At Chura Sushi Bar – which gets its name from the Okinawan translation of the word ‘beauty’ – the food delights both the eyes, and stomach. The Japanese restaurant, located in the basement of Suntec City, adopts a visual-first approach when designing its menu, resulting in artfully plated dishes whipped up using fresh catch and seasonal ingredients.
Before picking up the chopsticks, the camera gets to enjoy the meal first; food can come resting atop a bed of dry ice, encased within wooden cages, or daintily assembled on cool marble slabs.
Here, temari sushi, where rice is pressed into dainty balls, is served instead. An assortment of rounded treats ($23.90 for nine) is a vibrant showing of fresh catch: tuna, salmon, spear squid, red snapper, scallop, salmon roe, prawn, sea urchin, and Okinawan sea grapes. Or get the signature Chura chirashi ($25.90), where colourful ingredients – white tuna, omelette, caviar, lotus root, and more – adorn a bed of fluffy grains, then framed by a smooth wooden box.
Also a showstopper: the Chura Ladies’ Set ($19.80) where six pieces of temari sushi are presented within a wooden cage, paired with mini udon bowl and three appetisers of the day. Sushi rolls get a makeover, too. Volcano ($15.80) comes with shrimp-filled tempura sushi, drizzled with spicy miso and nacho cheese sauce, then finished with a smoke show for dramatic effect. Chura’s signature ($25.80) features fat rice discs with an eye-catching cross-section of premium seafood.
Drinks, concocted in partnership with House of Suntory, are worth an order. The dual-toned Sake Fizz ($15) is a refreshingly sweet libation layered with vodka, sake, peach syrup, butterfly pea tea, and lime juice; while the Matcha Made in Heaven ($18) provides a smooth, bittersweet, and easy to drink concoction.
