It had been at least 3 years since I came to Maruwa Sushi in Ironwood. I remembered this tiny place was run by a couple Japanese sushi chefs, providing daily fresh menu, authentic Japanese sushi preparation with top quality seafood ingredients; a little bit on the pricy side but totally worth it.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in restaurant this evening, was that the white board for specials was completely blank. No more Akimo (monk fish liver)… No more Anago (salt water eel)… Having Sat down and looked at the menu, I was pretty sure this place had a completely new ownership. And I also noticed that the chef was no longer Japanese. The menu looked really standard and boring, rather generic than exotic. But why do they still keep the same restaurant name? And the blank white board was just making me sad.
I was staring at the whiteboard for another minute, debating if I should just get up and leave.
But I was pretty hungry and tired from a long day at work. So I decided to stay and ordered myself a Chirashi Don.
Chirashi Don is probably the best choice if you want to find out how fresh and decent the food is at a sushi place. I have to admit, this bowl of sushi rice topped with assorted sashimi slices was much better than I expected!
Visually the dish was aesthetic. The chef definitely got the eyes and the knife skills for making beautiful sushi. sashimi slices were not in uniform size and shape, but the placements really worked brilliantly. Tako (octopus) and Toro (tuna belly) were even cut into 2 – 3 smaller pieces to be filled into the arrangement, which I had never seen in any other places.
The sashimi was very fresh and I enjoyed every single bite, especially when I was hitting Uni (sea urchin) and Hotate (scallop). The piece of scallop was huge, sliced into 2 halves, sweet and plum. Sea urchin was the little jewel of the crown, but I wish the piece was bigger. I hate being teased!
The amount of rice was perfect as well, almost matching the sashimi bite for bite.
The shreds of tamago (sweet egg omelette) and shiitake mushrooms, along with touches of daikon radish sprouts, were more than merely garnish, adding more depth in flavours and texture of the dish.
This meal was such a pleasant surprise, although I don’t think I could give it an A. The rice bowl costs me $17 including tax and tip. Value wise, I think it is barely acceptable – I definitely have had better deals.
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