Araya Shouten

Here’s how seafood supplier Araya Shouten stands out from the crowd: they offer katte don during lunch and dinner hours. In a way, it’s similar to our version of cai fan (economic rice) – all you have to do is point at your favourite seafood toppings and you’ll get a chirashi don that’s made entirely to your own liking.

While Araya Shouten is nestled in the relatively quiet basement of Tanglin Mall, this mini seafood market has loyal patrons that come back for its selection of air-flown seafood that’s brought in directly from Japan. Uni (sea urchin), nodoguro (black throat sea perch), buri (yellowtail) – in Singapore, it's a treasure trove of seafood. This particular seafood grocer is also helmed by the same people who supply fresh seafood to many restaurants we know, including Odette, Waku Ghin, and Sushi Kimura. And from that alone, you can tell that quality is their main prerogative – these are all award-winning restaurants that pride themselves on serving only the freshest cut. 

Prices are hastily scribbled on a whiteboard. You can expect Hokkaido scallops from $5 a piece, chutoro (medium fatty tuna) from $35, and kampachi (yellowtail) from $18. This changes on the daily, depending on what’s freshly available.