Take Me Out For Tofu

          As promised, here's my dish-by-dish review of Suikin, obscurely located at Phloen Chit. Just a fact: sui means water, and kin is a traditional stringed instrument in Japan. People always ask me, as a Japanese, which Japanese restaurants in Bangkok serve authentic Japanese food. Well, here's one of them. A hint about finding authentic Japanese restaurants in Bangkok: they usually focus on or are known especially for something particular. For Suikin, its tofu. WAIT. DON'T TURN AWAY YET. They're commended for their sushi as well. But sushi, you can find at any Japanese restaurant. The tofu dishes, however, are either so innovative or traditional, you can't get them anywhere else.

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"Tofu Moriawase" 
Tofu Appetizers
1.) Didn't catch the name, but it's my favorite of the four. Dense and firm, Not bland either (to those of you who have this complaint about tofu). The soy sauce adds the perfect balance of flavor.
2.) This one's called goma-dofu, or sesame-tofu. Most flavorful of the four. If you like the taste of Japanese sesame oil in Japanese cooking, you'll particularly like this one. You might also be surprised by the addition of wasabi. I've never had tofu with wasabi before, and my reaction was: "Why didn't I think of this?!"
3.) Tofu with Japanese plum. Mildest. The flavor primarily comes from the drop of plum flesh, the taste of which many inexperienced eaters of Japanese food consider horrendously sour. Not recommended for people who tend to stay away from tofu in the first place. If you love tofu and/or are an omnivore like me, go ahead.
4.) "Yuba". You know the stuff that forms on the surface when you boil milk? That's what this is but for soy milk. The salmon roe (ikura) put a gourmet twist on this traditional dish. 

Salad with Maguro and Tofu
Very appetizing. Kept me coming for more. The maguro, tuna sashimi, is of the freshest quality. Underneath the green is something that may look like feta cheese, but don't be fooled! It's tofu! And none of that cliche sweet mayo they use in commercial restaurants!

"Yuba"
Another round of yuba because it's a such a traditional dish that, unfortunately, you don't see in many Japanese restaurants in Thailand. 

"Unagi Zushi"
Gotta have at least one sushi dish in your meal at Suikin's. My choice was eel. 

"Buta Kakuni"
Braised Pork Belly
Very tender. Loved the drop of Japanese spicy mustard (karashi) on the horseradish.  

"Kamo Seiro Soba"
Soba Noodles with Duck Soup
The soba noodles here are really good. You can change up the dipping 'soup'. There's also the classic plain soy sauce-based soup. But duck is interesting because, again, you don't see it much in Japanese menus.