Hong Kong's love affair with unagi has a new headline act, and this one comes straight from the source. Manmaru — a grilled-eel specialist from Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan — has opened in Tuen Mun (屯門), and, notably, it is the brand's first-ever branch anywhere outside Japan.
In This Guide
What is Manmaru?
Manmaru is a dedicated unagi restaurant — that is, a specialist in grilled freshwater eel — from Shizuoka Prefecture, one of the parts of Japan most closely associated with farming and grilling eel. Rather than folding eel into a broad Japanese menu, Manmaru builds the whole experience around it, in the single-minded way that Japan's best unagi houses tend to.
The Tuen Mun opening is the interesting part: per Time Out Hong Kong, this is Manmaru's first-ever location outside Japan. That a specialist chose the New Territories rather than a Central address is its own small statement — and a reminder that some of the city's most interesting Japanese arrivals are landing well beyond Hong Kong Island. If you like to eat your way through the genre, it slots neatly alongside our guide to the best Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong.
What's the unagi like?
The signature technique is what sets Manmaru apart. The eel is grilled over binchotan — the dense, clean-burning Japanese white charcoal prized for high, even heat — and then, in the step Manmaru is known for, briefly steamed inside freshly cooked rice. As the eel rests in the hot rice, its smoky, fatty juices infuse the grains, so the flavour runs all the way through the bowl rather than sitting on top. The result, by the restaurant's account, is smooth, full-bodied and layered.
It is a different philosophy from the crisp, sauce-lacquered kabayaki many Hong Kong diners will know, and closer to the eel-and-rice ritual you would find in Shizuoka itself. If you already chase this kind of Japanese comfort cooking, it earns a place on the same list as the city's best ramen.
Menu & prices
The menu is built around the whole grilled eel, with a few adventurous cuts for the curious. Expect meal sets featuring a whole grilled eel — served either plain or glazed in a sticky, savoury-sweet eel sauce — alongside an eel-topped bento served with pickles, and à la carte grilled eel if you would rather order it on its own. For the eel obsessives, Manmaru also grills the less-common parts: eel shoulder, eel liver and eel bones.
What to order at Manmaru
| Dish | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Whole grilled eel set | A whole binchotan-grilled eel over rice, served plain or glazed in sticky eel sauce, with sides |
| Eel-topped bento | Grilled eel over rice, boxed and served with pickles — the easy first order |
| À la carte grilled eel | The eel on its own, if you want to taste the grill work unadorned |
| Eel shoulder | A prized, less-common cut for the curious |
| Eel liver | Grilled offal — a specialist's touch |
| Eel bones | Crisp-grilled bones, the classic savoury nibble |
Menu per Time Out Hong Kong; dishes and availability subject to change. A service charge may apply.
On price, be realistic: this is a premium unagi specialist, not a cheap-eats counter, and no official price list has been confirmed. Plan to pay the kind of spend you would at a dedicated unagi-don restaurant — very broadly in the region of HK$200–500 a head depending on the set, though treat that only as a rough estimate and confirm the current menu on arrival.
Where is Manmaru and how do I get there?
Manmaru is inside Tuen Mun Town Plaza (屯門市廣場), the big mall on Tuen Lung Street in the heart of Tuen Mun (屯門). It is one of the easiest New Territories restaurants to reach on public transport: the plaza connects directly to Tuen Mun Station on the Tuen Ma line, and the Light Rail's Tuen Mun stop is close by too, so you can go straight from platform to grill without stepping outside. You can find the mall's own directory on the Tuen Mun Town Plaza website.
Manmaru — Visitor Info
Details per Time Out Hong Kong and the restaurant's Instagram. Manmaru's Tuen Mun branch is its first outside Japan. One honest note: shortly after opening, the branch was reportedly warned by authorities over excessive charcoal smoke (per Dim Sum Daily) — an early teething issue of running an open charcoal grill, worth knowing but not a verdict on the food. Hours and menu can change, so check before you travel.
If you are tracking the wider wave of arrivals, Manmaru is a strong addition to this year's most notable new restaurant openings in Hong Kong — and proof that it is worth crossing the harbour, or riding the Tuen Ma line to the end of it, for a genuine specialist.
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Hungry for more?
Follow every notable arrival with our guide to the best Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong — from sushi counters to smoke-scented specialists like this one.