Newly opened on July 4.
It didn't look much from the outside, but Yoka Yoka (which means "very good" in Kyushu dialect) is surprisingly spacious, chic and modern - a real departure from its homey-sounding name. Customers can choose where they want to sit: at the bar, Western style table and chairs or sunken Japanese style seating.
The menu is pretty extensive, uniquely written on the front and back covers of Japanese children story books. Unfortunately, everything is written in Japanese, so those who cannot read Japanese will just have to close their eyes and pick (or perhaps just do "eenie-meenie-mini-mo").
Offered are various kinds of bold Kyushu-style sashimi, fried dishes and desserts. If you're hungry, perhaps just go with the rice set (40 baht) which includes Japanese rice, some pickles and miso soup.
This being a Kyushu restaurant, the dishes have very strong taste, perfect for those who find typical Japanese food a bit on the bland side. Highly recommended are the tori karaage (deep fried chicken), amaebi (sweet shrimp) sashimi and for dessert - either mango pudding (soft, bouncy and fresh) or honey French toast and ice cream (rich but not too sweet).
Prices are a bit on the steep side (this ain't no ramen shop!), with medium-sized dishes (rice not included) starting from 150 baht and up.
Though Yoka Yoka doesn't disappoint in the taste department, it still has to do leaps and bounds in the service department. Perhaps tonight was the opening night... but the service was extremely slow, the staff unreactive and didn't know the menu well. PLUS the soy sauce container is defective - it will unavoidingly drip soy sauce all over the place everytime you try to pour some.
* NOTE to management: replace soy sauce container!
This being the first opening night for Yoka Yoka, unsurprisingly there are still a few kinks to be ironed out. I'm willing to give it another chance, but for now, it just has to settle with two stars because frankly, with these kinds of prices and posh surroundings, people are bound to expect MORE.
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