Food Review: MAI by Dashi Master Marusaya At Bukit Pasoh Road, Outram | Affordable Omakase Set From S$88++ [Closed]

Posted on March 12, 2020 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place Located along Bukit Pasoh Road, the one year old MAI by Dashi Master Marusaya specialises in dishes incorporating dashi. The Marisaya Group is an established wholesaler in Japan which specialises in Katsuobushi (fried bonito).

The space of the restaurant is fairly spacious, with the omakase counter seats taking centrestage of the design. There are a couple of tables suited for couples or small groups, separated by partitions for more privacy. For bigger groups, there are two small private rooms as well.

The Food Dashi is the base of the dishes here, and the dashi here is prepared from its prized Katsuobushi which takes two years to be prepared.

I went for the signature Sushi & Dashi Omakase (S$88++ per person), one of the options the restaurant just reintroduced. At this price, it is one of the most affordable Japanese omakase in Singapore I have come across.

The new Sushi & Dashi Omakase starts with some seasonal Appetisers where I had the Hotaru Ika (Firefly Squid) with Japanese Kai Lan and Katsuobushi (Skipjack Tuna) and the Black Sesame Tofu with dashi soup. While the favours are generally light, I enjoyed the dashi elements just from the appetisers.

Next course is the Sashimi segment, one of my favourites for omakase. I had the Spanish Mackerel, Chutoro and Kinmedai topped with with wasabi flower. Expect fresh flavours of the sashimi!

Next up was a simple Tamago course where the Japanese omelette is soaked in dashi.

The next course was a Vinegar Sauce Dish, and I was served the Hokkaido Hairy Crab along with seaweed and vinegar. I love hairy crab and it is even better without the hassle of extracting the prized meat. The hairy crab is naturally sweet and I actually enjoyed the vinegar sauce even more.

If you love tempura, you will enjoy the Tempura dish. The Sakura Ebi tempura served with salt and lime was delicious, where the texture is crisp and fried very well. Surprisingly satisfying.

For the Meat dish, I had the wagyu beef served in a mixture of sukiyaki sauce and bonito dashi stock. This dish didn’t surprise me that much, except for the dashi stock which I enjoyed more than the tender beef.

The second part of the omakase focuses on the Sushi aspect, where you can expect about 7 types of sushi.

It started off very well with the grilled Otoro sandwich. Imagine fatty tuna wrapped in seaweed, this was amazing.

The rest of the sushi courses which followed were the Tai (Snapper) topped with snapper liver, Ika (squid) with shiso flower, Tuna done two ways (torched otoro and marinated maguro), Scallop with Hokkaido Uni, Chopped Tuna with Ikura and Uni wrapped in seaweed, and lastly Unagi.

I really enjoyed every sushi, but if I were to pick one outstanding one, it is the Tuna done two ways, also one of Chef Hiroyuki Ono’s forte. I like the contrast of the distinct textures for the torched otoro and the marinated maguro, and it simply melts-in-the-mouth, very orgasmic.

The meal concludes with a Miso Soup and a Dessert of strawberry mochi.

Rant There are many types of dashi in Japanese cuisine and it may be even better to showcase various types of dashi in the dishes other than prepared from Katsuobushi.

Will I Return Again? For the value, I will recommend this Sushi & Dashi Omakase at Mai by Dashi. There are quite a couple of premium ingredients throughout the meal and it is definitely a steal. Am planning for a return trip here.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at MAI by Dashi Master Marusaya here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 4/5