I learnt from Honeycombers’s Hot New Tables in Singapore: March 2017 that a new Japanese restaurant called Kuro Maguro has opened in the new Tanjong Pagar Centre, specializing in sashimi rice bowls which are known as donburi, so I dropped by one day after work to try out this restaurant.
The word “Maguro” should have made me realize the connection, but somehow it escaped me. It was only when I was standing in front of the restaurant and I saw the words “Miura Misaki Port” and “freshest seafood” did I realize this restaurant has many similarities with Eat at 7’s Magurodonya Miuramisakikou Sushi & Dining in Suntec City. I did a little research and, bingo! Kuro Maguro is the newly-established sister restaurant of Magurodonya Miuramisakikou Sushi & Dining, that restaurant where I had the fantastic Maguro Otoro Don Set.
Unlike big sister Magurodonya Miuramisakikou Sushi & Dining, Kuro Maguro is a small bar-restaurant that has a seating capacity of roughly 30 people.
The restaurant has festive promotions from time to time and I happened to visit when they are having a Spring Festival promotion. I felt that I would be doing this special menu injustice if I did not order something from it so I got myself a Grilled Scallop although it was a little expensive. I exclaimed “wow” in surprise when I was presented with this HUGE scallop, arranged beautifully in its own shell on top of a bed of rock salt. My amazement must have been quite comical because the waitress went “wow” with me. The scallop itself is delicious to boot. Grilled in its own juice, the scallop is cooked just right where the meat is tender yet firm, and the chef has thoughtfully cut everything into bite-sized portions to facilitate eating. My only suggestion is to cook the scallop with just a sprinkle of sea salt which should help to bring out the freshness of the scallop even more.
I agonized for a long while whether to order the Sansyoku Meshi which will give me a taste of the three best parts of tuna sashimi or Kiwami Meshi which includes other luxurious seafood on top of the tuna sashimi, and it’s really the uni (sea urchin) that made me decide to order Kiwami Meshi because I have not tasted sea urchin and I am dying to try it when everyone keeps telling me how wonderfully delicious it is. And, boy, Kiwami Meshi does not disappoint! Two pieces of (clockwise, right to left) chutoro, akami, otoro, kanpachi (amberjack), sake (salmon), amaebi (sweet shrimp), topped with uni (sea urchin) and ikura (salmon roe). The sashimi pieces are bigger than average and they are so fresh you can almost taste the sea in every bite. I would highly recommend that you get this if you have the money to spare.
The restaurant has a good selection of Asahi beer, hitotsubunomugi (barley sochu), red and white wine and whiskey. Many Japanese working in the Tanjong Pagar area liked to enjoy a drink with friends after a day of work so the place can get quite crowded on weekday evenings.
Kuro Maguro is a great little restaurant at Tanjong Pagar Center that reminds one of izakaya restaurants in Japan, except that instead of fried finger foods sold in most izakaya restaurants, you get to have some of the best tuna and seafood are flown in directly from Miura Misaki Port in Japan.
Kuro Maguro
Address: 7 Wallich Street, Tanjong Pagar Centre #01-04
Telephone: 63868561
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 11.30am – 2.30pm (Last Order 2pm, Sunday Last Order 2.30pm); 5.30pm – 10.30pm
Magurodonya Miuramisakikou Sushi & Dining
Address: 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall #03-310 Eat at Seven
Telephone: 66845054
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 11.30am – 2.30pm (Last Order 2pm, Sunday Last Order 2.30pm); 5.30pm – 10.30pm
Website: http://magurodonya.com