Eat Out in Japan --------- SUSHI CHOUSHIMARU

28th November 2008

Sushi Choushimaru
in front of Aeon Shopping Centre, NaritaChiba, Japan
Tel: 0476-20-1340 http://www.choushimaru.co.jp/

When we arrived Japan on the 28th Nov, what came to mind was the excellent Shabu Shabu we had with Ishikawa-san and wife during the last trip; that steamy pot of miso soup, trays and trays of thinly sliced beef and that wonderful peanut base dipping sauce was still refreshingly memorable that we last dined in a woody interior of a nice restaurant that gives you a rustic feel.

After checking in, we wanted to explore the town where he had once brought us for that local meal but we had no idea where it was saved that it was in Narita. We took the hotel bus that evening down to AEON & JUSCO Shopping Centre and instead of heading in, we headed out into the cold wintry nite as we dont want to be stuck to foodcourt chows.

There are many standalone restaurants here and they became landmark to the area and as we walked out, we stumbled across a sushi restaurant Sushi Choushimaru. It wasnt really what we are looking for, for a dinner but why not tucking in sushi in Japan is the best thing next to Kobe beef and you'll get the freshest sushi here where most fish or seafood were bought daily from the market in the early morning, where fishes just arrived freshly caught or hauled in by trawlers from the sea.

No we do not need to wait or take note of the particular day, the plane arrived for that fresh load of ocean fresh produce from Japan to a Japanese restaurant in Singapore as this is the freshest we can get. Certainly with that in mind, we trooped in and it became clearer that we are in for a good treat.

EBI NIGIRI @ 262Yen=SGD4.20 per plate

EBI TAru TAru @ 136Yen=SGD2.20 per plate

GOMOKU-INari @ 136Yen=SGD2.20

The scent of well vinegared Japanese rice with the crispy, so flavoursome dried seaweed which is delightfully fresh, the freshest I have ever tasted, wasabi and the various toppings and fillings is just perfect.

You can find nigiri such as rice with tuna, shrimp, squid or prawns; gunkan which have dried seaweed wrapped around the rice, topped with uni (sea urchin), fish eggs, kawaebi (small river shrimps), ebi taru taru which is shrimp tartar etc, gomoku-inari which is vinegared rice filled into aburaage, deep fried tofu bags.

THANKS for that OTORO.........ooishi

Topping it all was the best sushi that you cannot miss the prime or supreme OTORO, perhaps the most expensive item in the menu comes from the lowest section of the tuna belly (toro) where it has the highest fat content, thus that melt in the mouth experience of the well marbled slice. There is a high price tag for this quintessential item of the sushi menu as you get silky texture slice of most fatty part of the maguro, so rich in Omega 3 and it just simply glides in the mouth.


I dont think we get the best otoro cause u pay only 525Yen = equiv to SGD8.50 for two pieces (that's what we think that what u pay is what u get) as opposed to one who would pay about SGD20 for a piece but we did have a taste of that richness and we certainly did justice to the order.


We also asked for CYUTORO or semi fatty tuna at 399yen=equiv to SGD6.40 for two pieces and it was just as good.


This sushi chain is public listed and there are about 40 sushi restaurants in the area of Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba.

Green plates 136yen = equiv to SGD2.20
Black plates 157yen = equiv to SGD2.50
Red plates 262yen= equiv to SGD4.20
Blue plates 399yen= equiv to SGD6.40
Yellow plates 525yen= equiv to SGD8.40


Choushimaru sushi are served with thick cuts of fresh slices of fish on a big portion of the base vinegared rice is certainly good value for money.


With the increasingly high Yen exchange this is definitely worth dining here as our meal comes up to about SGD46.00 only including a bowl of nice fish soup which is so tasty with thick fish cut and chawanmushi and a choc desert and with about 15 sushi plates, this is awesomely satisfying.



This pales in comparison with the locals who had about 30-40 plates wiped clean from the next table of 4 Japanese diners and this is testament to the fact that Choushimaru is highly a popular sushi joint for the locals.




FOR THE PLANELOAD TO ARRIVE SINGAPORE
OR TAKE A PLANE TO JAPAN

.............. FOR THE FRESHEST SUSHI