Botan Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

I am (pleasantly!) shocked to find and try this place. I "heard" about it via "AK" on Google Maps.

The prices were quite good, but the food was phenomenal (especially when taking price into account).

We ordered gyoza 50B to start followed by a sushi set ~135B and the tempura soba 70B. We foolishly ordered an okonomiyaki midway through the meal (foolishly bc we ended up being stuffed!).

All four items were delicious, but I think the standouts were the tempura soba and the sushi set. The shrimp tempura and the noodles themselves were perfect for me. While the soup didn't have a ton of flavor, the dish itself was tasty. As far as the sushi set, while the fish was great, it was the rice that really impressed me. Often rice (outside of Japan) is overlooked as an afterthought. Here, it was both warm and so flavorful.

I plan on returning for lunch (and more dinners) to eat more soba and sushi. The gyoza and okonomiyaki also make for the perfect otsumami/anju if you just want to snack with some ice cold...

Being served sashimi and eating with chopsticks was a new and daunting experience for me, but we practiced hard at home so as not to embarrass ourselves and we were rewarded with a delicious, fresh meal that - mostly - ended up in our mouths.

The chefs certainly don't compromise on quality, although perhaps the low-cost can be explained by the rather small portions. A shared large sashimi is not really much more filling than a starter. The seating is rather rudimentary - I think our table took up some of the car-park - but it has a local charm. Staff aren't unfriendly but I wouldn't describe them as friendly either. I was hoping to exchange some Japanese but they're all Thai.

I probably won't go back, but that's largely down to there being so much choice...

Ate here on NYE as I wanted to eat “toshi koshi soba,” a Japanese NYE tradition to eat soba noodles. Also ended up ordering the sukiyaki which was delicious! Authentic Japanese taste. Had natto as well. I’m really surprised they serve natto here! Staff are nice and they invited us to celebrate the countdown with them, but we had other plans so we’re not able to join them. But overall, good Japanese food (did not try their...