Rice Bowls

Glad to say that yatagarasu’s oyakodon is still delicious when taken away. It looks very ordinary and not at all photogenic, but the dashi used is so incredibly flavourful. They also give you an onsen egg to pour over it, which mitigates any possible dryness when taking away, and makes it even better. The perfect takeaway meal.

This beef donburi was not very worth it even with the 1 for 1 discount. There were a few thin beef slices, and the artificial truffle taste was a bit off-putting.

What was more appalling was the service. We were left standing at the entrance for a while, with servers clearly seeing us but refusing to acknowledge us until a server eventually directed us to our seat outside. When a table had cleared up inside, we asked if we could sit inside, and they told us that that table was left empty because of safe distancing regulations. This is despite us seeing people sitting at that table (and every other table) just previously before us.

The last straw was when we were redeeming burpple beyond. The waiter that took our phone for the redemption was taking unusually long compared to usual, so I peered over and realised that she was giving the feedback under the burpple app for their place stealthily without our permission at all. Truly appalling and unethical.

I’m not sure if the poor service was because they judged us to be using burpple beyond, so if you’re using it too, be prepared!

If you happen to find yourself here, their salmon don is a better option than their omurice. It comes with decent slices of salmon, tamago, tobiko, some coleslaw, and Japanese seaweed in the middle. It isn’t anything amazing, but it’ll do the job if you’re just looking to have a lunch.

This was a quite disappointing dining experience. Aside from the food itself, the server told us that the list of items we can order from on burpple beyond is less than what was stated in the terms and conditions, which was quite a misrepresentation. (They said the burpple description wasn’t updated, but it’s been more than a month since I visited, so I highly doubt their words.)

Anyway, the food was very subpar. The curry was a bit too sweet tasting and had really small chunks of minced beef inside so it honestly felt like I was eating a meatless dish. The omelette also tasted like a regular fried egg with mayonnaise and it was a struggle to finish this dish. Wouldn’t recommend this place.

Poke doke has always been my favourite poke place because of their fresh toppings. I particularly like their roasted pumpkin, which uses Japanese kabocha, so it’s sweet and goes well with the other salty ingredients. I also like the inari beancurd topping for the same reason, and it’s a unique topping you can’t find elsewhere. The marinade for the original salmon poke was a bit too salty today sadly, but I enjoyed the garlic prawns! They use proper big prawns (not the glass prawns) and they taste very fresh. Would recommend that if you don’t like wasabi or spicy marinades. There’s a 1 for 1 on shopback go now so do use the deal!

Kinda late to the game but I’ve finally tried Man Man’s unagi hitsumabushi haha! It was rich and indulgent, and I like that they provide the sauce for you on the side so you can really go ham on it if you like it sweet. Their dashi is also quite tasty and helps tone things down a bit when you’re getting fuller. Overall quite enjoyable, liked how charred the meat was, but would have preferred wider slices of meat because it was a bit too thinly sliced such that it’s not as satisfying as I could have been.

Managed to get the limited 1-day Burpple Beyond deal for a free main + drink! The salmon king don consisted of cooked salmon chunks topped with an oozy sous vide egg, ikura, spring onions and sakura ebi, over rice drenched in laksa sauce. I quite liked the laksa sauce because it was tasty and made the rice very moist. The combination kind of reminded me of curry rice or caifan though. The addition of ikura inside wasn’t bad, the flavours didn’t clash and it added some salty bursts of flavour. It did feel somewhat unnecessary though, so this fusion dish was a bit average for me.

Overall, I think their dishes can be refined because the Japanese-Peranakan fusion dishes that I tried tasted a bit confused - neither here nor there, with some elements feeling a bit redundant. Still, all the best to them with their new opening, and thank you for the free food and good service!

Finally got down to Rakki Bowl to try their dons! The salmon sashimi was not bad in both bowls, although I did think the salmon chunks could be cut a tad bit smaller because they’re huge- about 2 times bigger than salmon chunks that are normally in barachirashi. Generous, but would be easier to eat if they were smaller.

The salmon mentaiko don ($23.30) has salmon slathered with a thick layer of mentaiko mayo sauce, which is torched and tastes more like mayo than mentaiko. There’s also small cubes of tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette) under the salmon, which I liked because of its sweetness. The whole bowl can border on being too jelat though, because they’re quite generous with the mentaiko sauce. The rice in this bowl was also a bit on the mushier side.

I actually enjoyed the salmon don ($20.30) more because it tasted more refreshing than the heavier (and also warmer) mentaiko don, probably because of the addition of the cucumber and tamagoyaki cubes. The salmon chunks also seemed to be of a slighter better quality, and the soy marinade wasn’t too salty. My friend preferred the mentaiko don because it’s more heavily seasoned though, so it’s probably a matter of personal preference.

Overall, it’s not bad, but not particularly outstanding. It’s also quite pricy for the size, so thankfully we used Burpple Beyond for a 1 for 1 discount, or it probably wouldn’t have been that worth it.

💸 Feel free to use my code ELIZ093 for 20% off the all day Burpple Beyond annual plan for a 1 for 1 discount at this place!

A Poke Theory isn’t my favourite poke place, but it’ll do! They have large portions and seasonal marinades, which keeps it interesting. They have a new seasonal marinade now, which is the citrus herb pesto one, which I didn’t try, but it sounds pretty good. My go-to protein is their original shoyu salmon, although I tried their avocado miso salmon this time. The flavour of the miso didn’t really come through, so it tasted more like a creamy soy marinade, but it was still not bad. Overall, a filling and healthy meal!

Decided to try this customisable bibimbap place after seeing it added to Burpple Beyond! You have your choice of protein, grains, 5 sides, and add ons if you want. I chose their soy citrus salmon, which is lightly aburi-ed and tastes not bad! My friend’s beef bulgolgi didn’t taste that nice though, because they seem to use leaner meat slices rather than the typical type that’s used in bulgolgi, and the seasoning is a bit too sweet for my liking. The portion of proteins given is on the smaller side, but the whole bowl is still quite filling, and the soy garlic sauce that they give is really fragrant. I think it consists of mainly sesame oil, sesame seeds, soya sauce and garlic. Overall, a decent lunch choice if you’re on a budget and in town, and made better by the burpple beyond discount.

Have been eyeing this place since it opened because it seemed quite affordable. Honestly wasn’t expecting much, but it was not bad! This is their snow beef don ($11.90), which consists of a very generous portion of flame-grilled thin beef slices, topped with a cream sauce and Parmesan. You also have the choice of stewed cabbages or seasoned beansprouts, of which I chose the latter.

Didn’t think it was a lot initially, but they really pile up that beef! Although tender, it’s on the sweeter side, so those who prefer their savoury food to be less sweet may not enjoy it as much. You can also taste how charred and smoky the beef is too, which surprised me. I thought it was really value for money for the portion of beef though, even though the cheesy cream taste got a bit overwhelming for me at the end. The beansprouts are the Korean kind and I liked them quite a lot.

Overall, not bad, and quite value for money! Sort of like Yoshinoya, but the quality seems a bit better to me. Quite a big portion too, felt like I could have gone for the mini bowl which costs $7.50 instead, but note that the bowl looks much sizeably smaller. P.s. They also have a promotion going on now where you can get up to 30% off if you’re having a late lunch

Got mentaiko aburi salmon and udon from Salmon Samurai for $9.90! (It’s customisable - so you can choose their yuzu rice or soba, or your salmon in other styles.) Although the price is on the cheaper side, the portion of the salmon is pretty meagre. Nevertheless, it’s torched perfectly and the mentaiko sauce with the udon is great. Thankfully, the udon was surprisingly so filling and quite springy, with just a bit of soya sauce at the bottom, so I was still full in the end. Probably wouldn’t recommend to get just this if you’re a big eater though.