Marumo

Marumo is the Moby Dick of the Perth degustation/omakase world. It has garnered a respectable reputation but that combined with a single sitting per night in a small venue (which currently accommodates approximately 24 people) makes it one of the hardest place to book a table in Perth. In order to have dinner tonight, I emailed Chef Moe requesting to be on his waiting list... in late MAY. Yup. I had to book 3 months in advance.

Little did I know that by the end of our meal, I'd dismiss Restaurant Amuse from its current top place in my restaurant rankings and replace it with this gem.



I could tell you about each and every dish in our omakase menu but it would be a rehash of the same thing - they were all perfectly spot on. Even the palate cleanser, a shotglass of orange sorbet, was an absolute pleasure to eat.

Each dish is elegantly presented - this is probably the closest we'll get to authentic kaiseki cuisine in Perth.

Chef Moe's strength lies in his expertly prepared proteins - there was no tough meat and any bits of fat were perfectly rendered. This surely is a testament to not just the quality of the produce but the finesse of the chef.

(Barramundi... such attention to detail in the presentation)

In particular, I enjoyed the Hokkaido scallops, so soft and sweet that for once, salmon wasn't the last thing on my sashimi plate (I subscribe to the leave the best for last practice when eating).

(Sashimi plate of Australian Hamachi, Tasmanian Salmon and Hokkaido Scallops)

In addition to this, I also enjoyed the beef tataki - surprising seeing how I generally do not enjoy or endeavour to eat rare beef.

(Angus beef tataki)

While I will not bore you with my nearly fan-girl like rambles of all the amazing food... I must elaborate about the standout dish of the night. This is Chef Moe's salmon belly sushi. When I saw it on the menu, I immediately assumed that it would mainly be nigiris of salmon belly. Instead we were served with, what I consider, the most thoughtful sushi roll I'd ever seen. The sushi was a perfect balance of vinegary rice, crispy and salty prawn tempura and melty, fatty salmon belly topped with a generous slather of salmon roe which provide pops of the salty ocean in each bite. Chef Moe's recommendation to eat it all in one go was hard to achieve (considering the generous size of the slices) but an absolute necessity in order to full appreciate the interplay of textures and flavours in this masterpiece. 

(Salmon belly sushi roll)

I was quite tempted to smack the (as it was) annoying couple next to us. I think it was completely sacrilegious that they dunked their sushi rolls in soy, ruining the carefully crafted flavours in the roll.

We had a quick chat with Chef Moe as we left the restaurant. He comes across as a humble man, passionate about his food. I think the only thing that would have made our night at Marumo perfect is if we could have him sit with us while we ate his food so that we could discuss the flavours, textures and techniques of each course.

But hey, at the end of it all, my heart and my tastebuds were singing with joy and that's all a girl really needs from a restaurant. Now I just have to wait a few more months before I can sit in Marumo again.

(Strawberry parfait with green tea sabayon (I think) and rhubarb pieces, topped with strawberry puff pastry)