Telephone: 076 249515, 086 9498020

Open: 11am-9pm

Address: At Index Mall, bypass road (down from Central Festival)

Style: Japanese

Price range: At 420 baht per person for as much as you can eat in 1 hour and 45 minutes, the value really depends on whether you have had a huge breakfast or starved for the previous week.

Specialties: Japanese

Wasabi has always given us masochistic pleasure as it tingles our sinuses. What we want is that warm inner glow - nothing to do with radiation, mind you, just the glow that good food brings. The management at Oishi assures us that nothing on the menu comes from Japan or Japanese waters. The hospitality, of course, is pure Thai. Mixed with good Japanese food, Oishi makes for a convivial lunch or dinner spot with friends. The place has always had a good reputation, although the prices are known to fluctuate. Best to check before you eat. The food, though, is first rate. As fans of salmon and anchovies, we stocked up on those and went back for more. We also enjoyed the Japanese equivalent of a bouillabaisse, cooked at the table. The place is large and there's another room that could seat a big private party. Other tables, varying in size from couples to groups of about 12, all seemed to be enjoying themselves. In one corner there's a kid's playroom. The place is popular, and the food seems to be why. But do make sure you don't have a big breakfast.

How to find it: At Index Mall, on the bypass road between Central Festival and Tesco Lotus, on the Central side.

Parking: Room for quite a few diners in the car park directly outside.

Phuketwan reviewers pay for their own meals. If we don't, we tell you.