Donya Japanese Cuisine – Affordably Priced Donburis & Makis

Donya Japanese Cuisine stall is run by Keat Hwee, Andrew, and John. Following the success of their restaurant, Tenryu, at Bukit Panjang, they decided to set up Donya in a coffeeshop to cater to residents living in Toa Payoh. All three of them spent their childhood in this estate, so they wanted to return to a place where they’re familiar with, and offer customers premium food at affordable prices.

Donya Japanese Cuisine focuses on Donburis and Makis, and all items are priced below $10. The Salmon Mentai Don ($8.80) consists of deep-fried Norwegian Sashimi Grade Salmon, slathered with mentai cream. The dish is torched before serving. Unfortunately, the flesh is a tad too dry for our liking. Keat Hwee explained that due to many constraints, they have no choice but to deep fry the salmon, which results in its dry flesh. The team is still looking for a way to improve the texture of the salmon.

The Unagi Tama Don ($8.80) fares better, due to its nice eggy flavour. They are not stingy with the portion, and the dish features just the right amount of savouriness. The skin of the unagi is quite silky, and we enjoyed the tender flesh. You might think that this dish is too pricey for a hawker stall, but you’re tucking into premium grade unagi that is shipped from Taiwan or Japan.

Makis are the signature items at Tenryu, so the partners decided to offer makis at Donya too. The special Donya Maki ($5.80) is drenched in a Tama-Miso sauce, which is made slightly sweeter by the trio. The sweetness balances out the salty flavours from the bonito flakes and miso that’s added in the sauce.

The Mentai Maki ($5.80), on the other hand, is too salty. The texture is alright, with some creaminess from avocado slices, and a nice crunch from little chunks of cucumber, but we would’ve preferred it to be less salty. This maki is also torched before serving.

There are hits and misses at Donya Japanese Cuisine, but they’re still really young and I am sure it will get better. We really like the Unagi Tama Don, and we’re pretty sure it’s hard to find premium grade donburis and makis at such affordable prices.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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