Taking over the famed Sushi Kimura at Palais Renaissance Orchard, Mare Hachikyo is a restaurant from Sapporo, Hokkaido, serving food showcasing the region’s freshest produce.
Restaurant from Hokkaido in Singapore
This is the restaurant’s first overseas outpost. It is also the first restaurant in Singapore to have 90% of its ingredients sourced directly from Hokkaido. Here, they serve Japanese kappo-style cuisine, showcasing the ingredients of the food in the best way, however, some dishes are Western/Chinese-inspired.
The restaurant has various menu options, such as set lunches that come in a choice of 3 courses ($68++), 4 courses ($88++) and 5 courses ($108++). There’s also a 9-course dinner omakase priced at $228++.
All the dishes in the omakase are also featured in an a la carte dinner menu, though there’s a minimum order of 5 dishes.
They can be paired with a selection of Japanese alcohol, ranging from sake to premium whiskey beer and shochu sourced from across Japan.
Mare Hachikyo Review
We had the 9-course dinner omakase and were thoroughly impressed by the quality of the ingredients.
The meal started with their Signature Hokkaido Temaki, also served at the original Mare Hachikyo in Hokkaido. The chef mixes hairy crab, ikura, and creamy uni before placing it on a piece of Japanese seaweed. A very simple way to showcase the ingredients that you can expect from this meal.
Next are dishes like Kinki Aonori Soup, where a piece of grilled kinki fish is added to a bowl of seaweed soup, and Hotate Kakiage, which features a deep-fried fritter of scallops and vegetables served with ikura on top.
It’s not a complete meal without some sashimi, and their seasonal sashimi features the freshest cuts of Hokkaido. For our meal, it was a platter of bluefin tuna, hirame and engawa, along with fresh, sweet scallop.
There’s also a pan-fried Hokkaido snow aged tenderloin wagyu beef that’s served with a delectable onion sauce. The onion sauce uses Hokkaido onions, cooked with vinegar, shoyu and red wine and paired amazing with the buttery wagyu.
Unlimited Ikura
The highlight of our meal was their Signature Donabe, which can be enjoyed in three ways: on its own with seasonal seafood, as Tsukko Meshi, and as an ochazuke with a pour of warm dashi.
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If you’re wondering what Tsukko Meshi is, it was actually pioneered by the Hachikyo Group, where premium quality ikura is served overflowing on rice. Each scoop is presented with cheerful cheers of “Oisa!”, and it’s up to you to decide when to ask the chef to stop.
We do not recommend anything over 3 scoops of ikura, as it overpowers the donabe, and you can’t taste anything but the ikura. Also, if you can’t finish the ikura, the restaurant requires a monetary donation, as they don’t want the efforts of those who harvested the ikura to go to waste.
Omakase Restaurant in Orchard From Hokkaido
Dining at Mare Hachikyo definitely feels like you’re in Japan. The intimate 12-seater counter is decorated with classic Japanese elements. If you prefer a cosier setting, they also have two private rooms perfect for 4 to 8 people.
Mare Hachikyo
390 Orchard Road, #01-07, Palais Renaissance, Singapore 238871
Mon-Sat, 12:30pm-3pm, 7pm-10pm
*This article is based on a media-tasting event, but all opinions expressed about the food are entirely our own.
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