Misato Kaiseki

I recently came across a brief review of Misato in CNNGo.com. Seems the restaurant has been an institution in Shanghai for a number of years, and earning a reputation as one of the best kaiseki experiences this side of the Bund. Misato-san even had the privilege of cooking for former Prime Minister Nakasone as well. I couldn't get a seat at Sushi Oyama for tonight, so I thought this was a good alternative.

Located at the City Hotel along North Shaanxi Road, the restaurant looked pleasant by Japanese standards. Nothing too ultra modern along the lines of a Super Potato designed eatery, but very traditional Japanese aesthetics that are both welcoming and soothing.

I sat at the counter and selected their top kaiseki meal set, and braced myself for an exciting culinary experience. The reviews I read about this restaurant mentioned that the food was strictly traditional kaiseki style, meaning, the ingredients were the stars, and had better shine.

The meal started with an assorted appetizer dish, beautifully presented as three small plates on a wooden tray. While the ingredients were fresh, the preparation was nothing exceptional like recent kaiseki meals that I've tried. The sashimi course was overall fresh, but I thought the otoro could have been better.

The soup course was seafood broth, with a prawn, sliced fish and some mushrooms. This was one of my favorite dishes. The stewed course was a bit of a letdown, again, nothing mindblowing, and the ingredients were cooked in a very bland way. The grilled course consisted of grilled king crab legs. The waitress offered to grill each piece for me.

The meat course was pan seared wagyu beef sirloin, very well prepared and tasted delicious. The last course was rice, and this was served as chirashi don, with six types of seafood served with a bowl of miso soup. This was another of my favorite dishes.

 However, the chirashi don at Suju, another one of my favorite hangouts, was still superior to this. The dessert course completed the meal with three types of dessert - bean ice cream, fresh seasonal fruits and tofu jelly.

For this meal, I paid RMB800. This was one of the more expensive dinners I've had recently in Shanghai, but for this price, I could think of better options to spend my money.

Misato is at City Hotel, 5-7 Shaanxi Nan Lu, near Julu Lu.
Tel: +86-21-6215-7375

Bangkok has a new Nahm

The Metropolitan Bangkok recently renovated their Cyan restaurant on the first floor of the hotel and transformed it into the first overseas outpost for Australian David Thompson's Nahm restaurant, a Michelin-starred Thai restaurant at the Halkin in London. It was a pity the Metropolitan decided to do away with Cyan, instead of the lesser known Glow restaurant on the second floor, but I guess this meant there would be world-class Thai cuisine readily available, without even having to walk next door to the Celadon restaurant at the Sukothai.

I loved the soothing warm decor of Nahm, lots of hardwood, spot lighting and modern furniture. The tables were a bit of an annoyance because of the large diameter of the stem, which left little room for my feet to rest comfortably. But like I said, a small annoyance, really. I was very distracted by the extensive menu and the descriptions of each dish, and my stomach was starting to protest.

We picked the tasting menu, just so we could try as many of their signature dishes as possible. Everything else will have to wait till next trip.

The restaurant staff brought us an amuse bouse to start. Two pieces of pineapples topped with a sweet nutty sauce with chopped nuts and spices. Then the selection of appetizers followed - skewered oyster satays, fresh prawn salad, crispy fried rice noodles topped with seafood and vegetables, many with names that escape me. But they were all excellent in their own ways. Very fresh, tastefully balanced and not too spicy.

The main course selections consisted of grilled cod, minced prawn in coconut broth, tamarind smoked fish soup, a red beef curry that was astounding, and their signature dish of squid ink stir-fried snow peas with squid.

For dessert, we had stewed pumpkin, tapioca pearls and coconut puff pastries over coconut sauce.

By the end of dinner, I had no doubt Nahm would be one of my favorite dining choices in Bangkok from now on. For a start, it was much better than some of the more venerable Thai fine dining restaurants I tried last trip. And since the restaurant is still in its teething infancy, I can only assume there would be better things to come.

Nahm is at: Metropolitan Bangkok, 27 S Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120, Thailand. Tel: +66 2625 3333