As I had a Sunday off from work, I decided to catch up with a few of my uni friends just before the semester begins. We decided to go to Is Donburi for lunch and this was my second time here. Is Donburi serves quality and value for money Japanese food from sushi, donburi to bento.

When I arrived, Is Donburi was quite full as it was during the peak lunch hour but luckily my friend, Ernie was the first to arrive and got us a table. When everyone arrived, we had some time to settle down, catch up and make our decisions on what to order.

Hot green tea is free and the donburi or bento comes with sides of miso soup and salad. I ordered the Unatama don ($15.80) which comes with unagi (grilled teriyaki eel), egg and rice. The eel was very meaty and the teriyaki flavours were seeping through every bite of the eel. (YUM!) I really enjoyed the Unatama don as it was really delicious.

Unatama don

Val’s review of the Katsu Curry Chicken  ($14.50): The chicken was well cooked, yummy crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The curry over the chicken tasted just like the authentic Japanese curry which made me want to have more. Lastly, the salad accompanying this dish made the whole meal a healthy one.

Katsu Curry Chicken

Ernie’s review of the Katsu Don Chicken ($12.80): I had the chicken katsu donburi and it comes with a bowl of Miso soup and a bowl of salad. The chicken was properly cooked, being crispy outside while juicy on the inside as it should be. The rice was unexpectedly harder than I thought it would be. It still does the job for me. 7/10

Katsu Don Chicken

Rui Qi and Han Leng ordered the Chicken Katsu Udon ($12.50) and Kimchi Don Beef ($14).

Here is Rui Qi’s review of the Chicken Katsu Udon: The chicken katsu udon was surprisingly good. I was anticipating a salty base soup base but turned out to be relatively good. The chicken was crispy – just how I like it to be – and the serving size was just right for me. Overall, it is a satisfying meal and I would definitely head back there for a meal soon.

Han Leng’s review of the Kimchi Don Beef: My food was so delicious that even insects wanted to steal it. But the kimchi had a bad aftertaste.

Chicken Katsu Udon

Kimchi Don Beef

To finish off our lunch, we head over to Meet Fresh for some dessert. From Winter Melon Teas, Taro Ball Desserts to Tofu Pudding, MeetFresh offers a variety of Taiwanese desserts at an affordable price. I ordered the Lemon Tofu Pudding ($5.20) and it was very smooth. The lemon gives a hint of freshness to the tofu pudding.

Rui Qi’s review of the Barley Tofu Pudding ($5.20) : The Tofu was soft and silky. However, I personally felt that the syrup that went along with it was too sweet and the barley was too chewy and hard for my liking.

Ernie’s review of the Taro Balls Tofu Pudding ($5.20):  It was not bad and the syrup isn’t too sweet. The taro balls were chewy. It was a good dessert to have it warm during winter.

Val’s review of the Taro Balls Dessert 2 which consists of sweet Potato, barley and pearls ($5.50): The grass jelly was soft and was at the right texture that I like. It was not too sweet and was really tasty when it was eaten together with the sweet potato, barley and pearls.

Han Leng’s review of the Lemon Fig Jelly Crushed Ice ($6): It has too much ice making it hard to find for the jelly bits.

To finish off,  I would like to thank Rui Qi, Han Leng, Val and Ernie for starring as guest writers for this post. It was great catching up with all of you. 🙂

My rating for the meals today : mmmm (excellent)