Sakura Japanese Restaurant, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa — Restaurant in Phang-nga Province

I’m a big fan of Japanese food. I have it all the time in a variety of places so I’ve pretty high expectations for it. However my experience here in Sakura was pretty subpar.

First thing I noticed was the menu was very small. The number of dishes all around was very limited and a lot of crucial Japanese dishes were missing like Ramen. The number of appetisers was less than 10, the number of mains wasn’t much better. Compared to most Japanese places I’ve been to anyway. But that’s okay, not every restaurant can have everything. As long as the quality of what is served is good, that’s all you can ask for. And with the prices of the food, you would expect the food to be of the highest quality. But sadly it wasn’t.

I had the Chicken Yakitori and Chicken Teppanyaki and was definitely not Wowed. The flavours were very average and the chicken in the chicken teppanyaki was pretty bland.

My family also had the Vegetable tempuras, and some other vegetarian sushi options as well as vegetarian noodles but I tried them and have had better in many more places.

Overall if I had to rank this place in terms of Japanese restaurants I’ve been to, this would be less than 5/10 for food. But it’s priced like a place that serves 10/10 food. I’ve been to restaurant chains that serve much cheaper and much better food than this.

Would I come back again? Probably not even if it was cheap, but these prices...

ENGLISH The Sakura - a Japanese restaurant with live kitchens - can be found on the grounds of the JW Marriott Khao Lak. Here you will find delicious sushi, sashimi and almost everything that Japanese cuisine has to offer. The food was consistently very authentic and delicious - the service was courteous, friendly and fast.

As a starter we were served steamed Japanese soybeans with coarse salt - in the appearance of something like "Pimientos de Padrón" in the Portuguese - here just the Japanese version. However, only the seeds are eaten, not the shell.

As starters we also had Ebi Tempura (breaded shrimp) - these were extremely crispy, but not a bit greasy and had an authentic shrimp taste. Of course, we also had sushi, in this case inside-out rolls of tuna and salmon - both fresh and yummy - but culinary particularly impressive was the "hot kitchen".

Here I had Kurobuta pig from the segment TEPPANYAKI "Element Fire". The meat had neat aromas and a strong taste, just like good pork should taste. In addition, there were fried vegetables – they were also of high quality and cooked to the point.

I also noticed the wasabi - unlike elsewhere, it was not only a neat spiciness but also a taste of its own.

It is definitely worth visiting this place when you are nearby.

Note: Due to the redesign of the Sakura & Ta-Krai restaurants, you may find these for a transitional period at an alternate location on the grounds of the JW Marriott - should this be the case, just get you a site plan at the hotel reception desk.

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DEUTSCH Das Sakura - ein japanisches Restaurant mit Live-Küche – findet man auf dem Gelände des JW Marriott Khao Lak. Hier gibt es köstliches Sushi, Sashimi und nahezu alles, was die japanische Küche an Leckereien so zu bieten hat.

Das Essen war durchweg sehr authentisch und lecker - der Service war zuvorkommend, freundlich und schnell.

Als Starter wurden uns gedämpfte japanische Sojabohnen mit groben Salz gereicht – in der Anmutung in etwa so etwas wie „Pimientos de Padrón“ beim Portugiesen – hier eben die japanische Variante. Gegessen werden hierbei jedoch lediglich die enthaltenen Samen, nicht die Hülle.

Als Starter hatten wir außerdem Ebi Tempura (Garnelen „paniert“) – diese waren extrem knusprig, dabei jedoch kein Stück fettig und hatten einen authentischen Eigengeschmack.

Natürlich hatten wir auch Sushi, in diesem Fall Inside-Out Rollen vom Tuna und vom Lachs – beide frisch und lecker – aber kulinarisch besonders beindruckend war die „warme Küche“.

Hier hatte ich Kurobuta Schwein aus dem Segment TEPPANYAKI “Element Fire“. Das Fleisch hatte ordentlich Röstaromen und einen kräftigen Eigengeschmack, eben so wie gutes Schweinefleisch schmecken soll. Dazu gab es geratenes Gemüse – auch dies war von höher Qualität und auf den Punkt gegart.

Aufgefallen ist mir auch der Wasabi – anders als andernorts war hier neben einer ordentlichen Schärfe deutlicher ein eigenes Aroma herauszuschmecken.

Es lohnt sich in jedem Falle diesen Ort zu besuchen, wenn ihr in der Nähe seid.

Hinweis: Auf Grund der Neugestaltung der Restaurants Sakura & Ta-Krai kann es sein, das Ihr diese für eine Übergangszeit an einem alternativen Ort auf dem Gelände des JW Marriott findet – sollte dies so sein lasst Euch an der Hotel-Rezeption einfach einen Geländeplan geben.

Folgt gerne meinem Google Maps Profil, schaut Euch auch meine weiteren Rezessionen an und besucht auf jeden Fall...

I used my dining voucher to try the course menu at Sakura Restaurant. The tonkatsu and maki were both delicious, and the fried ice cream was an interesting and unique dessert I tried for the first time. However, the tenderloin beef in the main course was a bit tough and not very flavorful — I believe it was more due to the quality of the meat rather than the chef’s cooking. Aside from that, all the other dishes were excellent, and overall it was an enjoyable dining experience. Personally, I recommend sitting at the outdoor tables in the evening — it can be a little warm, but the atmosphere...