When you hear the word “piranha,” the image that comes to your mind may be of hordes of vicious fish with razor-sharp teeth stripping you down to your bones in a matter of minutes. But it seems the tables will be turned for a limited time at the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe, where guests will have the chance to chow down on these predators from the Amazon. And as you can see from the picture, yes, the infamous carnivorous fish look ferocious even when they’ve been turned into a tasty French-style dish!
Until May 31, piranha à la meunière will be on the menu at the restaurant Warakuen in Suma Aqualife Park as part of their special exhibit, “The Amazing Amazon Seen by Researchers — The Challenge of Uncovering its Mysteries”. The meunière comes with soup and salad and your choice of bread or rice for a price of 2,000yen (US$19.50). They’ll only be serving five plates of the dish each day, so it may be a good idea to get in line early if you want to make sure you’re able to try the Amazonian fish. While it may seem exotic to many of us, piranha is quite commonly consumed locally, according to the park website. Still, that fella in the picture looks a bit intimidating, doesn’t he (or she — we’re unfortunately unable to tell)?
The park has also publicized the piranha dish on their facebook page.
That’s Suma Aqualife Park’s special 55th anniversary mascot sea turtle character “Go Go Kamen” on the left, and he gives us his impression of the dish in the post: “I really liked the crisply fried bones and fin! The chef says that the meat underneath the cheekbone is also particularly tasty!!” Now, that actually sounds quite good; I know I would seriously want to try it if it was available in Tokyo! Depending on the popularity of the dish, the park says they may consider keeping the piranha on the menu beyond May 31.
Of course, we can’t forget about the actual exhibit, which will include panels describing the fascinating biology and characteristics of Amazonian creatures such as poison dart frogs and anacondas, as well as actual electric fish on display. The exhibit runs until August 31, so it should be a great chance for kids to learn about the Amazon during the summer!
Source and photos: Suma Aqualife Park official website (Japanese) and Facebook page (Japanese)