Fish Mart Sakuraya West Coast Fishmonger: Free Sashimi Cut

Fish Mart Sakuraya runs its main shop on the basement level of West Coast Plaza, at 154 West Coast Road, #B1-50/51/52, Singapore 127371. The shopping floor is open every day from 10:30 am to 10 pm, which makes it one of the few places in the west where you can buy sashimi-grade Japanese fish after work. The headline house rule is simple: there is no extra charge for a sashimi cut.

Sakuraya did not begin as a shop. Its story page says the company started as a wholesale business supplying Japanese restaurants and supermarkets, led by managing director Teruyoshi Abe, and it has been in Singapore for more than 30 years. That trade background is why the counter feels like a restaurant supplier rather than a supermarket aisle: the staff talk about grades, origins and how a fish should be cut for the dish you have in mind.

The retail side came later. According to the official timeline, the first branch opened in Buona Vista in 1998 as a supermarket only, the restaurant at West Coast Plaza started in 2003, and the first branch was later moved here. Parkway Parade followed in 2005, Anchorpoint in 2007 and The Seletar Mall in 2018, but West Coast Plaza is the address the company lists as its home outlet.

The fish is the reason to come. Sakuraya says its sashimi is imported directly from Japan, and the cases mix whole fish, loins and ready trays. The online shop gives a useful sense of prices: maguro sashimi is S$9.70 per 100g, salmon sashimi S$10.90 per 100g, salmon belly S$12.00 per 100g and hamachi S$19.80 per 100g. For a treat, maguro chutoro is S$32.40 per 100g, rich enough that 100g feeds two people as a starter.

Not everything is raw fish. Tako sashimi, the boiled octopus that suits a vinegared salad, is S$10.80 per 100g, and a pack of ten medium amaebi, the sweet raw prawns, is S$12.84. For a celebration there is the Sashimi Mori Tzuki platter at S$98.00. Those figures come from the online shop, which states that prices include GST, so you can budget a home sashimi dinner before you leave the house.

The free sashimi cut changes how you should shop here. Instead of buying a pre-sliced tray, pick a block of tuna or a hamachi loin from the chiller and ask for it to be cut for sashimi. You get thicker, even slices made just before you leave, and you can ask for a mix of cuts from one piece, some for sashimi tonight and a chunk left whole for searing tomorrow.

Be clear about timing. Sashimi tastes best within hours, so ask for the slicing at the end of your shop and head straight home. If you are buying for a hand-roll party, say so: the staff can cut tuna into batons rather than slabs. And if you plan to grill, ask which whole fish on the ice are best salted and broiled, since saba and other oily fish behave very differently from lean white fish.

Sakuraya also runs a Fresh Catch Dining service at the outlet. You choose your preferred fish from the display chiller and the chefs prepare it on the spot, so the counter doubles as a menu. It is a good way to taste a fish you have never cooked before, such as a seasonal Japanese import, before committing to buying a whole one for home. Lunch is the calmer time for this, before the after-work crowd arrives.

The outlet also keeps a wide range of sake and shochu, which turns a quick fish run into dinner planning. A cold junmai with chutoro and a bowl of rice is about as easy as a Japanese meal gets at home. If you want something warmer, pick up a pack of mackerel or salmon for grilling, plus pickles and miso from the dry goods shelves on the same floor.

The news page is busy, which also shows the business is very much alive. In 2026 Sakuraya has run a Bluefin Tuna Cutting Show with tuna air-flown from Ehime Prefecture, a Taste of Kochi promotion at Parkway Parade and an Aomori Hachinohe Fair in September. These events bring in regional fish and products that are not on the shelves every week, and the tuna cuttings in particular draw a crowd.

If you only shop once a month, watching for those fairs is the smartest move. A regional fair is when the range widens, with prefecture-specific fish and seasonal produce sitting next to the usual salmon and tuna. Arriving early on the first day of a fair gives you the best pick of the limited stock, and it is a reliable way to taste something new without booking a Japanese restaurant.

Sakuraya delivers through its online shop, but you need a member account to order. Delivery is free for orders of S$120 and above, and orders below that pay a S$20 fee. Weekend deliveries carry an extra S$10 surcharge, Sunday drops run only from 5 pm to 7 pm, and there is no delivery on public holidays. Payment is via PayNow or PayPal, so have one of those set up before checkout.

West Coast Plaza is a neighbourhood mall rather than a destination, and it sits about 1.3km from Clementi MRT, so most people take a bus or drive. Make a morning of it: start with breakfast at West Coast Market Square, the market and hawker centre at 726 Clementi West Street 2, a couple of minutes on foot. The stalls there cover the classics, from carrot cake to fish soup, and the wet market adds local vegetables to your basket.

After that, walk off breakfast in West Coast Park, under a kilometre away, with its big lawns, playgrounds and views toward the port. Do the fish shopping last, so your sashimi spends as little time out of the chiller as possible. On a hot afternoon, bring an insulated bag or ask the counter for ice; the slicing takes a few minutes and the walk back to the car can be warm.

Fish Mart Sakuraya West Coast is at 154 West Coast Road, #B1-50/51/52 West Coast Plaza, Singapore 127371. The shopping floor is open daily from 10:30 am to 10 pm. Other branches are at Parkway Parade, Anchorpoint and The Seletar Mall. Prices quoted here are from the online shop at eshop.sakuranbo.com.sg and include GST.