globetrekker84

Has anyone tried fugu? I wanted to try it when I was in Osaka, but no one else wanted to so I didn't. Really regretting it now. What is it like?

KC747

I often eat fugu in winter. It has poison in its liver. Only the licensed chef is allowed to cook and restaurants cannot serve liver to the custmers.
You can try it in different ways; for example, you can eat it as sashimi, you can eat it as shabu-shabu, and also fried fugu is very delicious.

When you try shabu-shabu, fugu's meat is still moving after it is cut. It will be very interesting experience for the first timer.

360guy

I will be in Tokyo and Kyoto in April. Where is the best place to experience Fugu for the first time?

Calcifer

I have to say that the one time I ate fugu it did very little for me--it's an extremely mild flavored fish. I think most of its appeal is in the "risk" of eating it, and the fact that it's quite expensive, so it seems like a real splurge.

Re: fugu in March and April, my gut feeling is that the season for fugu is winter, and it may not be available that much anymore, but others may know better.

jpatokal

Also note that the cheaper kinds of fugu are in fact non-poisonous species, and you need to look for torafugu if you want the real deal.

GadgetFreak

I have had it a number of times. Twice last December, once at a small place in Tsukuba and once at Kozue (the Japanese restaurant on the 40th floor of the Park Hyatt in Tokyo). In Tsukuba it was just fried fugu and it was quite good. At Kozue it was a complete dinner, each course was fugu. It is a special dinner they do there. I have had it a couple times (3 or 4) at Kozue and a couple times at Edo Gin. I enjoyed all of them. In addition to the toxin I think the fish has a very nice, subtle flavor and interesting texture. It isnt just the liver that has the toxin, I believe the blood and I know the ovaries have the toxin. In fact the ovaries have extremely high toxin levels. I think one reason that they do it mainly in winter is that the toxin levels are lower because the water temperature keeps them from spawning. I think toxin levels go up in the spring when they start to spawn.

I think I read somewhere that in addition to having non-poisonous varieties, the chef, by nicking arteries more or less when preparing the fish can serve varying amounts of the toxin with the fish. Im not sure if this is true or if it is common practice. I would say however, that if I had to guess, I would say there is less toxin in what I have had at Kozue than at Edo Gin. Perhaps it is my imagination, but I thought I could really feel it in my mouth and on my tongue at Edo Gin. One thing I noticed in particular was that even though the sashimi was ice cold (when felt with the hand) it felt warm in the mouth. One of our Japanese friends at the dinner said that was typical in some people, others felt a tingling sensation.

As far as where to go I cant help in Kyoto. In Tokyo I would recommend Kozue. The dinner was excellent and the view fantastic. Edo Gin was in the basement of an office building although the food was good. However, Edo Gin also served a custard of fugu semen with the all fugu dinner that would have been a bit over the top for us westerners; that is if our Japanese friend had told us what it was before rather than after we ate it. A very knowledgeable restauranteur in New York, who is from Tokyo told me he would recommend Kyubei in the Ginza area for fugu in Tokyo.

Also be aware that it is quite expensive, especially for the all fugu dinners. They are in the range of $150-$200 per person, not including drinks at Kozue or Edo Gin. At Kyubei I dont know but given general prices at Kyubei I would expect it to be more than that. Also, at least at Edo Gin we had to order a day in advance. Note that there is more than one location for Edo Gin and not all serve fugu. Some Edo Gin locations dont take reservations either but we were told that we had make reservations and order the fugu in advance. This limited us to some of their locations. Im not sure if that is true at the others but it would be worth checking.

Dinka

Is it the season now?
Where is it best to have it - big cities like Tokyo or outside the city in places like Oyama (for a reasonable price - up to 100$ for 2 people)

jib71

It's available. It's more of a winter thing. February 9 is Fugu day...

Shimonoseki and Western Japan

Dinka

Thank you! I think we can than go to Shimonoseki from Hiroshima on our way to Fukuoka, there is supposed to be a Shinkansen both from Hiroshima to Shimonoseki and from there to Fukuoka

jib71

If you do a search on this forum for Shimonoseki and Fugu, you should find some reports.

Q Shoe Guy

Alternatively, you could get off in Kokura and switch lines to Mojiko. After a wander around Moji Retro Town take a ferry across the straight which puts you at the Shimonoseki aquarium/ fish market. You can eat all the fugu you want there and the shops around there!

Braindrain

Personally, first time I tried it I was a bit disappointed. Very mild flavour. Have it a few more times as both sashimi and fried. I prefer fried as it gives it a bit more taste but you've got to try the sashimi first.

SJUAMMF

That's why fugu sashimi normally is served with ponsu instead of shoyu.

If you lips feel numb, stop eating.

mosburger

Btw, fugu is also well available in Seoul and elsewhere in Korea as stew and soup. Wouldn't necessarily order it if found in China, though.

Dinka

Could not find Kokura on Google maps, did you mean Kokura station in Kitakyūshū?... what is there to do in Mojiko? Any idea regarding the ferry schedule? When saying get off in Kokura, do you mean get off the Shinkansen going to Shimonoseki?