We love having quality, affordable Japanese food options in the heartlands, especially when they come fronted by ex-restaurant chefs. Enter Maruhachi Donburi & Curry, a Japanese don and curry stall run by a chef with nine years of experience working at a famous local tonkatsu restaurant. The eatery opened earlier this year in Punggol, and has since expanded to a new outlet in Bukit Batok Street 31.
This is Maruhachi Donburi & Curry’s third outlet, following their sophomore opening in Havelock Road.
The stall built a name for itself on a variety of premium menu offerings at wallet-friendly prices. For starters, try their Black Pig Katsu Set ($14.80), where a rack of juicy Iberico tonkatsu pork comes served alongside Japanese rice and miso soup.
The pork, which is air-flown from Spain, is fried with 100% cottonseed oil, to ensure that it doesn’t taste overly greasy. To finish is a sauce that is made with ingredients sourced from Japan, and a serving of pickles to refresh the palate.
If you prefer your katsu with a side of curry, that option is also available from $8.80 for chicken katsu, $9.80 for regular pork katsu, and $12.80 for Black Pig Katsu Curry.
Unagi fans can try their Una Tama Don ($11.80), an affordable take on unagi don, served with Japanese-style mirin eggs swirled around cubes of grilled eel.
Other seafood options include their Kaki Fry Set ($15.80), where four panko-breaded oysters are deep-fried till golden brown, and served with rice, a salad, and miso soup.
For more food in the area, check out our Ela review, for Greek food under $20, or our Le Da Chicken Rice review, for sakura chicken rice by a young hawker. Otherwise, check out our affordable Japanese food guide for places to dine below $10.
Address: 373 Bukit Batok Street 31, Singapore 650373
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 9pm
Website