Chimaki Japanese Restaurant on Soi 3

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Chimaki is a family-style Japanese restaurant about half way down Soi 3 between 2nd Road and Beach Road. I was tipped about it by a poster on another board. The signage is easy to see from the street ...

...

but the entrance to the restaurant is non-descript and felt a bit like I was walking into someone's home. The emphasis is clearly on the food at Chimaki and not the decor.

Nor is it a place that catches much of the casual tourist trade. The times I've been there, I've been the only farang guest. All the other customers have been Japanese and Thai. Part of the lack of appeal to farang may be the menu, which is written in the Roman alphabet as well as Japanese characters.

However, the names of the dishes are mainly transcriptions of Japanese words without much explanation in English. So unless you already know what dishes with names like syo-ku, piment jyako and tori kara age consist of, it could be difficult knowing what to order. There are some pictures of the food in the menu, but not many.

This item on the menu intrigued me, since I'd only previously seen "bukkake" used in one connection:

The food is great, the prices are reasonable and I have no problems recommending it to anyone who enjoys Japanese cuisine. But without some familarity with the types of dishes served in small home-style Japanese eating places, you'll need some patience.

One supper I began with sushi at 170 baht:

Following by cold soba noodles at 140 baht:

I washed it down with a large bottle of Asahi at 135 baht:

445 baht all in for a meal like that wasn't bad at all.

I began another meal with a different sushi set at 170 baht:

And grilled squid, very fresh, at 170 baht .

Also a bowl of rice and Japanese pickles at 35 baht.

With a large Asahi, it totaled 510 baht.

You know you're close to Chimaki when you pass this sign on the wall of what appears to be a night club with a refreshingly honest name:

Bottom line: I'll be back!

Evil