Occupying the former spot where now-defunct Caffe Pastore used to be at Beauty World Centre, Chirashi-Ai is a new concept by the folks of Mentai-Ya Japanese Cuisine — best known for their value-for-money Mentai Dons at both Senja Road and Fernvale Street. While Mentai-Ya Japanese Cuisine is a concept found in Food courts, Chirashi-Ai is more cafe-esque, and offers waffles with ice-cream, cakes (sourced from suppliers) and specialty coffee served alongside Donburi and sides.

Was pretty tempted to give their Salmon Mentai Don a go since I have yet to visit Mentai-Ya Japanese Cuisine (reminder to self here), but found myself going for the Chirashi Don which is more of the focus of this new concept. Priced at $14, the Chirashi Don was actually pretty decent for its price — I liked how the bowl came with sushi rice that is served cool; slightly lower than room temperature and pretty constant with the temperature of the diced raw fish that comes atop. Sliced in bite-size cubes, the assortment of raw fish includes salmon, tuna and swordfish, mixed with diced cucumbers and Tamago — the raw fish comes pretty fresh; tossed with a slight savoury marinade for a good flavour, and somewhat well-complimented by the crunch of the cucumbers and the sweetness of the Tamago, while the sufficiently sticky, vinegary rice does come with a slight tang to cut through the fishiness with the knob of wasabi providing a numbing kick that gives the Chirashi Don an extra oomph to tickle the tastebuds. Yet another plus point was how there was ample raw fish to go along with the rice beneath, ensuring that one gets a little bit of everything in one mouthful.

With spots like Omote and House of Chirashi around, the Chirashi Don market is pretty much a steep hill to climb especially on both quality and value. Chirashi-Ai may not necessarily be an establishment that pitches itself against those names, but its still a Chirashi Don of good quality for the price in the heartlands — more of a classic version without being too outlandish, but worthy enough an option to be considered when dining around this neighbourhood, especially given how the spot doubles up as a cafe as well.