Are you brave enough to try live sashimi?
July 31, 2003 | 12:00am
You only have until tonight to try the Makati Shangri-La’s promotion offering the rare Japanese culinary art known as ikezukuri. That’s live sashimi in English.
No, I’m not kidding. When I got a call early last week from Makati Shangri-La communications manager Marc de la Cruz to try this exotic culinary special, I didn’t have second thoughts. I thought this must be my rehearsal for Fear Factor.
Sashimi is a scary proposition for many Filipinos. The thought of eating anything raw, more so if it's raw fish, sends them running away from the table.
I must admit sashimi is an acquired taste. Even those with an appetite for raw seafood are choosy about the fish they eat. Their safest bets are tuna and salmon, the flesh of which is not as fishy as some seafood.
However, ikezukuri is a totally different thing.
Ikezukuri, or literally "live masterpiece," requires the highest skill in preparing live, raw fish. To ensure that only the freshest, healthiest fish are prepared, the Japanese chef chooses the live fish himself from a fish tank and readies it by slicing the meat off one side of the backbone. Garnishings are then laid out beside the fish while it is still moving as culinary adventurers partake of its fresh meat.
To prepare us for the experience, a group of food journalists is taken to a private room for the occasion. We are told this is to shield other diners from the sight of a live fish being carved tableside.
The staff at the Makati Shangri-La’s Inagiku Japanese Restaurant wheels in a sashimi table with a plastic enclosure. A Japanese chef comes in holding a platter with a live lapu-lapu. A towel covers the fish’s head, which will give the chef a grip of the fish.
After much preparation, he then proceeds to make an incision on the neck of the fish, just deep enough to cut through the flesh. He makes a similar incision near the tail, then proceeds to slowly slice his way through one side of the fish.
Of course, the process isn’t as easy as I am describing it. As the chef prepares to cut the fish, it suddenly moves and leaps from the cutting board.
Did I mention blood? Surprisingly, the fish doesn’t bleed that much. You can see the lapu-lapu’s white flesh slowly turn a chalky white as the chef lifts the fillet from the body. What I can see of the fish bone slowly turns red, but not enough to be bloody.
Then, the chef turns over the fish and repeats the process of cutting and slicing the flesh from the lapu-lapu.
The Japanese chef then slices off the lapu-lapu skin. He proceeds to slice the lapu-lapu fillet into thin strips. He then arranges some garnish on the plate and places the lapu-lapu sashimi on the platter. To complete the presentation, he takes a barbecue stick and runs it from the tail to the neck of the fish. This curves the lapu-lapu into a red bow. He places the live fish on the same plate.
When the Japanese chef serves the sashimi on our table, we are all silent. We watch how the gills of the fish twitch every so often. Someone at the end of the table turns the platter around because he says the fish is staring at him.
We proceed to try the fresh lapu-lapu sashimi. The sight of the live fish might have dampened my appetite. I content myself with only a couple of slices of sashimi.
For comparison, we we’re served lapu-lapu sashimi sliced from fresh fish, not a living, breathing one. The live sashimi is chewier than ordinary lapu-lapu sashimi.
The restaurant manager tells us that Inagiku can only serve live lapu-lapu sashimi because it is the only locally available live fish suitable for ikezukuri. In Japan, where the art of live sashimi comes from, they could use a variety of fish, provided they are live fish.
Just my luck I thought. But then, how do you carve a whole mackerel or yellow fin tuna? What kind of knife does the sashimi chef use for such an operation?
The folks at the Makati Shangri-La say there are no plans yet to extend this special promotion. But if some of you really want to experience live sashimi, better call up now for reservations.
And yes, they’ll be offering another Japanese delicacy come December. This time, Inagiku will be serving the deadly puffer fish, or fugu, in a special promotion. When served as sashimi, it is not unusual for diners to feel their tongue and lips going numb. This is because of the poison in the fish. Truly something to get me hot and bothered all over again.
The Makati Shangri-La’s ikezukuri promotion is available at Inagiku Restaurant. For inquiries and reservations, call 840-0884 or 813-8888 local 7588 or 7599.
No, I’m not kidding. When I got a call early last week from Makati Shangri-La communications manager Marc de la Cruz to try this exotic culinary special, I didn’t have second thoughts. I thought this must be my rehearsal for Fear Factor.
Sashimi is a scary proposition for many Filipinos. The thought of eating anything raw, more so if it's raw fish, sends them running away from the table.
I must admit sashimi is an acquired taste. Even those with an appetite for raw seafood are choosy about the fish they eat. Their safest bets are tuna and salmon, the flesh of which is not as fishy as some seafood.
However, ikezukuri is a totally different thing.
Ikezukuri, or literally "live masterpiece," requires the highest skill in preparing live, raw fish. To ensure that only the freshest, healthiest fish are prepared, the Japanese chef chooses the live fish himself from a fish tank and readies it by slicing the meat off one side of the backbone. Garnishings are then laid out beside the fish while it is still moving as culinary adventurers partake of its fresh meat.
To prepare us for the experience, a group of food journalists is taken to a private room for the occasion. We are told this is to shield other diners from the sight of a live fish being carved tableside.
The staff at the Makati Shangri-La’s Inagiku Japanese Restaurant wheels in a sashimi table with a plastic enclosure. A Japanese chef comes in holding a platter with a live lapu-lapu. A towel covers the fish’s head, which will give the chef a grip of the fish.
After much preparation, he then proceeds to make an incision on the neck of the fish, just deep enough to cut through the flesh. He makes a similar incision near the tail, then proceeds to slowly slice his way through one side of the fish.
Of course, the process isn’t as easy as I am describing it. As the chef prepares to cut the fish, it suddenly moves and leaps from the cutting board.
Did I mention blood? Surprisingly, the fish doesn’t bleed that much. You can see the lapu-lapu’s white flesh slowly turn a chalky white as the chef lifts the fillet from the body. What I can see of the fish bone slowly turns red, but not enough to be bloody.
Then, the chef turns over the fish and repeats the process of cutting and slicing the flesh from the lapu-lapu.
The Japanese chef then slices off the lapu-lapu skin. He proceeds to slice the lapu-lapu fillet into thin strips. He then arranges some garnish on the plate and places the lapu-lapu sashimi on the platter. To complete the presentation, he takes a barbecue stick and runs it from the tail to the neck of the fish. This curves the lapu-lapu into a red bow. He places the live fish on the same plate.
When the Japanese chef serves the sashimi on our table, we are all silent. We watch how the gills of the fish twitch every so often. Someone at the end of the table turns the platter around because he says the fish is staring at him.
We proceed to try the fresh lapu-lapu sashimi. The sight of the live fish might have dampened my appetite. I content myself with only a couple of slices of sashimi.
For comparison, we we’re served lapu-lapu sashimi sliced from fresh fish, not a living, breathing one. The live sashimi is chewier than ordinary lapu-lapu sashimi.
The restaurant manager tells us that Inagiku can only serve live lapu-lapu sashimi because it is the only locally available live fish suitable for ikezukuri. In Japan, where the art of live sashimi comes from, they could use a variety of fish, provided they are live fish.
Just my luck I thought. But then, how do you carve a whole mackerel or yellow fin tuna? What kind of knife does the sashimi chef use for such an operation?
The folks at the Makati Shangri-La say there are no plans yet to extend this special promotion. But if some of you really want to experience live sashimi, better call up now for reservations.
And yes, they’ll be offering another Japanese delicacy come December. This time, Inagiku will be serving the deadly puffer fish, or fugu, in a special promotion. When served as sashimi, it is not unusual for diners to feel their tongue and lips going numb. This is because of the poison in the fish. Truly something to get me hot and bothered all over again.
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