Kurama Robatayaki: Lunch Donburis

TL;DR Affordable lunch Donburis with quality ingredients and thoughtful service. 

I like to think I'm a risk taker, but that's just self-denial. In times of hunger, my stomach instinctively leans towards Japanese food, for it's simple and clean flavours that never leave me too jelak. And so on another adventure for lunch, we found ourselves walking down the row of Japanese restaurants at Millenia Walk, lusting after the food but lamenting at the prices.

Kurama Robatayaki caught our eye with their lunch donburis that ranged from $10-$30. We weren't really looking at anything above $10 though, so their higher priced donburis weren't up for consideration for this meal.

We tried the Buta Bara Don ($9.90). This had grilled pork belly pork skewers, an onsen egg, and two slices of grilled zucchini on top of a bed of Japanese rice that had been sprinkled with some furikake.

The pork belly was delicious, and grilling it brought out its flavour very well. I was pleasantly surprised by the sweetness of the zucchini as well. I initially thought its role in this dish was merely for show, like the meaningless cucumber in chicken rice. But I found myself enjoying the zucchini as much as the pork belly. Japanese vegetables are expensive but are unrivalled with a natural sweetness, and despite this restaurant located in Singapore, it seems that they don't skimp on their ingredients. The onsen egg is a classic on donburis in Singapore, and as expected, this onsen egg is perfect for mixing in with the rice to provide that touch of creamy texture to the dish.

We also tried the Tsukune Don ($9.90). Grilled chicken meatballs (very large ones) on skewers, with grilled zuchchini, onsen egg, furikake and Japanese rice.

This is suitable if you don't like something as oily as the pork belly. The chicken meatballs (I'm a bit hesitant to call them that since they're so big) are lighter in taste, and softer in texture, but equally delicious. The zucchini and onsen egg are the same across their donburis, and provide some different textures to the dish.

The serving size was just nice, and I did not feel too full or too hungry after eating everything. At first I thought that there could have been more meat, but more meat would have taken away from the balance of the dish, the sweetness of the zucchini and the creaminess of the onsen egg.

The Restaurant

I dived straight into the food. Because that's what led my decision into this restaurant. But perhaps I should also talk a bit about the restaurant itself since I was very intrigued by it while I was there. 

If the lunch prices had not caught your eye, the shopfront would have! The way the shopfront has been decorated is rather different from the other restaurants beside it. For one, this didn't look like a restaurant at all, but some sort of bar. I initially thought this was some sort of hipster donburi place that cuts back on comfortable seating and service for affordable food. 

The inside is decorated the same way, with a grungy and streetside atmosphere. What I had not realised yet was this was only the bar part of this restaurant. This restaurant is rather schizophrenic and this part which I saw is actually Yoi Sake Bar, which I expect would be more lively during happy hour.

Hidden inside, is the robotayaki counterpart of this restaurant.

The atmosphere is entirely different. And while lunch was rather empty and peaceful, I can imagine that they do a busy dinner service with the chef grilling up different ingredients live.

Service 

I also rarely talk about the service, since there's usually not much service to speak of. But the service I received here at Kurama was exceptionally kind and warm. There were mainly two people who served us, a middle-aged, short-haired lady who had greying hair, and a tall, skinny man. It was tiny gestures and the way they spoke that made us feel so comfortable and welcome. Often in Singapore, service tends to be rushed for the sake of efficiency. But both the lady and the man spoke to us kindly without looking like they were in a rush (well, lunch isn't busy for them so they obviously weren't), and small things like bringing us condiments before we asked for it, and holding up the noren (Japanese fabric divider) when we were exiting. The service was thoughtful and patient, and it would almost feel like the Japanese spirit of service had seeped through with a Singaporean accent.

There must be something about how this place is run that makes it feel like that. From the way the staff work, and their interactions with the boss, you can tell that they are happy to be there and enjoying good relationships with their boss. 

Value

$10 for a lunch donburi is good value, in my opinion. Most lunch donburis I've encountered are around the $10-$20 price point. So the price was very reasonable here. 

Although there is lesser "liao" or ingredients that come with the donburi, I think it's a sufficient amount and also fairly priced since these were quality ingredients (that zucchini can't lie). 

I also have to mention that we were served complimentary hot green tea, which would usually have cost $1-$2 at other places with a similar price point. 

So I say for the serving size, quality of ingredients, and the complimentary green tea, definitely worth it!

One thing though, I would definitely stay away from the $6 set meal upgrade that includes an appetiser, soup and dessert. The upgrade is not very worth it.

Location

Millenia Walk, #02-07 

Singapore 039596 

Nearest MRT: Promenade/Esplanade/City Hall