North Bay Woman

S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 35 without cooking or doing something." Coming from the north of Thailand, many of the couple's dishes are redolent of fresh herbs rather than coconut milk, as herbs are integral to mountain Thai cooking. One dish that reflects this, is freshwater trout deep-fried and topped with a red curry. "It's a classic Thai dish," says Bongkot Ouneklap, as is Krapow Chicken, minced chicken served over rice with loads of fresh basil, garlic, and one fried egg on top. Maly Ouneklap says they make their Pad Thai traditional by adding finely chopped pickled garlic and pickled radish to the tomato base. "It's one of the reasons why we feel it's so flavorful." When she sums up what makes Bangkok Thai authentic, Maly Ouneklap puts it this way: "For us, it's serving food our mothers, grandmothers and aunties cooked. It's finding the freshest ingredients, and offering them to our guests. We don't make things just because we are in the restaurant business. We represent Thailand. So we want we do to be as authentic as possible." Bangkok Thai Express, 857 4 th St., San Rafael, (415) 453-3350, bangkokthaiexpressrestaurant.com. Lunch and dinner Monday to Friday. Sushi 69 A clue to how chef/owner Hiro Makino feels about the Japan- ness of Sushi 69, his little out-of-the-way restaurant in San Anselmo, is found on the menu. In a section called "Original," he outlines how he makes all his key sauces from scratch, sources sushi fish from Japan, flown in daily so there are always new seasonal sea foods to try. It even explains how he chooses his knives to make the most effective cuts. "Authenticity is a difficult question," says the tall Tokyo-born chef, who has owned Sushi 69 since 2007 with his wife Hiroko, also his business partner. "I feel that I have more authentic items on my menu because that's important to me, but I also have things for American taste as well. Because people want that. Like chicken teriyaki." It's with fish, however, that Makino's skills shine. He loves sushi because "It's a raw food. Even simple, it looks beautiful and tastes very nice. Food is an art. You feel good to look at it, and then it tastes wonderful. It's all about the moment." His philosophy shows up in the soothing, mostly undecorated walls of the little restaurant that now has a covered outdoor patio as well. As in Tokyo, favored seats are at the sushi bar, where Makino and his team work their choreographed magic on the many cuts of fish sitting on display behind glass panels. "If every night, you have new things, like the fresh fish flown in, or specials, that means the art changes every night. That's one of the things I love," says Makino. While the many rolls on the menu are not typical Japanese, he says he serves them because Americans demand them. But he still tries to bring the feeling of true Japanese food to the combinations. For example, the point is to have each component in a roll shine, even when there are several. Tops among these is the Hiro's Roll, the best seller, which wraps spicy tuna with avocado and salmon in rice, the whole sluiced in a gluten-free house-made ponzu sauce. One of the dishes Makino is most proud of is, surprisingly, miso soup. It contains not only white shiro misu, tofu and shaved bonito, but seven kinds of vegetables including daikon radish, burdock, taro and dried kelp. "It's our specialty," he explains. "It takes a couple of hours to make. It's very Japanese in this way." Last year, Makino, working with a new business partner for just this purpose, opened a Japanese restaurant in Petaluma called Sake 107. It caters more to American tastes, offering more rolls, cooked dishes such as noodles and such confections as green tea tiramisu. This leaves Makino free to return to Sushi 69 full time. As a result, he is once again offering the option of Omakase dinners. These are a marvelous way to eat and very much a Japanese restaurant tradition. You basically surrender your taste to the chef, who crafts a multi-course dinner of what he wants to serve. It's a way to taste dishes that might not even be on the menu. It's certainly a way to experience sushi restaurant dining in classic Tokyo style. To order Omakase, it's best to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. "Authentic, to me, means true to my culture," Makino sums up. "I try to always offer dishes that are seasonal. And try to keep the flavors simple and clean. Making fresh food and eating it, when it's pure and simple, it's almost a meditation for me." Sushi 69, 69 Center Blvd., San Anselmo, (415) 459-6969, shallwego69.com. Dinner Monday to Saturday. n From top to bottom: Krapow Chicken from Bangkok Thai Express and miso soup from Sushi 69. – Photos by Stuart Lirette >Authentic from page 19

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