If you go up to the 6th floor of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur now, you won’t miss the colourful flags and decorations decking the section close to Tokyo Street. Yes, it’s autumn now in Japan and there are many wonderful food offerings during this time of the year. It’s no surprise that Kansai is known as the “Food Mecca of Japan” considering the abundant food resources from the mountains, sea, rivers and lakes of the southern-central region of Honshu. The region covers a vast area, namely the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga and of course, Osaka,
For the next two weeks until 1 October 2014, Kampachi Restaurants in collaboration with All Kansai Food Promotion Committee and The Kansai Food Export Promotion Cooperative will be tantalizing diners with some special a la carte dishes featuring the finest autumn ingredients from the Kansai region. Besides the Pavilion restaurant, other Kampachi restaurants offering these delicious dishes are the ones at The Troika, Plaza 33 Petaling Jaya and Johor Premium Outlets.
Throughout these 2 weeks, Kampachi’s Executive Chef Koji Tamaru and his team will be showcasing Kansai cuisine using the freshest seasonal ingredients. We got a taste of the sweet nourishing autumn vegetables from Kyoto in the Kyoto Mustard Greens Salad & Crispy Anchovies served with raw onion rings and a piquant wasabi dressing. This crisp Kyo Mizuna Salad was utterly refreshing and a welcome start to any meal.
What looked like our lethal “chilli padi” (bird’s eye chillies) turned out to be sweet green peppers. The grilled Fushimi Amanaga Togarashi, marinated with a special sauce, was a delight to the palate – it’s not spicy at all, yet they have that signature unmistakable chilli aroma.
The Japanese amberjack or more popularly known as “yellowtail” is a much favoured fish for sashimi, particularly the ones from the ocean. With the onset of autumn and winter, these jacks will be accumulating more fat in their bodies. Of course the best time to savour the sweetest yellowtails is in winter when their body fat content peaks, but I guess autumn is almost just as good. I had no complaints with the superb Tennen Hamachi Sashimi at Kampachi. Their exquisite flavour shone through the succulent glossy slices – my only grouse was that I wished there were more pieces on my plate!
Barracudas may sound and look really fearsome, with their long snouts and razor-sharp teeth. Well, as long as they keep their mouths shut, they are alright with me. The Kamasu (Japanese Barracuda), grilled simply with a sprinkling of salt, tasted so good that I picked the bones clean, really clean. The long slender fish may not seem like much, but the taut body packed quite a punch, yielding firm sweet-tasting meat that’s hard to resist.
Besides the Hamachi and kamasu, guests can look forward to other exquisite seasonal fish like the akamutsu (Japanese ruby snapper) and the sayori (Japanese Halfbeak).
In the words of Chiharu Yabe, General Manager of Kampachi Restaurants, “this is a great way to experience different cultures of Japanese food and the Japanese are so passionate about food, they practise kuidaore – eat till you drop!” That sounds very Malaysian to me, too!
Shall we have some sake? Excellent sake from Nakashima
Chiharu Yabe (General Manager of Kampachi Restaurants) showing how sake should be taken
Want to experience and enjoy something fun? Besides the special dishes drawn up, there will be some masterclasses on Maccha Desserts conducted by Kampachi’s expert Japanese chefs. The hands-on dessert masterclasses at RM100++ per person are fun sessions where participants will learn how to make maccha mousse, maccha cake and maccha dorayaki using the finest green tea from Kyoto. These classes are scheduled on 27 & 28 September 2014, from3.00pm-5.00pm.
We recently had an interesting hands-on session learning how to make maccha mousse from Chef Koji Tamaru at Kampachi Pavilion. Did you know that there is a certain technique to be used when whisking and folding eggwhites to ensure the mousse turns out airy, smooth and velvety? We learned this and more from Chef Tamaru. And green tea from Kyoto is just so different from the regular ones – you just gotta try it!
Maccha Mousse made by yours truly 🙂
On the same weekend, 27-28 September, do catch the ninja and samurai demonstration in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. See real life ninjas and samurais show off their skills – something not to be missed!
Kampachi
Lot 6.09.00 Level 6
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
Open: 11.00am-10.00pm
Other standalone Kampachi restaurants are at:
The Troika
Tel: +603-2181-2282
Plaza 33
Petaling Jaya
Tel: +603-7931-6938
Johor Premium Outlets
Tel: +607-590-9277
*This food tasting session was organised by HungryGoWhere Malaysia – Discover, Eat, Share today!