Restaurant Review: Marui Sushi Is The Sushi Hotspot of Cuppage Plaza, Singapore
PUBLISHED December 8th, 2015 03:00 am | UPDATED June 13th, 2020 11:03 am
To say that I love sushi and Japanese food in general is the greatest understatement my tastebuds can conjure. It is a culinary tradition that I take full advantage of at least once a week, and since moving near Somerset, I have been on a mission to eat in every Japanese restaurant in Cuppage Plaza. Today, I struck gold with Marui Sushi on the fourth floor.
After dodging the KTV girls shouting shaimase in unison as we ascended the escalators, we found ourselves at Marui Sushi, a tiny restaurant located in the corner. With only 6 seats at the counter and 3 small tables, Marui Sushi is run by Japanese head Chef Katayama who works his magic behind the counter.
After a warm welcome, we sat down and stared at the Japanese-language menu before being guided through the house specials in (broken) English by Chef Katayama and his Singaporean assistant.
Having ‘sushi’ as part of their name, I had to start off with some staples, a sashimi set for 1 ($45) and an order of negitoro maki ($15).
I won’t mince my words when I say that this is possible the best sashimi I have had in Singapore. For real. Even usually more meaty, less tender fish like Mekajiki (Swordfish) and Tai (Seabream) were as buttery as the Salmon or the Kanpachi (yellowtail) in my mouth. And the O-toro! Ohhhh Toro! I know I shouldn’t eat bluefin tuna but it’s just too damn good. Along with freshly shaved wasabi, this 16 piece set of top notch ingredients was also sensationally good value at $45. As for the Negitoro, think perfectly cooked, tender rice and deliciously subtle flavours.
On recommendation from the Chef, we ordered a BBQ Kinki fish (from Hokkaido). I love Kinki fish for its buttery soft flesh and this was a superb rendition. Frankly, I’m salivating just thinking about it.
But Marui Sushi is more than just fresh fish. On special request, Chef dished up a scrumptious bowl of thin udon with an ‘onsen’ egg and tofu ($10). Even his standard veggie tempura was a serious win. What I particularly loved is that as a side garnish, Chef brought some giant Himalayan rock salt and then proceeded to grate it into powder form for us to dip our crispy morsels. I could go on like this about the rest of the meal but i’ll leave a little to your imagination.
As you can probably tell, I didn’t just like Marui. I loved it.
Service five stars, food five stars, and the price is incredible affordable considering the quality. I will be going back here very soon and taking friends with me to help spread the word. This place is THE hidden gem of Cuppage.
PS. Hungrygowhere has this place down as closed. I can assure that they most definitely are open for business. And well worthy of your visit.
