Dashi Master Marusaya Tasting Session 2020
86 Robertson Quay #01-01
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 5pm - 11:30pm,
Sat - Sun: 12pm - 11:30pm
https://marusaya.sg/en/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session, but I did pay the standard price during subsequent visits.
Attended with representatives from Jennifer Yeo Lifestyle, Chubby Botak Koala, Eat Dream Love, and Purple Taste.
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| Dashi Oden (SGD $20) |
Masterful Dashi Dishes
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 9
Budget about SGD $73++ per person.
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Since 1962, the Marusaya Group (a Japanese katsuobushi wholesaler) has been producing and retailing top-quality katsuobushi / bonito fish flakes. Their flagship restaurant Dashi Master Marusaya opened in Singapore in November 2014, and has since been offering all-natural, preservative-free, healthy dashi dishes made from their katsuobushi / bonito fish flakes. Besides Dashi Master Marusaya, the group also operates sister restaurants TEN Sushi, Monte Risaia, and Mai By Dashi Master Marusaya.
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| Dashi Master Marusaya Exterior |
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| Dashi Master Marusaya Interior |
Ambience at Dashi Master Marusaya is homely and comfortable. Spotlights overhead cast light on each table. Along with dark wooden cushioned chairs, plush booth seats, and light wood brown tables and walls, the 90-seater place feels serene. There's 3 private rooms ideal for business meals, while the al-fresco outdoor seats are great for people watching by the Singapore river. The warm vibes here are a true reflection of their dashi dishes.
Service at Dashi Master Marusaya is discreet and efficient. You barely notice staff busy carrying out their tasks, from serving orders to proactively topping up drinks, clearing finished plates during the meal, and cleaning up quickly when diners leave. That said, staff product knowledge tends to be basic, unless the restaurant manager / vice-president is present, in which case each dish is described in detail, along with the preparation process and ingredients used.
Food at Dashi Master Marusaya is traditional Japanese cuisine, focused on soups, stews, and small bites, all incorporating the house dashi stock. Along with fresh premium ingredients, this means most dishes are tasty, hearty, wholesome, and healthy, even suitable for the elderly. Portions are sized for communal group dining, and sharing is encouraged. Prices are comparable to other upper range restaurants, budget about SGD $73++ per person for a meal here.
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| Seating |
Their all-natural basic dashi (Japanese soup stock), known as satsuma hongare-honbushi, is made from skipjack tuna fish / bonito that is smoked and dried for 3 weeks, then fermented for more than 2 years. This aged bonito is then cooked with rishiri kombu kelp seaweed (harvested from the frigid waters of Northen Hokkaido in Japan), for over 1 hour to create their delicious dashi stock, which serves as the base for the majority of dishes here. Besides satsuma hongare-honbushi, they also make other versions of dashi in-house, including niboshi (anchovies & seaweed stock) and sababoshi (cured Spanish mackeral fish & seaweed stock).
We chose a tall glass of Roasted Barley Tea, which is refillable, but more importantly, is served chilled, because the majority of dishes are warm soups / broths / stews. This has a toasty grainy earthy flavour.
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| Roasted Barley Tea |
Vice President Hideo Ueda brought out a Whole Katsuobushi Block to show us. He described the painstaking process by which Chefs shave it, to get the wispy Katsuobushi / Bonito Fish Flakes. This time-consuming, effort-intensive process is carried out daily here, ensuring diners get the best quality.
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| Katsuobushi / Bonito Fish Flakes & Whole Katsuobushi Block |
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| Whole Katsuobushi Block |
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| Katsuobushi / Bonito Fish Flakes |
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| Katsuobushi / Bonito Fish Flakes & Whole Katsuobushi Block |
The Taberu Katsuobushi / Marinated Bonito Fish Jerky (SGD $15) differs from the usual katsuobushi / bonito fish flakes, because instead of being dried and smoked then shaved, it's marinated with usukuchi shoyu / light soy sauce, koikuchi shoyu / dark soy sauce, and thinly sliced. The result is the taberu katsuobushi / marinated bonito fish jerky having a light firm stringy chew to texture, with a distinct savoury salty fishy flavour that reminds me of dried squid. Pleasant on its own, much better when paired with some creamy mayonnaise, which lends a milky sweet note.
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| Taberu Katsuobushi / Marinated Bonito Fish Jerky (SGD $15) |
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| Taberu Katsuobushi / Marinated Bonito Fish Jerky |
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| Taberu Katsuobushi / Marinated Bonito Fish Jerky |
Loved the Ohitashi / Blanched Spinach In Dashi Broth (SGD $9), which is finished tableside with a topping of wispy katsuobushi / bonito fish flakes for savoury flavour. The chilled dashi / bonito & seaweed stock broth is bright with earthy sweet flavour, while the soft blanced spinach leaves hold good vegetal sweet flavour. A trio of tender mushrooms (shiitake, enoki / golden, shimeiji) with vegetal earthy sweet flavour, and juicy cherry tomatoes with floral sweet notes, complete the ohitashi / blanched spinach in dashi broth dish.
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| Ohitashi / Blanched Spinach In Dashi Broth (SGD $9) |
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| Ohitashi / Blanched Spinach In Dashi Broth |
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| Ohitashi / Blanched Spinach In Dashi Broth |
While the Agedashi Tofu (SGD $12) is a common small-bite dish, the version here is outstanding. The silky wobbly soft agedashi tofu beancurd is largely the same, but the fried batter coating is thick with a light chew, having a delicate savoury flavour that is nice. Paired with crunchy red and yellow bell peppers / capsicum which hold vegetal bitter sweet notes. But the key difference is the dashi / bonito & seaweed stock broth it's served in, bright and savoury sweet in taste, enticing the palate.
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| Agedashi Tofu (SGD $12) |
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| Agedashi Tofu |
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| Agedashi Tofu |
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| Agedashi Tofu |
Loved the Dashi Oden (SGD $20), and I'll return again just for this. Their dashi oden features a warm, earthy savoury salty sweet base of dashi / bonito & seaweed stock flavoured with usukuchi shoyu / light soy sauce, and koikuchi shoyu / dark soy sauce. This one-pot stew is then garnished with a medley of ingredients, including tender yamaimo / Japanese mountain yam chunks which are earthy sweet, and gelatinous konnyaku / konjac cubes which are sweet earthy. There's the classic soft braised daikon radish chunks which are vegetal sweet salty from absorbing the broth, and bouncy chikuwa / fish cake strips which are sweet savoury with a light dense chew. The more premium ingredients include bouncy katayude tamago / hard-boiled egg which is eggy sweet, tightly packed chicken meat balls made with tender minced chicken meat and crunchy chicken cartilage with savoury salty sweet taste, and a garnish of crunchy sweet peas in a pod with vegetal sweet flavour. Wholesome and healthy sharing stew, so yummy and comforting.
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| Dashi Oden (SGD $20) |
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| Dashi Oden |
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| Dashi Oden |
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| Dashi Oden |
Part of a shabu shabu hot pot set meal, the Dashi Shabu (SGD $Priced As A Set) features a large communal sharing hot pot, with a base of warm dashi / bonito & seaweed stock. The dashi shabu broth is seasoned with usukuchi shoyu / light soy sauce, koikuchi shoyu / dark soy sauce, and shio / salt, giving it an earthy savoury salty flavour. It's garnished with crunchy shredded fresh vegetables which lend vegetal sweet flavour, including Chinese cabbage / napa cabbage, carrots, kale, tang oh / garland chrysanthemum, and leeks. There's also tender shimeji mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, soft silken tofu beancurd, and crisp myoga ginger / Japanese ginger, all of which result in bold earthy herbal sweet notes. We were guided to bring the hot pot to a boil, then lower the temperature to 80 degrees celcius; helping ourselves to the first portion of the soup, before cooking the meat (which comes with the set).
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| Dashi Shabu (SGD $Priced As A Set) |
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| Dashi Shabu |
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| Dashi Shabu |
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| Dashi Shabu |
Part of a shabu shabu hot pot set meal, the Condiments (SGD $Priced As A Set) and Sauces (SGD $Priced As A Set) are meant for dipping or pairing with the meat that comes together with the set. The condiments include shio / salt, koikuchi shoyu / dark soy sauce, usukuchi shoyu / light soy sauce, leeks, and yuzu juice and salt infused peppercorns. The sauces include ponzu with grated marinated daikon radish and spring onions, as well as sesame seed sauce.
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| Condiments (SGD $Priced As A Set) |
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| Condiments |
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| Sauces (SGD $Priced As A Set) |
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| Sauces |
Part of a shabu shabu hot pot set meal, you have a choice of 1 type of gourmet meat. The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Shabu (SGD $68 per person set) has good marbling, and the wagyu beef cooks quickly. Has a light delicate chew to texture, with a beautiful meaty fatty savoury salty flavour. The Premium Hokkaido Pork Shabu (SGD $48 per person set) is meaty with a light chew to texture, and needs a slightly longer cooking time. This Hokkaido pork is clean-tasting and fresh, with lovely meaty savoury sweet flavour.
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| A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef & Premium Hokkaido Pork |
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| A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef & Premium Hokkaido Pork |
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| A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Shabu (SGD $68 per person set) |
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| A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Shabu |
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| A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef Shabu |
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| Premium Hokkaido Pork Shabu (SGD $48 per person set) |
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| Premium Hokkaido Pork Shabu |
Part of a shabu shabu hot pot set meal, you have a choice of 1 type of carbohydrate to finish. The Udon (SGD $Priced As A Set) here is handmade, and each udon noodle strand is thick with a soft bouncy chew. It picks up the warm dashi / bonito & seaweed stock so well.
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| Udon (SGD $Priced As A Set) |
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| Udon |
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| Udon |
Part of a shabu shabu hot pot set meal, you have a choice of 1 type of carbohydrate to finish. I personally prefer the choice of Okayu / Congee (SGD $Priced As A Set), because it's hearty and delicious. The okayu / congee is prepared tableside, with staff carefully spooning Japanese white rice into the hot pot, after removing just the exact amount of broth (to prevent the congee from being too watery). Whisked eggs are then poured in, and the mix is folded repeatedly for some time. This takes good skill, and a keen eye to prepare. Finally, a garnish of dried seaweed and spring onions tops it off. The okayu / congee is thick and rich, with a lovely yummy eggy grainy sweet savoury flavour. Properly soulful.
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| Okayu / Congee (SGD $Priced As A Set) |
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| Okayu / Congee |
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| Okayu / Congee |
The Aisukurimu Kuro Goma / Ice Cream Black Sesame (SGD $6) is creamy soft, with bold earthy sweet flavour from the black sesame seeds. Each is topped with a dollop of sticky red bean paste, which holds lovely earthy sweet flavour. The Aisukurimu Matcha / Ice Cream Green Tea (SGD $6) was likewise creamy soft, but the grassy earthy sweet notes of the green tea was rather mild. Between both versions of aisukurimu / ice cream, I prefer the kuro goma / black sesame over the matcha / green tea.
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| Aisukurimu / Ice Cream |
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| Aisukurimu Kuro Goma / Ice Cream Black Sesame (SGD $6) |
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| Aisukurimu Matcha / Ice Cream Green Tea (SGD $6) |
We enjoyed our dining experience at Dashi Master Marusaya, and are already planning to return to try some of their other dishes! Those who love hearty and healthy soups will love Dashi Master Marusaya as well.
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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the circuit breaker in Singapore, the Marusaya Group has released a combined takeaway and self-pickup menu spanning all their concepts. Call +65 6732 0383 and place your orders, then make the payment when you pickup your order at their Robertson Quay outlet.
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| Takeaway & Self-Pickup Menu 2020 |
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Disclaimer: All our visits here were before the COVID-19 circuit breaker in Singapore was implemented.
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CONVERSATION