Find your way to Chiang Mai's Goro Japanese Restaurant (www.fb.com/goro.cnx) for a trip back to where Japanese cuisine in Thailand began.

Decades ago, Goro opened in Bangkok as one of the first Japanese restaurants. The family-owned establishment has since relocated to Chiang Mai to continue its tradition of unpretentious, umami-packed food at reasonable prices.

The decor is simple, not even intentional enough to warrant “minimal.” Find the richness, instead, in the flavor of the yakitori motsuyaki (grilled marinated meat in skewers, B25 a skewer) and the uni aburi nigiri (a fat piece of grilled sea urchin on top of rice, B290).

On the menu soon (and not for the faint-hearted) is horse sashimi (B560) from Kumamoto province. You’ll find no Thai-fusion here: Goro is where Chiang Mai’s Japanese go to dine. 

 For the latest travel news around Thailand and Southeast Asia follow BK Escapes.