A second bite at Yamato

It has been some time since the Dining Out team descended upon the Yamato, Pattaya’s original Japanese restaurant. One reason was the parking problem. Being in its own eponymous street, Soi Yamato, it was always difficult to find parking, but when we heard there was now a second Yamato, we thought this might fix all the parking hassles. We were right!
The ‘new’ Yamato is located behind the Carrefour shopping center in the bottom of the Navin Mansion. Coming from Sukhumvit, turn right off Central Pattaya Road into Paniad Chang Road, as if going into Carrefour. Continue past the Carrefour building and then turn immediately left and you will run down and out through the back gates of Carrefour to the rather grandly named Navin Mansion where you’ll see the Yamato restaurant to your left. This same road goes on to exit at Pattaya 3rd Road. Plenty of parking in front and alongside.
The first impression of the new Yamato is all color and brightness, even from the outside. You duck under the Japanese curtains at the door and once inside you are met with bright yellow tablecloths, smiling waitresses in blue and yellow kimonos, and a veritable kaleidoscope of colored photographs of various dishes on the windows and the side wall. And moving between all the tables is the owner, Rattana Yothawong, who on our evening was in her own bright yellow kimono.
The food preparation is along two sides of the restaurant, with a sit-up section along one of them, while the rest of the space is tables and chairs with embroidered Japanese screens between the tables.
We had the choice of hot or cold sake, or beer, and started (very gently) with the hot sake. (Having had the worst hangover in my life after an evening of hot sake, I am very wary of this warmly potent, and so easy to drink alcohol!)
While we chatted, and there were many of us that evening as Japanese food lends itself to convivial parties, Rattana prepared a plate of different sashimi (‘sushi’ comes with rice, ‘sashimi’ is just the raw fish). The black enameled tray held saba fish, squid, octopus, crab sticks, salmon and tuna. Sashimi is eaten with the pungent wasabi, dissolved in soy sauce, and there are dishes and chopsticks for everyone. The placemats are disposable, but do tell you how to use your chopsticks, for the uninitiated. However, they do not tell you how to avoid dropping sauce on the tablecloth!
The menu is very detailed, but the first four pages are all in Japanese, so skip those and slip over to the English/Thai pages. The menu also has many photo pages, but cautions that some days the item might look different depending on the chef, the market or the season. With such a huge range of items, some guides are as follows: raw fish items generally B. 120-200, Nigiri Sushi B. 70-100, Sushi rolls B. 95, and various ‘sets’ are around B. 250, and much, much more.
In the libations section, sake (hot or cold) is B. 185, whilst beers are B. 85, including the Japanese Asahi (brewed here in Thailand).
But back to our Japanese evening. The next course was a Futomaki sushi selection, made freshly by Rattana, and a Uramaki, another colorful ‘California-style’ roll. These had us looking forward to the next item which was tempura prawns. Now most people have tried these deep-fried battered prawns, but the Yamato version is just superb. A soft batter surrounding some of the juiciest prawns, and all dipped into its own special sauce. I would go again, even if just for this dish.
The night out at the new Yamato was enjoyed by all. The food was as of the expected high standard and the prices are still reasonable. The venue is bright and airy and the ambience suggests you just sit back and enjoy. If you are looking for a good Japanese restaurant, we can certainly recommend the new Yamato.
Yamato, 245/114-115 Pattaya Sai 3, Navin Mansion (behind Carrefour), telephone 038 360 206, open for lunch 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and dinner 5 p.m. till 10.30 p.m. Monday to Saturday. By the way, Yamato has been having a rainy season holiday from 9-16 September, so it re-opens this coming Monday. (It is worth the wait till then.)

---

Garlic Soup

If you are a believer in garlic as being the vegetable for health, here is the recipe for a very healthy soup. This is a traditional soup from the Bordeaux region of France and is prepared as a dinner item in the hot summer. It was given to me by Bangkok based executive chef, Santo Zoppis who has indicated you should leave 20 minutes for preparation and 25 minutes for cooking. Good food should not be rushed.

Cooking Method:
Peel the garlic, remove the stem, and chop very fine. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the flour, stir and add the cold beef bouillon or consommé. Cook this soup for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In a small salad bowl combine the egg yolk with the red wine vinegar and beat with a whisk.
Remove the soup from the heat and add the egg yolk mixed with the vinegar.
Serve the soup in hot soup cups, and swirl in a teaspoon of cream.

Ingredients                    Serves 4
Garlic                                       200 gm
Olive oil                                       50 ml
Flour                                          30 gm
Beef bouillon or beef consommé 1.2 litres
Egg yolks                                          2
Red wine vinegar                         30 ml
Salt and pepper
Pouring cream                         4 tspns