I am normally a purist when it comes to Asian cuisine, but Sawan has made me re-think my stand. The restaurant is located in a turn-of-the century building in a yuppy area of Frogner. My Asian senses would already tell me to stay clear, but hey its a company dinner so why not give it a try?
The atmosphere is quite nice and the fact there were Asians eating there was a positive sign. The restaurant is a Thai fusion restaurant blending Thai, Chinese, and Japanese flavors. Unlike other so called Asian fusion joints in town that has dishes from various Asian cuisine, but not really fusing it.
A perfect example of this was their maki with crab. It looks like your normal maki you would find at cheaper joints, but biting into the maki, a hint of sour from the pickled cucumber with a hint of what seems to be Thai kefir lime leaves was a welcome surprise! This dish trully fused different methods!
The sliders and meat patties (I did not quite understand the waiters description) was also flavorful with Thai herbs and spice. The fish sauce also helped to enhance the flavor of the meat.
Other highlights was the hamachi tataki and soft shell crab mang papaya salad.
The beef tataki was also very good, but the basil gelatin pearl did not really taste like Thai basil and the did not really enhance the flavor experience.
The Peking duck was decent (given this a Chinese dish), but seemed that the duck was fried and not cooked in an oven.
Overall it was an excellent experience in flavor and ambiance worth another visit. read more