces for each appetizer.

The Mozzarella Sticks are best eaten hot, with the marinara sauce. The stringy cheese will ooze out upon taking your first bite. The Fire Wings came lusciously coated in a spicy BBQ sauce and tasted divine with the Bleu cheese dip. Potato Skins are probably the most popular appetizer here, and it came brimming to the top in melted Cheddar cheese and crispy bacon bits. Paired with the sour cream, it was loaded with satisfaction (and calories).

Tony Roma’s is well-known for their ribs, with Original Baby Backs being the most famous of the lot. Ribs are available in half slab (335 baht), regular slab (435 baht) and full slab (525 baht) and are served with coleslaw and your choice of baked potato, french fries, ranch-style beans, rice, corn on the cob or tomato pesto. For those who can’t decide on which ribs to order, Tony Roma’s offers the Star-Studded Sampler (595 baht) with four types of ribs – the Original Baby Backs, Carolina Honeys, Red Hots and Blue Ridge Smokies. Steaks, chicken, seafood, sandwiches and burgers are also available for those who do not wish to get their hands messy with the ribs. On that particular day, we decided on The Roma Feast (795 baht), which is ideal for 2 and comes with your choice of ribs, BBQ chicken, special sausages, corn on the cob and a bowl of coleslaw, all in a set of two’s except the coleslaw.

The Original Baby Backs tasted just right and were so tender I didn’t have any trouble removing the meat from the bones. The BBQ chicken came smothered in BBQ sauce and didn’t need any extra seasoning. The sausages were a bit hard but again, didn’t need extra sauces although it tastes heavenly with a bit of Bleu cheese dip. The corn could’ve used a bit more time on the grill but the coleslaw was absolutely refreshing, leaving a pleasant after taste of celery seeds for the palate.

Unfortunately, as all the portions were huge and there were only 2 of us to devour all that meat, we had no room left for desserts. The ones we had our eyes on were the Skillet Cookie Sundae (195 baht), which is described as a giant chocolate chip cookie baked in an iron skillet and topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge, or the Brownie Sundae (225 baht) which is the brownie equivalent of that. The Apple Crisp (195 baht) also sounded appetizing, with Jonathan apples baked with crumb topping and covered with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Although Tony Roma’s serves authentic American food with great original tastes (even their Iced Lemon Tea, priced at 65 baht, was superb!), be prepared to work off those extra calories you’ll be sure to gain upon visiting this place!

Tony Roma’s
Siam Paragon Shopping Center, Ground Floor
Rama 1 Rd., Pathumwan
Bangkok, Thailand 10330
Tel: 02-610-9311
Open: daily 11am-11pm

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