August is usually an exciting month for lovers of Japanese cuisine as that’s when some special seasonal goodies will make their way to our shores. Okayama is known as the “Sunny Land” due to its many sunny days in a year and its mild climate and fertile lands have made it a great producer of agricultural goods.
The Kampachi Restaurants will be holding its Okayama Fair again this year with the bountiful offerings from the Okayama Prefecture. The fair will be held from 22 August till 5 September 2014 in 4 of the Kampachi restaurants. During this promotion, guests will get to dine on special menus drawn up featuring the best from Okayama.
With its extensive coastline of the Seto Inland Sea, oyster farming is big business in Okayama and around this time, the oysters are at their optimum size. The oysters from Okayama have an incredibly smooth crisp texture with a fresh sweet briny taste that’s very different from oysters from elsewhere. All that’s needed is just a splash of Japanese tangy citrus vinaigrette and the oysters disappear within seconds.
The Okayama Yasai Salad showcases some of the “Sunny Land’s” agricultural stars where a whole sweet tomato is stuffed with asparagus, spaghetti squash, endives and shimeji mushrooms. The light dressing made from fresh wasabi is superb as it helps to enhance the natural sweetness of the vegetables.
We next sample some thinly sliced raw salmon rolled with Okayama Tomato, Asparagus and Yellow Chives. Besides being visually pleasing, the Salmon Carpaccio is really good – the raw fish blends perfectly with the sweet juices from the vegetables, all grown in the fertile soil in Okayama.
The Togan no Ebi Soboro Ankake is a delicate dish. The julienned Okayama winter melon just need a little lift from some minced prawns and a light sauce to bathe them. The no-fuss preparation brings out the best of the melon.
Two of the most popular fruits grown in Okayama are the white peaches and Pione grapes. These grapes may look ordinary but one bite into the crisp sweetness will reveal their superb quality. Besides being deliciously sweet, there is a discernible “wine taste” in them which caresses the tongue in a nice way.
If you’d like to savour these special seasonal items from Okayama, make your way to any of the Kampachi restaurants from 22 August till 5 September 2014. Besides a la carte items, there’s also a special Set Menu featuring the Okayama items. The Set Menu is available for 1 night only on these dates at the respective Kampachi restaurants:
Kampachi @ Troika – 25 August 2014
Kampachi @ Plaza 33 – 29 August 2014
Kampachi @ Pavilion – 1 September 2014
Kampachi @ Johor Premium Outlets – 1 September 2014
Executive Chef Tamaru from Kampachi
Make your bookings early so that you don’t miss out on these gorgeous offerings from Okayama, especially the white peaches and the divine sweet melons!
Fresh produce flown in from Okayama
i really need those grapes again!
Hehe yeah me too!