Japanese Food Festival at Avari Towers Karachi

Japanese cuisine is perhaps one of the most culturally profound in the world. It is diverse, rich in history and follows a strict discipline in terms of techniques, flavours as well as a presentation that outshines. I am crazy about Japan; the culture, the food, the clothes, animes, almost everything makes me happy. I am a sucker for sushi so when the Japanese Food festival invite came from Avari Towers Karachi I ran to have some, with my mouth-watering.

The Food Festivals at Avari towers are quite an experience. However, in terms of how good the food turns out, there are always some pros and cons involved. Most of my experiences have been pleasant and I was expecting Japanese to be a good one too.

Let me first give you a little background about Japanese food. Japanese believe in simplicity so their food follows the same principle. The ingredients are not complex and more focus is given to fresh, seasonal, ingredients and presentation. The art of not just preparing but also how you eat and even serve the dish is given importance. Seafood is highly appreciated so there is no surprise why Sushi is the most famous of all in Japan.

Coming back to the Japanese Food Festival at Fujiyama, Avari Towers, I was left with mixed feelings. Sushi, thank god, was present along with tempura. However, a lot of Japanese food that I was expecting was missing from a very limited menu. There were no variations or options of
Yakitori, Tofu, Ramen, Onigiri or even japanese sweets like Daifuku, Namagashi and Dango to name just a few. How can I not make a sad face when I see 'Chicken Corn Soup' instead of  'Miso Soup'?

TEMPURA IS A GOOD WAY TO START

If you want to smile till the end then skip the soup and just enjoy the tempura dishes. The batter is light, non-greasy and the meat is well done. The subtle seasoning in the batter is completed when you dip it in the sauce provided. 

You get options of Ebi, Yasai and Fish Tempura. Ebi means prawns and Yasai are vegetables. The tempura is made with a light, fluffy batter that results in hot, delightful bites. There is also an option of Ebi Purai which are deep-fried prawns with bread crumbs. I didn't particularly find these flavoursome because the crispy bread crumbs took over the taste and the prawns felt non-existent.

I don't know if the dipping sauce was made in the actual, authentic way but it was not just soy sauce as per taste.

SOY SAUCE & CHILI GARLIC SAUCE ARE EVIDENT

I may be the only person I know who prefers authenticity over localizing foreign cuisine in Pakistan. If you are happy with most Japanese and Chinese food places in Pakistan then you will enjoy the Teppanyaki and Teriyaki the festival buffet is offering. I felt that the prawn, chicken and meat teppanyaki had more than its fair share of soy sauce. 

Japanese are very particular about less seasoning supporting the ingredients whereas it was the opposite in the case of teppanyaki and even the spicy chicken which was laden with chilli garlic sauce.

Chicken Teriyaki, as well as the egg fried rice, were a good treat. The chicken was soft and juicy while the sauce held a good mix of sweet and sour. The rice was sticky yet not goeey with the right amount of seasoning. Together they made a badass combo and thinking of them is making me hungry all over again. I suggest you sprinkle a few chilli flakes to add an extra punch.

SUSHI IS ALWAYS GOOD

The saving grace of this festival was the assorted Sushi, Sashimi and California rolls. I shamelessly stuffed myself silly with sushi and sashimi in the end because it was fresh and tasted great. 

Freshness is the key to making sushi along with chewy sticky rice that doesn't crumble when you dip it in soy sauce and the right thickness and cut of the meat used.

Note to all the Sushi lovers out there. What really makes you a TRUE sushi lover is when you DON'T mix wasabi and pickled ginger in the soy sauce to dip your sushi in. That is the death of sushi and the sushi chef who will witness this!.

You use wasabi as an extra seasoning for your sushi only if you want to, you dip the sushi in soy sauce and then eat pickled ginger to clear your taste buds in between to enhance the taste of sushi. 

The experience was not disappointing and I was full as well as satisfied when I left. I do suggest they add more dishes next time and go subtle in localizing the flavours while sticking to authenticity.

You get a variety of Japanese dishes for an all you can eat offer for just PKR.3195/- + Tax per person. The Festival is on till the 19th of Feb'17 so go gobble down as much sushi as possible cause I got my money's worth with that for sure!

Check the Avari Towers Karachi FACEBOOK for more food and festival updates.