Ayu sweet fish and Hida Beef, Gifu’s bounty at Kampachi

It was a dinner par excellence showcasing the sweet Ayu fish and the award-winning Hida beef from the Gifu Prefecture in Japan, at Kampachi, EQ Kuala Lumpur recently. It’s just a few days more, till 23 July to savour Ayu fish, Hida beef, and other exceptional produce from Gifu, which is located between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Gifu Prefecture’s Governor Hajime Furuta and the Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Katsuhiko Takahashi launched the event celebrating the bestowing of the inaugural “Recommended Overseas Gifu Ayu Restaurant” certification on Kampachi. It’s the first restaurant in Malaysia to receive this.

The Ayu fish can only be found in the cleanest and purest of waters, thriving on algae in the many rivers flowing through the Gifu Prefecture. A major pristine river here is the Nagara River which is the source of abundant marine products like the Ayu and Spotted Red Masu Trout. The river has helped nurture a culture of cuisines, the age-old tradition of comorant fishing, Hon Mino washi paper (hand-made) and more.

FAO has designated this Ayu of the Nagara River System as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. Ayu is now sustainably farmed, using natural spring water and under stringent hygiene and temperature controls.

At the Kampachi dinner, the first course was the Ayu Kanroni, or Simmered Sweet Fish with Sweet Sauce. We tasted the lush, firm meat of the fish which was packed with roe. The sauce embraced the fish, lending more sweetness to it.

The Hida Beef Carpaccio took the spotlight next, wrapped round some raw greens and embellished with a sweet tomato. The pink, marbled meat delivered smooth bites with a little chew.

The sweet fish came into its own in the Ayu Shioyaki, a whole fish skewered and salt-grilled. It was an absolute treat. A Japanese guest from Gifu showed us how to pull out the main bone of the fish, starting from the tail. It should come out whole, but mine exited in three pieces! It’s fish to savour slowly, mindful of the small bones but it’s so sweet, with the lovely grilled aroma and flavour.

I was wowed by the Hida Gyu Misoyaki or Hida Beef topped with Home-made Miso. There’s a subtle hint of spice in the miso over which laid slices of the grilled luscious beef. Wonderfully marbled and finely textured, the meat melted in the mouth. It was sublime, touched with the sweet, lightly tingly miso.

 

Then it was back to the Ayu Gohan or Cooked Rice with Sweet Fish. Kampachi chef Yusuke Ishigami explained how the Ayu was grilled, deboned. The bones were grilled and used to make a stock for cooking the rice. The boneless fish pieces were laid on top of the rice, to be stirred up with it. The sweetness of the fish bone broth was distllled into the subtly flavoured fish rice. This was served with Miso Soup with Nameko Mushrooms.

 

Each course of our Kampachi dinner was paired with a different sake.

Dessert was the Gohei Mochi or Skewered Rice Cake with Sweet Miso. It’s a large rice cake on a popsicle stick, smothered with sweet miso which is a popular street snack in Takayama, a city in Gifu Prefecture.

In recent years Hida beef has claimed the top spot among renowned brand cattle from every prefecture in Japan, in the highly competitive Beef Cattle Expo sponsored by Kinki-Tokai-Hokuriku Regional Association. These included Matsuzaka beef, Kobe beef, Omi beef and others.

It’s all due to Gifu’s exceptional expertise in fattening techniques, further enhanced by its ability to yield a remarkable quantity of meat, surpassing the national average. It has been awarded a Grade 5 certification, the highest carcass rating awarded by the Japan Meat Grading Association.

To savour Gifu’s culinary bounty, make an advance reservation at Kampachi by email kampachi@equatorial.com or visit https://linktr.ee/KampachiOfficial.