9 types of Japanese donburis (rice bowls) to try and where to find them in Singapore

If your appetite is raging and you know that sushi simply isn’t going to cut it, you’ll want a donburi (Japanese rice bowl). 

And don’t think donburis are limited to just teriyaki chicken or pork cutlets topped with an oozing onsen egg. There are a lot of other varieties that include ingredients like eel, tempura, sashimi and more.

We rounded up some of the best places to eat these donburis – some are value-for-money, some are worth the splurge, and some already have a reputation for being the best in town. 

Start your weekend strong by looking through the different donburis you could try.

Photo: Instagram / @sushirosingapore

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There are many places in town to get a good bowl of chirashi — which is rice with sushi ingredients scattered on top. 

We picked Jin Fine Dining, located at Amoy Hotel,  for its healthy variety of chirashi dons to choose from. You can choose from about ten types of bowls. 

For example, the Shake Oyako Chirashi ($30) is full of salmon slices, melt-in-the-mouth salmon belly, and salmon roe while the Aburi Chirashi ($30) is filled with lightly grilled fish cubes, creamy avocado and chunks of fresh cucumber.

But if you wanna go all out, get the Premium Chirashi ($48) for a bowl of fresh tuna and salmon belly, snapper, amberjack, salmon roe, and botan shrimp (pictured here).

Jin Fine Dining is at Amoy Hotel, 76 Telok Ayer St.

Photo: Burpple / @cweizhi

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Now chirashi is typically made with raw sushi ingredients. Bara chirashi, on the other hand, is lightly marinated with sauces like vinegar and mirin to give the fish a touch of flavour.

We like the bara chirashi don at Sushiro which is ridiculously affordable at $12.80. Granted, it’s located far away from the bustle of town at Thomson Plaza. And the long queues don’t make it easier. But still, we say give it a go if you’re in the area.

We really enjoyed the tender chunks of tuna, salmon, prawn and octopus, made addictive thanks to the secret house sauce they’re marinated in.

Pro-tip: If you’re dining with 2-3 people, pay $28.80 to upgrade your bara chirashi don. You’ll get a bowl topped with a huge mound seafood that almost threatens to collapse from its weight. Yeah, it’s that generous!

Sushiro is at Thomson Plaza, 301 Upper Thomson Rd.

Photo: Instagram/ @jeremygoh_

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Located in a nook in the basement on The Plaza, at Beach Rd, Uni Gallery is an unassuming little eatery that ships in fresh uni from Japan and Canada every other day.

There are a couple of different varieties, with their own flavour profiles. We thoroughly enjoyed the buttery-textured bafun sea urchin we had a chance to try. It goes well with vinegared rice and bursts of fish roe lending savouriness to the meal.

One bowl of unadon with seasonal uni costs $49 for lunch and $59 for dinner.

Uni Gallery by Oosterbay is at 7500A Beach Rd.

Photo: Instagram / @fpfx

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We say you haven’t really tried tuna until you try the fattiest part of the fish — the otoro, which is the tuna belly. This cut is a pale pink, unlike the redder, leaner cuts of tuna you’d often find in your poke bowls.

The difference doesn’t stop at colour. Otoro is delicate, mildly sweet and has a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

So for some seriously good tuna donburi, go to Kuro Maguro at Tanjong Pagar Centre. It isn’t as traditional looking as its sister outlet in Suntec City, but there are more donburi options here. 

One donburi you could try is the Special Maguro Don Set ($44.90) which comes with thick and soft slabs of the best cuts of tuna. 

Pro-tip: Head there on Tuesdays and Fridays, when fresh shipments of tuna are flown in straight from Miura, Japan.

Kuro Maguro is at Tanjong Pagar Centre, 7 Wallich St.

Photo: Instagram / @drcsgp

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You might already know of eel-speciality restaurants such as Man Man and Uya, but have you tried the latest one that’s only just reached Singapore this April? 

Renowned Japanese eel restaurant Miyagawa Honten, which has a 125-year heritage, has just launched its very first overseas branch here in Singapore, called Unagiya Ichinoji.

Like similar Japanese restaurants with long histories, you’ll find that they have a secret recipe that’s been passed down for generations. Here, it’s the tare sauce (sweet basting sauce) that’s used to coat the eel.

The sauce is sweet but not saccharine. Still, if you don’t like your food sweet, you could dust some aromatic spice mix on to remedy that quickly.

The tare sauce also caramelises on the eel, leaving a sticky and slightly crispy layer above the flaky eel flesh.

Unagiya Ichinoji is at 30 Robertson Quay.

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This one’s another popular spot in town. You’ve probably seen long queues creeping along a Japanese restaurant along Tanjong Pagar Rd. That’s Tendon Ginza Itsuki, an eatery that specialises in only two types of tempura donburis, the original and the vegetarian one.

Also, did we mention the prices are crazy cheap for a place as popular as this? $13.90 for the original bowl which has chicken, prawn, and vegetables; $12.90 for the vegetarian version that includes, pumpkin, lotus root, shitake and a lot more. Each dish comes with free-flow pickles, chawanmushi and miso soup.

The batter here is laid on thickly, which some people love. But if you prefer your tempura to be light and crispy instead of thick and crunchy, maybe try Akimitsu instead, another renowned tempura restaurant from Japan.

Tendon Ginza Itsuki is at 101 Tanjong Pagar Rd.

Photo: Burpple / @jqbot

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Beef’s not the typical topping on a donburi most people go for, when chirashi is a much more popular option. But give it a try and you might be pleasantly surprised like we were. 

The beef pieces in this gyudon at Waa Cow were well marinated, tender, and come in thick, hearty strips. The onsen egg, when mixed, makes the vinegared rice and beef taste even yummier, while the sprinkling of green onions add a little freshness. 

It’s a simple and convenient meal you can have if you’re working in the CBD area, since there’s an outlet in Raffles Xchange.

Waa Cow is at NUS UTown, 2 College Avenue West and Raffles Xchange, 5 Raffles Place.

Photo: Instagram / @waacowsg

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If you like your Japanese food a little less traditional and like atas ingredients that give a unique twist, go for the Foie Gras Truffle Yakiniku Don ($19.80) at Tanuki Raw during the lunch special.

You’ll get buttery pan-seared foie gras, US black angus short rib doused in truffle soy sauce, a runny onsen egg, black garlic brown butter over the rice, and large wedges of pickles for a bit of acidity. 

It’s worth the price and if you don’t mind splurging a little more, pay $26.20 in total for fresh truffle.

Tanuki Raw is at Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Rd and National Design Centre, 111 Middle Road.

Photo: Burpple / @lucaslzm

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Katsu refers to when something is breaded in panko and deep fried. Katsudon Hanakatsu, a small Japanese eatery at Suntec City specialises in just this, and uses pork as the main ingredient.

Like Tendon Ginza Itsuki, which we mentioned earlier in this list, this place has only two things on its menu — the spicy katsudon and the original one. Both cost $13.50++.

Each bowl comes with five tender pork slabs that are crispy on the outside, hot and juicy on the inside. Sinful and yummy.

Katsudon Hanakatsu is at 3 Temasek Boulevard.

Photo: Burpple / @thefussyfoodie_

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