Tuna With Pedigree

The $32 rice bowl at casual bluefin tuna specialist KURO MAGURO bridges the gap between cheap chirashi and expensive sushi deliciously.

- Florence Fong

It’s always a bit of a challenge whenever we crave a decent bowl of chirashi. There’re usually only two options: go for a cheap and hearty version, or a haute one from a good sushi shop. The problem with the former is that a well-made offering is rare: we only eat the reliably fresh $18 bowl at Koji (no longer the inconsistent ones from Teppei, or the hefty but mediocre offering at The Sushi Bar). And the latter, well, that sometimes costs so much we think we should just splurge on sushi instead. But now, there’s three-week-old Kuro Maguro at Tanjong Pagar Centre, the new mall above the MRT station, offering something between the two. It serves a more upmarket chirashi of sorts featuring sashimi-style slices of bluefin tuna in rice bowls, as opposed to assorted cubed seafood (though there is one chirashi on the menu) which often includes inferior tuna species such as ahi. The story behind this eatery is impressive. It’s owned by the people behind Maguro- Donya restaurant at Eat at Seven in Suntec City. Both are run by a tuna wholesaler with its own trawlers, cutting out middlemen and keeping prices reasonable for the luxe bluefin. The company says its fish is frozen at -60°C as soon as it’s caught, which apparently is the optimal temperature for preserving its freshness. And it’s air-flown to Singapore twice weekly. The PR rep says the fish served