I've seen many good stuff said about Donya on social media and the interwebz. It's main selling point is their affordable price point, and still delicious donburis.
I happened to be kinda near and made the extra trip to Donya just to try it out, and honestly I was pretty excited. But the food sucked, and I don't feel like wasting words on this. So let's move on.
We ordered a Mentai Salmon Don ($8.80) and a Chicken Katsu Don ($5.80). If you dine in, it comes with a complimentary bowl of miso soup.
The Mentai Salmon Don was a terrible experience. The salmon, while a substantial slice, was too dry as a result of the owners' decision to deep fry it. The aburi mentaiko mayo added some creaminess but could not save the dryness of the salmon and rice. The mayo also lacked the umami and slightly spicy kick that would have come from the mentaiko. The rice is drenched with a teriyaki sauce that was too strong, and did not complement the mentaiko mayo flavour at all. The lack of any kind of gravy made this dish a parched desert. Trying to make my way through the bowl was a torture and I would not have tried so hard if it didn't cost me $8.80 to eat.
I wonder why they chose to deep fry the salmon. My familiarity with Mentai Salmon Don is restricted to my experience with Japanese Curry Express's version. Their version has aburi sashimi salmon instead of a deep fried salmon filet, and makes the dish less dry and more palatable. Perhaps Donya faces logistical and cost issues with regards to handling sashimi-grade salmon, but I would think that steaming the salmon or baking it would be much better for this dish.
The teriyaki sauce is also a questionable decision. The flavour of the sauce does not complement the creaminess of the mentaiko mayo, and also completely overpowers the salmon. For flavour, the easy way out would have been to add some furikake seasoning, which would have been much better than the teriyaki sauce.
The Chicken Katsu Don was also pretty disappointing. The chicken pieces are slightly bigger than the regular Chicken Katsu Dons that you would get at a food court. But the good points stop there. The gravy was hopefully bland. I don't have much to say except this sucked as much as the Salmon Mentai Don.
The complimentary bowl of miso soup doesn't call for a review, but here's a note that it's a standard bowl of miso soup that you would get in any food court.
I won't mince my words. This meal was a terrible meal. And I've not been so disappointed and angry at food in a long while. Perhaps this was a once-off thing, perhaps their standards have dropped, perhaps everything on the Internet is a bunch of lies. Who cares, I'm done with Donya. I'm not ever coming back here if I can help it.
Value
Their donburis range from $5.80 to $8.80. You would think that's "affordable". But considering that this is food court quality Japanese food, and perhaps worse, this is an outright scam. Just go patronise a generic Japanese stall at any other food court, you're not missing out. And you even get air-con at an actual food court.
Location
They have two outlets, one in Toa Payoh and one in Bugis. I ate at the Toa Payoh outlet for this meal. If you are undeterred by my experience, go forth and try it for yourself. I hope it turns out better for you than it was for me.
Toa Payoh
Donya Japanese Cuisine
126 Lorong Toa Payoh 1
Singapore 310126
Nearest MRT: Braddell, Caldecott
Bugis
269B Queen St, #01-236
Singapore 180269
Nearest MRT: Bugis
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