With まるい寿司 Marui Sushi ... did we cover all Japanese restaurants in Cuppage Plaza?

Every time that we visit Cuppage Plaza, it never fails to give me this funny quirky feeling. You'll find treasure troves of Japanese izakayas, sumiyaki and small sushi shacks among the many clubs where skimpily cladded gals would sometimes mingle at the corridors to 'eye' customers into the clubs. With Marui Sushi, we should have visited all the Japanese restaurants that call Cuppage Plaza home. 

Marui Sushi is a small sushi restaurant with an unassuming shop front that is definitely overshadowed by the glitz of the clubs on the same floor. This could be the reason for us missing it after so many visits to Cuppage Plaza. Marui Sushi has only a few tables and a few sushi bar seats. According to the friendly waitress, they serve mostly regulars. Chef Katayama (at the far end) is the owner who helms the sushi bar in his cool unhurried demeanor. Occasionally, he'll spit out some heavily accented English with the help of hand movements to emphasis his point during his banter with his regulars. The ambience in Marui Sushi was casual and homey. Even the waitress chatted with us as there weren't many customers except for some regulars. The specialty here's, of course, fresh sashimi and sushi with the many selection of shochu to match.

We were first served Edamame, Japanese Green Peas, which love to squeeze out the pod and send it sliding onto our mouths. Apart from being appetizing, it's quite fun eating it.

We got chef to prepare our fresh sashimi platter for four.  On the platter there was Aji with ginger and spring onions sprinkled as toppings, big ebi, Japanese cockles, Geoduck, Tai, Hirame, Hamachi, Shimaji  and our favorite Ootoro. Can you resist fresh good quality sashimi? I cannot .... and there's no stopping me.

A close up of our Tai and Ootoro sashimi

A close up of the sliced up cockle and geoduck

Our sushi indulgence includes: Bottom row, 2 pieces of Maguro and 5 pieces of Tai. Middle row, Aji maki with grated ginger and spring onion and 3 pieces of Anago sushi. Top row fom the left , Blowtorched sushi of Hotate, Tai, Shimaji and Toro.

I'm glad I made right choice to order Anago sushi. This eel was so soft and the sauce and sesame added sweetness and fragrance to the sushi.

This was the Blowtorched Toro topped with grated ginger and yuzu which I took from the sushi platter that HY wanted and I ordered another piece after she started sulking. If she snatched mine away from me, I would have sulk too. This was really good. I should have suggested ordering another 2 pieces for W and J.

At Marui Sushi, they know well enough to serve our fried and grilled food after sashimi and sushi. The tempura Japanese pumpkin and sweet potatoes were really sweet.

We went to the sushi counter to order this Nodoguro that freshly arrived that day. Chef recommended to have this charcoal grilled and simply sprinkled with sea salt. We immediately transformed into cats hovering over this delicious fish. The meat of the Nodoguro was smooth, chunky and sweet. 

As it wasn't a busy evening, the waitress suggest to deep fry the ebi heads and Aji bones from our sashimi platter. They came out all crunchy and tasty. We were told that they'll not do this extra for us if they were busy.

It was all written on our smiling faces. There was no doubt about it. All of us enjoyed the food from Marui Sushi. At the end of dinner, we asked for dessert but was told politely that they do not serve dessert but they could treat us to some ice cream. Each of us was given a Meiji milk and chocolate ice cream on the house. Marui Sushi has a homey, friendly, casual ambience with attentive service and of course, high standards of fresh seafood. They may be a small establishment but in this instance Small means Better.

5 Koek Road #04-01

Cuppage Plaza

Singapore

Tel : +65 6738 6048

Opening Hours:

Mon~Sat 6.30~10.30pm

Closed on Sun and public holidays