Jin Emon Hermitage

 Jin Emon Hermitage
Address: 70/1 Sukhumvit soi 51, Klongton-nue Wattana
Bangkok 10110 Tel. 026625408

Lunch time=11:30 to 15:00(last order is 14:00)
Dinner time=17:30 to 23:00(last order is 22:00
on Friday,Saturday, public holidays 17:30 to 23:00(last order is 22:30)
Text/Photo by Vasin Srivarathanabul

Jin Emon, reading the name anyone can tell, it is Japanese. But what this place is offering that is different from any other Japanese restaurant is Japanese style spaghetti. There are 3 Jin Emon’s in Bangkok. The first one is at the MBK center which has been open for almost 2 years. The second is in Esplanade Shopping center. From the success of the first 2 branches, khun Ryo Asamoto the owner opened a new one recently.

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Located in Sukhumvit soi 51 this new restaurant is far different from the first branch in term is ambiance. The eatery occupies an old house with a garden and a pond. It used to be “All Sense Thai Restaurant”. I guest All Sense did not do very well. After the house was available khun Ryo took charge and transformed it to the new restaurant with Japanese accent all around.

The seatings are all inside, many take advantage of the pond view. The pond creates a nice atmosphere especially in the evening when the sun is going down. The tables are spaced out in a way that it does not bother each other. The lighting is a bit too bright for a wine and dine type atmosphere. But they do offer reasonable priced wine and a large selection of Japanese liqueur.

A large selection of food are offered from Japanese appetizers to the varieties of Japanese style spaghetti for mains. The only thing you will not find are sushi and sashimi. When we were ready to order, Khun Kenichi Yoshida, the restaurant manager recommended some signature dishes. He can speak both Thai and English, if you want the recommendations in Japanese, I guest he can do that as well. We started with the home made Kimchi. It was refreshingly sour with a bit of sweetness and a nice sesame hint on the nose.

Another refreshing appetizer was the Marinated Octopus Wasabi; simple, fresh and tangy. The next one was deep fried mochi in bonito stock . The sauce was very tasty which went along well with the chewy texture of the mochi.

Not long a more beefy and rare dish arrived, the Beef tongue stew. The tongue was very tender with a sweet flavorful sauce. I went well with the Santa Carolina Premio a nice medium body red wine from Chile. What was very rare was the mains, the spaghettis. The first one Kimchi spaghetti served with slightly boiled egg yolk. It was the same kimchi we had as the appetizer but with the perfectly cooked spaghetti and the gooey egg yolk made it more complex and appealing. If I had one choice to choose a dish, this would be the one. The other was spaghetti with creamy wasabi sauce. From the looks, it looks just like any italian seafood spaghetti but the sauce has a nice wasabi taste and on top sprinkles of salmon roe.

For dessert, the sesame TOFU brulee was creamy but a bit sweet the outer crust could have been more crispy from the burnt sugar. The Maccha puding was nice, served with vanilla ice cream toped with caramel and cornflakes. The toasted bread and chocolate fudge was interesting. The bread drenched with caramel and butter dip then it was toasted. Giving it a sweet buttery chewy texture with a little crunch.

Ambiance:  3.5
Food:  3.5
Service: 3.5
Value: 4