Seafood Lunch @ Maruwa Shokudo, Daimyo, Fukuoka

Time to head back to our regularly scheduled programming. Although it was great to head home for a couple of weeks, it is now due time to return to Japan. But the good times do not stop there. Oh no sir. In fact, after returning to my roots I have found some new inspiration in terms of writing and managing the blog. And why not kick things off with probably the most popular thing in Japanese cuisine, and that is seafood. 

Not a hole in a wall, but close?

Maruwa Shokudu (マルワ食堂) is a lunch only old-school diner that specialises in local seafood. Locally sourced from the fishermen in Itoshima, the serve great lunch sets at great prices. I actually stumbled this shop by accident as I was heading to the station after my Japanese language class. But a lunch set meal with sashimi and fried fish was just standing at 1000 yen? Sign me up! 

Oh baby!

Despite having such a modest price, this lunch meal was pretty satisfying. All the seafood looked fresh and everything just seem so good. I was also pretty surprised as to how generous with the overall portion of this meal. But how does it taste then?

Fresh!

The sashimi consisted of boiled octopus and white fish which I believe to be yellow tail. It was fresh, bouncy, and was such an enjoyable experience. You can feel the freshness with every bite as the meat was pretty succulent in terms of fish. There was no offputting fishy smell as well. And with a bit of wasabi, and you get something quite special. 

Surprisingly delicate, despite being deep fried

On a contrasting standpoint, the fried fish with tartar sauce was no slouch either. I am not sure what fish this as well, although I would not be surprised if it is also yellow tail. The meat was flaky and piping hot, while the zesty sauce provided some acid and textureal difference to round things off. Imagine a more elaborate version of fish and chips, and you probably get the idea. This was some awesome stuff. 

The other sides were pretty good too. 

Although those 2 items were great standouts, that was not what the entire meal had to offer. There was an egg roll, grilled fish, miso soup and also a side of vegetables. Now this is some serious eating on a budget. All this for just 1000 yen is still something pretty hard to believe. It felt like a steal. After all that, I left with a very satisfied belly. The food was relatively simple, but still tasted quite special. it was like a home style lunch, but was taken up many notches. granted, this place does get their wares straight from the source, so freshness would be many levels higher than most places. Overall, rest assured that revisits are bound to happen. 

Front of the house. You can't miss it. 

It should be noted that this diner only serves lunches and that they close on Sundays. So if somehow you are an office worker that is based near the Akasaka or Tenjin area, then do drop by. Be that as it may, double thumbs up. If you fancy a go, the address is as follows:

2 Chome-10-31 Daimyo, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0041