Hagi is a traditional Japanese restaurant located in Bangkok, Thailand that focuses on presenting Japanese cuisine authentically. The chef, Yutaka Suzuki, carefully selects high-quality fish from both local sources and imports from Japan. While dining there, the author learned from Chef Suzuki that some popular Japanese styles, such as teppanyaki and tempura, actually originated elsewhere but have been adopted as Japanese. Hagi offers a variety of authentic Japanese dishes prepared with skill and care.

1. Get Tradition And Substance at Hagi – Bangkok, Thailand Japanese dining can come in a variety of ways just like every cuisine and I’ve had many different Japanese dining experiences over the years. In Los Angeles I went to an Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant once (that was enough) that failed in short order. In Redondo Beach, just south of Los Angeles there was a place called California Beach that was, and still is, a rock and roll sushi bar, the first on the planet according to its website. Loud rock music blasted through the place while 20-somethings and others ate sushi and grooved. Some places, however, just like to present the traditional Japanese cuisine the way it’s always been done and the Hagi Japanese restaurant in the Sofitel Centara Hotel is one of those. With its dark wood design and private rooms with traditional seating, Hagi projects an image of calm and comfort. I dined there recently and had a very good lunch in one of the private rooms. I had a chance to talk with chef Yutaka Suzuki and learned a little more about Japanese cuisine while I was there as well. I asked the chef, for example, how he picks fish for the sushi and sashimi that he serves at Hagi. I didn’t get a very illuminating answer but it wasn’t because the chef didn’t want to tell me. He just said, in essence, that it was something that he gradually picked over the years due to his experience. He also said that the fish talked to him and told him that they wanted to come with him but he may have been stretching the truth a bit there. However he picks the fish he obviously does a good job because the sushi and sashimi were both excellent. And the fish here are a combination of local and imported fish from Japan. If the local merchandise is up to the standard the chef demands – and if they talk to him just right – then he’ll buy locally. If not, then he imports what he needs from Japan. I also sampled a wide variety of other Japanese cuisine styles since Hagi has many here to choose from. I was surprised to learn from chef Yutaka, however, that one of my favorite styles, teppanyaki, is not really from Japan but was invented by the American chain Benihana. How many of you also thought teppanyaki was Japanese? Tempura is another favorite of mine and come to find out that was originally from Portugal and was brought to the Japanese by Portuguese traders during the 1600s. Well, whatever the origin of these styles, the Japanese are claiming as their own now and doing a good job of presenting them to the world. Here at Hagi you’ll find these and many more including age mono – deep-fried dishes, yaki mono – grilled dishes, suki yaki, soups, salads, and a very large selection of sushi and sashimi including a number of maki and temaki rolls my favorites. It’s as traditional as it gets here so if that’s what you want, and not rock and roll with your sushi, then try Hagi sometime for a good dining experience.