Don Don Donki Sashmi Review (Part 1)
For unknown reasons, I have always gravitated towards the taste of raw meat and seafood. Beef steaks cooked medium rare, beef tartare, oysters and of course sashimi itself are all delectable delights that I would gladly eat for most meals if I had a choice. In fact, one of my greatest wishes is to earn a salary that would afford me to eat these meals on a regular basis. Unfortunately for now, these delicacies are often on the more expensive spectrum and I can only afford it occasionally. That was at least until I stumbled upon Don Don Donki, specically the outlet located in B1 of City Square Mall in Farrer Park. I stumbled upon it when I was looking for a place to eat with my friend after a hard session of rockclimbing at OYEYO Boulder Home. I heard from my friends that Don Don Donki does have food and naturally I was keen to explore it since it was Japanese. We entered the supermarket and was greeted with an endless array of authentic Japanese products. Most of the items there were on the pricier side due to the cost of importing these goods from Japan itself, so it was understandable. We initially went in with the purpose of exploring the supermarket for the sake of fun, but that went out of the window the moment I stumbled upon the frozen section featuring the sashimi products.
There were at least 5 complete sections dedicated towards a large variety of sashimi. There was Hotate (Scallops), Honmaguro (Tuna from Japan), Sake (Salmon), Buri (Amberjack), Amaebi (Sweet Prawns), Akaebi (Argentina Red Shrimp), Tako (Octopus) and Tai (Seabream). All of them well portioned and displayed succulently in their individual plastic wrapping, with a not-so-cheap price tag labelled on top. The sashimi were served cut, or in a whole block (similar to what you would see in an Omakase video). They were priced according to their weight, so you need not fret over having to choose the “biggest portion” to get more bang for your buck. Most portions were priced between $7-15. I spent a good 15 minutes looking through the entire area, seeking out and weighing my options. It was at that moment that I knew I would eventually end up losing a small fortune to Don Don Donki over the next few months.
Since I was going to end up dropping some serious dough on some raw fish, I figured out that it would make sense to do a review on the different types of sashimi that I had eaten in hopes that you might be led down the same dark path as I did and try out some for yourself. It has become almost ritualistic at this time of writing for me to head to Don Don Donki after my rockclimbing session at Oyeyo Bouldering Gym, which meant that I was spending a small fortune on a meal twice a week. But without further ado, lets get into it!
Tai – Seabream
This was the first sashimi tray that I bought. I chose Tai because it was one of the cheaper portions available at that time, and I remembered that many Japanese chefs consider it to be one of the more superior white fish out there and used it in their omakase. Hence it would be a good opportunity for me to try it a reasonable price.
- Rating (8/10)
- Taste: Light and refreshing. You can taste the fat in some slices as well. Not much fishy odour there as well.
- Price: $5-7 for a tray of about 8 slices, on the cheaper end of the spectrum
Honmaguro – Japanese Bluefin Tuna
While honmaguro and maguro refer to tuna itself, the hon in front means that it is a bluefin tuna caught in the seas around Japan. Bluefin tuna is considered by many to be the most superior tuna because of the higher fat of the fish, giving it the buttery flavour that so many have prized. This box costed $17.90, but it was indeed a sizable portion with almost 10 thick slices of akami (lean meat) and 2 prized, beautiful pieces of ootoro (fatty tuna belly) laid prominently on top to entice buyers. It was virtually impossible for me to ignore this treat.
- Rating: (8/10)
- Taste: Even the akami was very buttery and fatty, I actually did not enjoy it as much as since I prefer leaner cuts. Yes this is personal preference and I bumped the rating down a bit because of that. The ootoro was just majestic, and definitely an unforgettable experience. It was just like how they described it in omakase videos: melts in your mouth, taste of fat coating palette etc. etc.
- Price: $15-18 for similar portions. For a serving with 2 huge slices of ootoro, I thought that this was actually a steal. A similar dish in a restaurant would probably cost $35.
Akaebi – Argentina Red Shrimp
I was originally looking for amaebei, which was cold water prawns that were half the size of a finger. However, it was impossible to ignore these huge prawns staring me in the face. Each prawn was almost 6 inches in length from head to tail.
- Rating (7.5/10)
- Taste: Lightly boiled, the flesh is really sweet and delicate, there is quite nothing like it. Not one to miss for prawn lovers. No fishy odours present. The head was was slightly too pungent tasting for my liking. (But maybe I was not supposed to eat it at all)
- Price: $5-6 for a packet of 5-6 prawns. Given the size of the prawns it is pretty good value
Buri – Amberjack
Also known as yellowtail sashimi. Amberjack has several names in Japanese depending on the age of the fish when it gets caught. Buri is actually the Japanese name given to a fully developed amberjack. I did not have much knowledge of this fish and the last time I ate yellowtail sashimi was in another restaurant many years ago, thus I did not have any expectations towards this.
- Rating (7/10)
- Taste: Buttery and creamy. It has a full bodied flavour compared to Tai. Unfortunately, it is now summertime in Japan and thus the fish was less fatty than it should be. The red portion of the fish is more fishy tasting.
- $7 for an entire block, which could yield up to 10-12 pieces of sashimi. Similar price to Tai.
Stay tuned for part 2
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the sashimi so far. At first glance, it seems expensive to pay up such prices for a side dish of raw fish, but there are justifications for this. The seafood were all fresh and of great quality, superior to those served in popular conveyor belt concepts such as Sushi Express or Nihon Mura. There were several selections that could not be found in most restaurants as well, and could only be possible with a superior supply chain. I am sure that a lot of effort has been made to ensure that seafood from Japan could reach the shelf still fresh and tasty, and that is worth the premium. Such selections would definitely cost significantly more in a sushi restaurant, and to have the opportunity to have a taste of it at such prices is a steal. I would definitely recommend everyone to drop by Don Don Donki in City Square Mall and have a try for themselves. This is in no way a sponsored post, although I would welcome a a lifetime supply of it, although it would probably only happen in my wildest dreams.
Stay tuned for more as there are definitely more sashimi on the shelf that I would be trying out. Some of those already on my mind include: Hotate (Scallop) , Amaebi (Sweet Prawns), Tako (Octopus) and Mekajiki (Swordfish). Looking forward to those tasty treats!