The Food Ninja: Chinese New Year @ Kampachi

It is common for superstitious Chinese people to believe that the Chinese New Year would often usher in "new luck". Many people would resort to all kinds of rituals and stay away from all kinds of taboos to ensure prosperity in the coming year.

I am not one to dabble extensively into fengshui or superstition. But if there was a good time to celebrate our past achievements as well as pray for better tomorrows, you can't go very wrong with Chinese New Year.

Having walked by Kampachi many times in Pavilion, I have always had the urge to try it, but never really got around to it. People who know me would know that Japanese food is pretty much one of the top few things I would die for (on some occasions), so it would be a huge shame if I missed out on an opportunity to try out one of the better touted Japanese restaurants in town.

The menu suggests that Kampachi originated from the Equatorial Hotel and I imagine that would be where its headquarters was located.

I am a creature of habit. You would probably witness a blue moon before you catch me at a Japanese restaurant without having the salmon sashimi. The price of the sashimi here really burns the pocket. The salmon sashimi costs RM60 per plate of six pieces. The reason is that it is flown in from Japan. Whenever I have to cough up the kind of money for the little raw orange delicacies, I imagine the big salmon flying all the way from Japan to Malaysia. Sometimes, it helps me sleep better at night.

In my mind, the freshness and juiciness of the salmon is well worth every penny. Even though I knew that Kampachi was going to be pricey, I must say that I was a little surprised at how pricey it was. It was definitely on the high side of my expectations. That said, my guess is that I would not be able to visit this place too frequently. So, the logical choice would be to get something that gives the largest variety to enable satisfactory testing. Something like the sushi bento.

The bento really does have a little bit of everything. The first compartment contains two slices futomaki, two slices of nigiri, and a piece of inari. While they may look ordinary, the ingredients really do make the sushi.

The second compartment contains a large slab of grilled unagi. The unagi is pretty amazing. The texture is very soft and it is very flavorful. On the side, there is a piece of tamagoyaki, which was probably just the right amount because I can't take too much of it. Coupled with those is a scoop of awesome potato salad.

The third and last compartment is probably the most anticipated, at least for me. It contains two slices each of salmon, maguro (tuna), and kanpachi (greater amberjack) sashimi.

The bento also comes with two sides, a tiny fruit bowl and miso soup. Apart from the dragon fruit and watermelon, the others are canned fruits. But that is not a dealbreaker.

The final dish that we ordered was some uber funky maki. It's so funky that I don't remember what it is called now.

This is probably the ultimate combination for a sushi. On top is a huge slice of unagi, grilled to perfection. You may not see it here, but in the photo below, you can see that underneath the slice of unagi is a slice of grilled salmon. The maki is completed with crabstick, avocado, cucumber and fish roe all rolled inside. Definitely recommended as one of the best sushi I have ever had.

All in all, a very scrumptious meal. Partly due to the price and partly due to Chinese New Year, the restaurant seems pretty empty. Chinese New Year season in KL is always empty. I have this unproven theory that no one who lives in KL is from KL.

In any case, the ambience was pretty nice. Some restaurants are too dark, some are too noisy. I think Kampachi pretty much nailed it. It is bright enough for decent pictures with a lowly camera like mine, but it is also not too bright that it burns your retinas through the reflection of the light on the shiny tables.

However, I have one minor hair to pick with this particular Kampachi. I don't know if she was the manager of the restaurant or something, but one of the servers at the restaurant was particularly arrogant and provided what I would consider generally poor service. She was very impatient with taking our orders and was rude when she sat us at our table. Other than that, all the other staff in the restaurant seemed passable, albeit being supposedly "low-skilled" foreign workers. This is in no way meant to offend foreign workers, but rather, to praise their level of courteousness compared with a Malaysian-born manager.

Just to complete the experience, I think this year, Pavilion wins hands down in terms of its Chinese New Year decoration. Typically, the Christmas decorations in Pavilion would be the highlight of the festive seasons, but I guess most of their funding have been channelled towards the Chinese New Year decors.