FOR the whole of October, executive chef How Yoke Seng of Kampachi Japanese restaurant at Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur is serving up a special Japanese hotpot called kaisen chige nabe.
This delight offers a combination of seafood (squid, cod fish, mussels, oysters and prawns) and vegetables (mushrooms and cabbage) served in a bean paste and chicken broth. The chef has added some kimchi into the broth to give it a richer, spicier flavour.
It just takes about 10 minutes to get a steaming bowl of kaisen chige nabe ready with the seafood added at just the right time to ensure they are cooked perfectly.
Each bowl is sufficient for two but if you are into hot seafood soups, you can easily finish one bowl by yourself.
The broth is the star here. It is light and full of flavour, courtesy of all the ingredients in it.
The Kampachi group of restaurants prides itself on using high quality ingredients whether they are sourced locally, such as the prawns, or abroad, such as the cod (Alaska), oysters (Japan) and mussels (Australia).
This chain also has outlets at Equatorial hotels in Bangi, Malacca and Penang as well as at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, with the latest one opening next month at the new Johor Premium Outlets in Johor Baru.
Kampachi at Equatorial Kuala Lumpur, which opened its doors in 1974, is the first of the chain’s restaurants to be opened in Malaysia.
How, who has been with Kampachi Equatorial Kuala Lumpur since 1986, learnt the art of Japanese cooking from the chefs at the restaurant itself. He was later sent for on-the-job training at the renowned Azahi Zushi restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
So, it is not surprising that when asked what style of Japanese cooking that Kampachi leans towards, How replies: “We follow the kanto (Tokyo) style.”
The restaurant’s other signature items include the tuna, butter fish and salmon sashimi platter. Freshness is the key here and each thin slice of raw fish literally melts in your mouth.
Then, there are the teppanyaki-style vegetables, namely bean sprouts, green capsicum, carrots and cabbage which has a smoky aroma and flavour.
I simply cannot get enough of the softshell crab maki which is a seaweed and rice roll with generous amounts of fried softshell crab in the middle.
The soft vinegary rice, the slight resistance when you bite into the seaweed and the crispy crunchy fried softshell crab are simply superb.
Another standout is the ishi yaki meshi which is hot stone fried rice. For this dish, the ingredients are mixed into a hot stone bowl. We have the vegetable version which comes with lots of mushrooms – delicious and aromatic.
For dessert, the restaurant’s abe kawa mochi come highly recommended. These are glutinous rice balls covered in crushed peanuts, almonds and macadamia nuts with some sugar added. The soft mochi is not too chewy and the nuts add much richness to it.
How explains that the Kampachi menu is revamped four times a year. This is because the restaurant follows the food trends in Japan and uses seasonal ingredients.
In November, Kampachi will be serving fresh saba (mackerel fish) which is plentiful at that time of the year in Japan.
So if you are a big fan of Japanese cuisine, Kampachi (03-2161 7777 ext 8444) is the place to go to for a bite.
The fact that it has been around for so long, and with so many thriving outlets, is testament to how good its food is.
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