\If you’re into healthy Japanese cooking, you’ll appreciate what Samurai has to offer. Butif taste is your priority (the strong flavors that we Thais prefer, in particular), Samurai is ahit-or-miss affair. According to a note on the menu, when chef-owner Naofumi Sato firstcame to town, he was horrified by the prevalent use of MSG and artificial food coloringin his native cuisine. Samurai exists to prove that it’s not necessary to resort to such fastfoodapproaches—with only partial success. The setting itself is inviting, with minimalistdecor and soft music conducive to a laid-back evening. The downstairs is designed withlovebirds in mind, filled as it is solely with tables for two, some of which even seat youon the same side of the table as your date. The service is friendly and helpful, and theefficient kitchen delivers the food pretty fast even on a bustling night. However, whenit comes to food, Samurai is inconsistent. Though the menu is simple and to the point,consisting of a small selection of sashimi, sushi, donburi, and noodles, there are still anumber of bland, uninspiring dishes. A great flop on our recent visit was tetsuyaki yakinikukimchi don (rice topped with kimchi beef and raw egg, B100), which was small andalmost tasteless, despite the Korean influences. Hovering somewhere between OK andgood was the kaminabe (B220): seafood and veggies bubbling away in a paper pot at thetable. While we loved the light, soy sauce-based stock and sweet veggies, the seafoodwas a letdown—the shrimp weren’t fresh and the clams were tiny. However, that aside,there are a lot of nice finds at Samurai, such as salmon sashimi salad (B120) tossedin a tangy Japanese-style dressing and sashimi moriawase (B280) that offered chunkyslices of raw tuna, salmon, yellowtail and grilled eel. To match its fresh sashimi, Samuraiprovides fresh wasabi that is grated on the spot with sharkskin. Desserts are also good,with daifuku served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (B60) among our favorites. Refills ofgreen tea (B45/glass) are not free, but it’s so fresh and green that you can actually tastethe leaves. Servings are small, but the health-conscious Siam Square customers whofill the place don’t seem to mind. Even the set menus (B120, Mon-Fri 11:30am-6pm) arerelatively small by Bangkok standards. All in all, the restaurant is just a middle-rankedsamurai, not a mighty warrior.