Gyu Nami : Wagyu Roast Beef Donburi @ Amoy Street Food Centre

I was at Amoy Street Food Centre for a late lunch when I chanced upon this stall. There was a flower basket displayed right beside their stall, which is a good indication that this is a new stall that likely to be just opened for business. It was only later when I came across their Facebook page then I realized that they have just opened today. There is even a promotion going on, if you like their Facebook Page and follow them on Instagram, you will get free truffle shavings with each order which I did not know and so, I am not entitled. It will be nice if they make an effort to highlight it to their customers. The lady that took my order did not seem particularly friendly though. I was telling her that I did not expect to find such a stall in the food centre and she just smiled away. 

This stall is headed by a few young and passionate foodies that want to make good gourmet food available to the masses at affordable prices and they take pride in their ingredients as well as the cooking methods to serve the best to their customers, as mentioned on their Facebook page. 

Wagyu Roast Beef Donburi ($10) is their signature dish, it is slowly roasted to a perfect texture which still has its moisture retained for the desired tenderness. It is served along with an egg and their signature homemade yogurt sauce on rice. This is not a common dish to be found in a food centre and they are likely to be the first hawker stall serving such a dish.

I first tasted such a dish during my recent trip to Japan, though not really a fan but it is something different to have when visiting a food centre for lunch. I would think that $10 for such a dish is of decent value though it is more expensive as compared to the usual hawker fare. When I brought along to order my coffee from another stall, a fellow hawker was asking how much did I pay for it and when I told her it costs $10. She looked a bit shock and was telling the Uncle of the coffee stall that this beef rice bowl is $10. She did ask which stall that I ordered it from, I told her that it is a new stall near Taste Affair and the famous Han Kee Fish Soup. 

The real thing did not look as tall as the one in the picture on their Facebook and also with lesser beef slices though I totally understand that pictures are always just for illustration purposes. In this case, what you see is not exactly of what you will get. Overall, it was not bad. Those beef slices were quite tender with a runny egg yolk and when mixed it well, it provides a nice textural contrast. This would not be something that I will look forward to eating it again soon when I am here for lunch again.

GYU NAMI

7 Maxwell Road #02-126 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 3.00 pm (Mon to Sat) (Closed on Sundays)

Donya Japanese Cuisine : affordable Japanese fare in the heartland

This is a newly opened Japanese food stall in a coffee shop directly opposite the food centre at Toa Payoh Lorong 1. They aim to bring premium Japanese donburi and sushi to the heartlands at affordable prices from $5.80 to $9.80, using quality ingredients to bring forth dishes that are of standards as good as the restaurants at coffee shop prices. Japanese fare is not necessarily to be expensive these days as there are more and more such hawker stalls even though their standard might not be as high as those Japanese restaurants, it is usually pretty close.

I decided to go with their Chicken Katsu Don ($5.80) and Mentai Maki ($5.80). I was told that my number is 59 after making payment. I asked, "How would I know when it is ready?" The friendly lady at the counter, said, "We will ring the bell and shout the number." I managed to find a table that is not too far from their counter so I could hear it when the number is called. I had waited for about 10 minutes before I heard my number being called. I went to the counter, collected both items and walked away. Just a couple of seconds later, the chap came over with the miso soup. He said, "You still have a bowl of miso soup." I suppose that miso soup came along with the Chicken Katsu Don. The service was friendly and they even made an effort to say "Thank You," which is commendable.

The Chicken Katsu Don is of a pretty good value, it consists of a thick piece of perfectly fried breaded chicken simmered in a soy-dashi based broth with shredded onion with beaten egg then sprinkled with dried shredded seaweed and scallions before serving. The breading on the fried chicken has absorbed the delightful flavor of the broth and went well with rice. This is the nicest hawker-style Chicken Katsu Don that I have eaten, it is even better than the other one by Konomi Zen, another Japanese hawker stall at the food centre near where I stay. Again, there is a difference in price though, that one by Konomi Zen is priced at $3.50 but it came with a thinner slice of Chicken Katsu.

They are likely to be the first hawker stall that serves premium sushi rolls like Mentai Maki. The California Maki was topped with mentaiko sauce then lightly torched before finishing off with tobiko (flying fish roe), serving in 4 pieces for just $5.80, which is affordable and probably one of the cheapest ones around.

There are other items on their menu that I am interested in trying like the Unagi Tama Don ($8.80), Salmon Mentai Don ($8.80), Chicken Teriyaki Don ($6.80), Donya Maki ($5.80) and also the Gyoza ($3.80).

DONYA JAPANESE CUISINE

Block 126 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 SINGAPORE 310126

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 2.30 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Daily)

Pasta & Donburi by Kenny : just so-so

Pasta & Donburi by Kenny is one of the newest stalls in this food centre that has re-opened after renovation about a year ago. This stall is helmed by Kenny Hew, 32, a new generation hawker who used to work as a chef in Western and Japanese fine-dining restaurants for about 12 years. He is serving Italian and Japanese cuisines consisting a combination of pasta and Japanese rice bowls known as Donburi, there are a total of 9 dishes on the menu, priced from $5.00 to $7.50. His stall is located right next to his father-in-law's stall, the famous Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh that has been around for 57 years.

While standing there and deciding what to order, I asked, "What do you recommend?". The assistant there replied, "Each has its own fan." I decided to go with Fried Chicken & Mushroom Pasta with Tomato Sauce ($6.50) and Chicken Donburi ($6.50) which I paid after ordering. There is an LCD panel but I have not been issued a number for collection so I just waited there. When collecting it, I was telling the assistant, "My friend tried it and he liked the pasta." Kenny overheard and he replied, "Thank you." He said, "Everything is made from scratch including those sauces." There is also no MSG added.

Fried Chicken & Mushroom Pasta with Tomato Sauce which comprises a good portion of spaghetti with a piece of deep-fried crumbed chicken cutlet with mushroom slices in tomato sauce then garnished with chopped parsley with some vegetable that tasted like spinach. The spaghetti was cooked just right. The chicken cutlet was done well to have a slight crispiness on its surface and still moist within. I did not like it as much as expected, in fact, I would prefer what I have tasted at Grill & Pasta in Sembawang Hill Food Centre for the same price. 

The Chicken Donburi is the Japanese rice bowl that consists of a piece of deep-fried crumbed chicken cutlet that is sliced into strips then served with shredded onions and eggs in dashi-based sauce on Japanese short-grain rice along with a bowl of Miso soup. It was garnished with chopped spring onions and sesame seeds. The portion was generous but not the best tasting as Konomi Zen, the Japanese food stall at the food centre in Ang Mo Kio is serving a better version at a cheaper price. 

Miso Carbonara with Onsen Egg ($7.00) seems to be highly recommended from those reviews online and I am interested to try it if I happen to be there again. 

PASTA & DONBURI by KENNY

20 Ghim Moh Raod #01-53 Ghim Moh Food Centre SINGAPORE 

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 2.30 pm (Monday)

11.00 am to 2.30 pm / 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm (Closed on Thursdays)

Don . 档 : Western-Japanese Fusion Donburi in Coffee Shop

It has only started on 19 December 2016, it is a hawker stall in a coffee shop serving Western-Japanese fusion Donburi. As it stated on their Facebook page that they "aim to bring you the best in Western-Japanese fusion Donburi through the finest selection of meats and fine-dining cooking method". They are serving 6 different types of Donburi: Wagyu Beef Don ($12.90), Salted Egg Tempura Don ($9.90), Mentaiko Salmon Don ($9.90), "Sio Bak" Don ($8.90), "Dak Gang Jeong" Don ($7.90) and Garlic Parmesan Chicken Don ($7.90). There are also side dishes like Blooming Onion ($5.00), Dragon Fries ($6.00), Dak Gang Jeong ($6.00), Buttermilk Crispy Wings ($6.00) and Over-baked Blue Ginger Wings ($6.00) to go with dips like Truffle Aioli ($0.50), Wasabi Mayo ($0.50) and Japanese Curry ($0.50). Miso Soup is also available at $2.00. 

I decided to go with the Wagyu Beef Don and when I could not decide on the other item to order, I asked for the recommendation. I was told that their 3 best sellers are Wagyu Beef Don, Salted Egg Tempura Don, and Mentaiko Salmon Don. The handsome chap that was taking my order said, "It actually depends on the type of texture that you want". I went with the Salted Egg Tempura Don. And, he asked, "Do you want to go with Miso Soup, it is only at $1.00 when you order a Don?". I decided to get just a bowl. I paid a total of $23.80. I asked, "Would you serve it to me?" as I overheard he was asking the customer in front of me for the table number. I did not take notice of the "Self-service" signage displayed near the right corner of their stall. That chap did not point it out but agreed to send it to our table. This is a part of good service. Both orders were served at the same time in about 10 minutes by the same chap, he said, "I will bring the Miso Soup over later as it's not hot enough". He brought it over in a couple of minutes together with the receipt which I was not given earlier.

Wagyu Beef Don consists of 54 degrees sous vide Wagyu beef with donburi sauce and served with 72 degrees onsen egg and japonica rice. 

Apparently, i did not like it as much. The texture of the beef was slightly tough and too chewy to my liking. Those sliced beef seemed to be overcooked based on its color.

And, I felt Miso Soup with only wakame and silky tofu is not quite worth the $2.00 and not even at $1.00 when order as a set. It did not have much of the miso flavor, a little too light and diluted. I understand the reasonably high costs involved in running a hawker stall but I still think that they might want to consider to give it as compliment together with an order of Donburi. 

The Salted Egg Tempura Don consists of tiger prawns and assorted vegetables fried in tempura butter then sprinkled with their special salted egg yolk mix and also served with 72 degrees sous vide egg and japonica rice. 

It might not be disappointing if they just named it Tempura Don as I could not taste much of the salted egg flavor from their supposedly special salted egg yolk mix. Those tempura pieces were lightly battered and deep-fried well to get that desired crispiness, it was nicely done actually. 

Though the overall taste was far from 'Oishi' but the stall is only less than a month old, they still need time to fine-tune as well as to make the improvement. I would just give it another go but not too soon.

DON . 档

30 Foch Road #01-02 Fusion Food Dynasty Coffee Shop SINGAPORE 209276

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 9.30 pm (Daily)