Restaurant review: Don’t know what to eat? The chef at Marufuku will decide for you

In two short years, hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant Marufuku has become known for robata, Japanese-style grilling, as well as Kamameshi rice, and other traditional and modern Japanese dishes.

 

The restaurant is helmed by Chef Kiyoshi Ogawa, who hails from Tokyo and whose list of former employers include EDSA Shangri La's Senju, the Jakarta Hilton, St. Regis Bora Bora, and Yamato in San Francisco.

"I love cooking," he says. "I've been doing it for almost 25 years. Also, my parents, my mother's side, my grandfather was also a chef. That time, I was about five years old, I grew up in a restaurant."

 

And while Marafuku has an excellent, not to mention extensive menu, culinarily adventurous guests can order the omakase menu.

Omakase is the Japanese word for “I leave it up to you.”

In Japanese restaurants, asking for the omakase menu basically means telling the chef to knock himself out. At Marafuku, this means a delicious, filling parade of dishes, all supervised the Chef himself. The dishes vary according to what’s in season and what the chef feels like preparing, but here’s a sample of what one can expect.
 

A sampler that features a lone scallop on a bed of kani salad; Kaki Motoyaki, Hiroshima oyster in mayo-miso sauce; and tamago, or Japanese omelette, this one with a little extra something folded into the eggs.

 

Then there is the Chawan Mushi, Japanese egg custard with pieces of chicken and mushroom morsels trapped inside, to be discovered like treasure. Marafuku serves theirs topped with a square of unagi, the eel providing textural contrast to the smoothness of the custard.

 

The seared tuna is a visually compelling dish, a checkerboard of raw and lightly seared fish served with crisp vegetables and fresh sea urchin, everything swimming in a light sauce.

 

The Spicy Tuna Maki and the Marufuku Roll, of which we were given one of each, were not too filling; the former's spicy punch a nice contrast to the latter's dense umami sweetness.

 

Then there was the Hokkaido soup, with gindara, oysters, and salmon mixed into the deeply flavored broth.

 

Though everything was delicious, the stars of the meal were perhaps the Wagyu Sirloin and the Wagyu Ribeye, the former cubed and skewered, the latter served with a slice of lemon to brighten its flavors. Both had different flavors and textures, the sirloin soft and butter-tasting, the ribeye more robust.

A scoop of black sesame ice cream capped the meal; sweet and slightly nutty, with a subtle flavor that satusfies the sweet tooth even as it cleanses the palate.

 

The beauty of omakase is that when you leave things to the chef, you're sure to be pleasantly surprised. — VC, GMA News