HOW nice it is to live in Japan, where the obsession for the best quality ingredients can see ideological fights breaking out among the locals. For example, the debate on whether Miyazaki beef is superior to Kobe; arguing not about whether kurobuta is the best tasting pork but exactly which prefecture raises the best black pig; or who can find the most obscure farm in goodness knows which prefecture that grows the perfect daikon.
Why, in Singapore, we're deliriously happy if someone comes home from a holiday in Japan with some Japanese beef hidden in his suitcase - who cares which prefecture it comes from when the marbling is just so exquisite.
But since we're pretty ignorant of exactly where Japanese ingredients come from, we always lap up promotions in local supermarkets whenever they bring in specials from places like Hokkaido, Osaka, Fukuoka or wherever. But it isn't often that restaurants do the same, so it's a coup of sorts that Japanese Dining Sun and its sister outlets in Wheelock Place and Central will be bringing Kyushu produce to its premises, and cooking it for you.
While you might head to Hokkaido for its crab, Kobe for its beef, etc, Kyushu is a lesser-known all-in-one gourmet paradise that is possibly too large for you to explore in one go. Located in south-west Japan, the island has seven prefectures, including well-known Fukuoka and Miyazaki. Even someone from other parts of Japan would be impressed by the range of seafood that flourishes in Kyushu - because of its position where cold and warm sea currents meet, plankton grow fat and delicious, attracting fish and other sea creatures to feed, themselves growing fat and delicious.
Restaurant Sun offers a good sampling, and the best is to order the seafood raw or just slightly cooked if you must. Splurge on the abalone ($158.80) - you can have it as sashimi or teppanyaki, or half portions of each. The latter is recommended so you can taste the clean, crunchy (almost hard) raw shellfish which is so different from the braised or canned version we're used to. But when it's lightly sauteed teppanyaki style, the abalone seems to loosen up and become slightly softer and chewy, almost like stir-fried clams. Delicious.
Squid is also abundant in Kyushu and it's fat with firm, delicate flavour ($38.80). Best as sashimi. The cooked dishes tend to be less exciting, like the simmered flatfish in a sweet soya-based sauce. If you like mentaiko - salted cod roe ($25.80) - the Kyushu version is way superior to the tired looking specimens you find in supermarkets. Glistening and plump, it's an acquired taste if you're eating it on its own as opposed to mixing it in rice or pasta.
The various regions of Kyushu are also known for their cooked items - a Japanese chicken porridge that originates in Kagoshima features clean broth with finely shredded meat and vegetables that looks like a soupy version of Korean bibimbap without the hot sauce. And there's Hakata ramen from Fukuoka - where the noodles are more Chinese-like, that is, not as springy as regular ramen, served in a rich pork broth with melting soft pork belly slices. And from Nagasaki, there's an unusual Castello sponge cake that's got a chewy texture due to the use of bread flour. Interesting.
Of course, what the restaurant has brought from Kyushu barely skims the surface of what the island has to offer - but it's enough to make you want to go there yourself.
Kyushu Promotion - April 15 to June 9
Japanese Dining Sun
#02-01 Chijmes.
Tel: 6336-3166
(Also available at Sun's other outlets) Rating: 6.5/10
