Fuji Japanese Restaurant at Central Festival Mall (updated March 24, 2016)

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

A couple of things stick out about the meals I've enjoyed at Fuji: the ingredients have been very fresh and the presentation of the dishes was attractive. And it's always pleasant to have a titillating companion with which to share the meal.

Fuji at Central Festival Mall (5th floor) is part of a Thai chain of Japanese restaurants. There are 99 branches in Thailand and two each in Laos and Burma.

It's pretty standard Japanese fare, but done well.

We started off with salmon sashima. Very fresh indeed.

One of my companions wanted the Fuji steak set, which the three of us more or less split.

The steak set came with various sides, including shrimp.

We also ordered a sashimi salad Thai-style, i.e., with a spicy citrus dressing.

The fried mushrooms in the steak set were so good that we ordered a full portion.

Geso kara-age (fried squid tentacles)

Katsu don- very tasty, one of my favorites.

Strawberry yoghurt pudding

Matcha aisu (green tea ice cream)

My dessert:

Just joking! I had fresh fruit:

Fuji wasn't crowded, but had a decent crowd for 4 pm. Total cost for three people including drinks and dessert, was 2,000 baht.

Evil

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Edited March 24, 2016 by Evil Penevil

[spike 236]

The food looks awesome and the cleavage delectable...:)...thanks for posting the review.

[Patna 3,802]

Nice report, great choice of dishes!

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Here's some other dishes from other meals at Fuji. All were good.

 

Bento set with its various components:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled shrimp:

 

 

 

Sashimi:

 

 

 

 

 

Gyu don (beef bowl over rice):

 

 

 

Fried mushrooms:

 

 

Evil

[js007 795]

The Fuji in Phuket, Patong Beach, is also good.

[jimmac 66]

Great photos. Thanks for posting. I've enjoyed the Fuji in the Big C mall more often than the Central Festival one. I had a terrible experience in the latter a couple of years ago as I completely froze in the place because of their crazy air-con. This was beyond normal Thai cold. The food was great but cold food isn;t all that enjoyable if your body is frozen.

[Patna 3,802]

Great photos. Thanks for posting. I've enjoyed the Fuji in the Big C mall more often than the Central Festival one. I had a terrible experience in the latter a couple of years ago as I completely froze in the place because of their crazy air-con. This was beyond normal Thai cold. The food was great but cold food isn;t all that enjoyable if your body is frozen.

 

My first choice is the Big C on 2nd Road, than the one in CF and I avoid the one on Pattaya Klan, also in Big C. Terrible service and extremely small portions twice.

[Gabor 296]

 

My first choice is the Big C on 2nd Road, than the one in CF and I avoid the one on Pattaya Klan, also in Big C. Terrible service and extremely small portions twice.

 

Agree...I tried a few times... ( the girls like the Fuji like a snobbish fetish ) Nothing wrong with the food...but I hate the " fine dine " concept to sell 2 bites of food for extraorbitant prices... The food is good, but the value is really low... more a snobbery parade, than a lunch...

[Parkwahn 61]

Agree...I tried a few times... ( the girls like the Fuji like a snobbish fetish ) Nothing wrong with the food...but I hate the " fine dine " concept to sell 2 bites of food for extraorbitant prices... The food is good, but the value is really low... more a snobbery parade, than a lunch...

Sushi is healthy and very cheap there, it's 3 or 4 times more expensive in UK

 

The value is terrific..

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

A few more pics from Fuji.

 

The restaurant offers a beef set meal that is excellent value for money at 230 baht. The set includes sliced beef, flavorful, tender and cooked properly; rice; miso soup; kimchi and a bite-sized item I don't know the name for but it tasted good.

 

 

 

 

 

Salmon tikka don (sashimi over rice)

 

 

 

Gyoza

 

 

Sashimi salad:

 

 

Fresh fruit for dessert. I wish I knew from where they get their watermelons.

 

 

Salmon sashimi closeup

 

 

Watermelon ditto

 

 

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

I'm updating this thread because Fuji has a new dish on offer- lightly grilled tofu topped with enokitake (long, thin mushrooms). I really thought it sounded and looked good on the menu and was eager to try it. Anticipation is an important part of any meal.

 

 

Natural ingredients and proper presentation also play a role.

 

 

 

The presentation was excellent and what's underneath the enokitake covering was delicious.

 

 

"Mouth feel" is also a significant factor in tofu and sushi dishes. They should glide on the tongue and almost melt in your mouth. The taste was subtle, with a hint of charcoal in both the enokitake and tofu.

 

My companion doesn't like tofu and went with her favorite- the salmon sashimi bowl. We both had salmon sashimi.

 

 

 

Fuji remains a good option for high-quality Japanese dishes.

 

Evil

[Nightrider 340]

Thanks evil , you certainly show us some tempting dishes.......

[Saddic 31]

Thanks evil , you certainly show us some tempting dishes.......

 

Agree... and the food aint bad either...

 

Seriously... For a chain of resturants, their quality and consistancy is top notch... You'll find them in most of the shopping malls throughout LOS...

 

I notice, "some" don't server the after meal fruit, some do... usually the ones in more out of the way malls are more attentive.. Central is a bit below average as they get so many "tourists", they've tended to get complacent...

[jacko 8,815]

Do you always have your ladies tattooed with your name and the year!

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Do you always have your ladies tattooed with your name and the year!

 

Only in Photoshop.

 

Evil

[losgrad 264]

Thanks evil , you certainly show us some tempting dishes.......

 

Agree.

 

Evil - Good review with pictures.

 

I like Fuji Restaurant when I want Japanese food, but not starving.

 

When starving, I visit one of a few Asian food buffets with Japanese foods like Shabushi (320 baht) in CF or Big C North and Oishi (500 baht) in The Avenue.

 

Enjoy your selections - both food and company :)

Edited July 30, 2014 by losgrad

[MM 6,562]

Nice photo spread, Evil...esp the first picture without any sign of food, lol. I hope to soon see this in the FB group, since your companion has many admirers there as well.

[BigusDicus 9,878]

I would like to see Miss Anticipation's breasts.....

 

 

Ps. Nice review.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Time to update the Fuji thread. I had dinner there with two companions on Feb. 7. Since it was the Sunday before Chinese New Year, I had expected it to be jammed and perhaps even difficult to get a table, but it was only half full.

 

We began with sashimi and it was up to the usual extremely fresh standard I'd come to expect from Fuji.

 

 

We also had yaki gyoza, or panned fried dumplings.

 

 

 

 

We also had a second appetizer, stirred-fried kimchi and tofu. It was light but delicious.

 

 

 

The ladies shared an order of salmon tataki Thai, which basically meant a common Japanese appetizer had been spiced to the som tam level.

 

 

 

We shared an order of grilled squid, which I thought was excellent. Very fresh squid, grilled on the outside so it had the proper charred taste but still tender.

 

 

 

 

We also grilled garlic shrimp, which I thought was a generic dish, more Thai than Japanese.

 

 

Then came of "main dishes," which were sets that included various small side dishes, such a few pieces of sushi, kimchi and the ever-present miso soup.

 

 

One of the girls had the teriyaki grilled mackerel set:

 

 

 

The other girl had the chirashi sushu set, which is a bowl of vinagered sushi rice topped with a variety of sushi items.

 

 

 

My choice was a Japanese home-cooking style dish- simmered beef and tofu.

 

 

 

 

That was a lot of food, but we managed to get it all down because none of us had eaten earlier in the day. For three people and the number of dishes we had, the total price of 2,121 baht was reasonable.

 

 

Bottom line: Fuji remains a good choice for Japanese food in central Pattaya. You can eat better Japanese food in more pleasant surroundings. In some small restaurants, you can also find cheaper food of the same quality that Fuji serves, but they tend to be in obscure locations. Fuji gets a strong score from me for convenience at a fair price without skimping on the quality of the food.

 

And the girls love it! Ask just about any Thai lady where she wants to eat Japanese food and nine times out of ten she'll say Fuji. A lot of that has to do with perceived status and posting selfies, but that's very important to a lot of the girls.

 

Evil

Edited February 9, 2016 by Evil Penevil

[BigusDicus 9,878]

I would like to see Miss Anticipation's breasts.....

 

 

Ps. Nice review.

 

Still waiting....!!!!

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Bit too soon for another update to Fuji, but it's where my companion wants to eat! I've tried to interest her in trying other restaurants with sashimi and sushi on the menu, but she really likes Fuji. Location is another big factor. Both of us live in central Pattaya and it only takes a few minutes to get to Fuji.

We were both hungry, so we ordered the big sashimi boat for 530 baht.







She had ordered a small "boat' set as well that included small side dishes of kimchi and mushrooms in addition to miso soup.









My "starter" was yaki gyoza, or pan-fried dumplings.







Back to the big sashimi boat:























A spicy salmon side dish, definitely not traditional Japanese:





My companion's beloved enotake mushrooms:





Bottom line: Another solid meal from Fuji. The fish was "taste-the-sea" fresh and impressively presented. I think part of the reason my companion likes Fuji so much is that it's consistent. The diner knows what he or she will get and is never disappointed.
The total cost including drinks was 1300 baht.

Evil

[Nightrider 340]

Nice looking dishes , thanks for the update..........

[jacko 8,815]

 

My first choice is the Big C on 2nd Road, than the one in CF and I avoid the one on Pattaya Klan, also in Big C. Terrible service and extremely small portions twice.

I got a dodgy stomach from the one in Big-CX once which has kept me away.

I believe it was the mayo style salad dressing.