We’ve been wanting to find a good izakaya for awhile now so we’ve decided to do an izakaya review! Hidden in a corner of Orchard, is a little izakaya called Dosukoi x Donpachi. It’s situated at the basement of Cuppage Plaza and whilst it’s not an obvious choice for an izakaya, do expect it to be filled with people so make a reservation if you wish to dry by!
Designed like a quaint little izakaya in Japan, you’ll realise that the decorations serve to remind you of Japan, with a really cozy and homely ambience to the place. If you’d like drinks, there’s a counter bar area for you to enjoy your food and drinks or you can also opt for the tables if you prefer having more privacy to yourself.
Stamina Don
Starting off our night with a Dosukoi Stamina Don, we were presented with a rice bowl filled with pork belly and an onsen egg. We broke the onsen egg and proceeded to mix the yoke into the rice and pork belly, giving it a creamy texture that blends well with the meat. The pork belly with onions was lightly seasoned and acted as a base for the yoke and the rice to form a light meal that serves to fill your belly.
Tori Karaage
Does anyone not like chicken karaage?! The karaage was crispy and gently fried, taking a bite we noticed that the karaage was not drenched in oil as with most fried chicken but had a light hint of oil on it. The outer layer was just the right amount of crisp, with a satisfying bite to it whilst revealing the soft and tender meat within. Adding a few lemon drops further served to give it a light and refreshing twist to the karaage and further accented the crispiness.
Grilled Scallops
Hotate! Grilled scallops have always been dependent on the freshness of the scallops as the sweetness and the texture of the scallop can change a lot based on the freshness. The scallops here were grilled well, leaving the scallop stewed in its marinate whilst retaining the soft texture of the scallop. As we bit into the scallops, the aroma of scallops wafted up and filled our senses, further enhancing the sweet taste of the scallops. Having such a dish actually left me wanting hotate sashimi, but sadly this izakaya did not serve it. If you’re a fan of scallops, this is a dish you may want to give a try as it will satisfy your scallop craves, but if not, you can consider giving this a miss as it might not have the same impact on you.
Ebiten and Shirako Tempura
We wanted something crispy to go with our udon, hence we ordered in tempura as well. Having never tried shirako, we decided to order it to give it a try without knowing what it was. The ebiten was lightly battered and crispy, going really well with the tempura sauce. It’s not the best ebiten we had, but was of a decent quality. The shirako on the other hand, was a whole new world to us. As we took a bite, we noticed a distinct aftertaste that did not suit our palate at all, and resulted in us going online to search for more information about it. REGRET was real as we discovered the truth about shirako, as we questioned our life choices. The texture was soft and creamy like tofu whilst being slimy at the same time even though it was fried in batter. The taste was very distinct with a strong aftertaste that I would only be able to describe as an acquired taste. As we were totally not fans of it, we decided not to torture ourselves further and laid it out to rest.
Assorted Oden
Back to a crowd favourite, we got assorted oden to share and it was really great! The dish came in various forms of oden, with egg, daikon, glass noodles, chikuwa and more. My main highlight for this was the tofu, which was really soft and had absorbed enough of the soup to retain a light broth flavour. The light dashi broth was not overly salty and yet it blended in well with the oden to form a refreshing and comforting touch to the meal.
Kitsune Udon
Lastly we went for kitsune udon! Kitsune udon is fried tofu and I’m a fan of having tofu with udon hence this order. As a huge fan of tofu, especially aburaage, I couldn’t pass on ordering kitsune udon to satisfy my cravings. Though it was not the usual triangular aburaage, the tofu was sweet and perfectly seasoned, going really well with the udon in dashi broth. As a contrast, the spring onion serves to help provide a fresh taste to the dish.
Dosukoi ｘ Donpachi Japanese Izakaya Dining & Sake Bar
Overall, the dishes were great if you’re there to have a meal whilst chilling over some drinks, we ordered a few different umeshu, yuzu liqueur as well as highballs to go with the meal and the drinks really served to bring the meal experience to another level. The highlight of the meal actually goes more to the drinks than the dishes but regrettably we did not take any pics of the drinks we had. Also, there was no okonomiyaki in the menu sadly as I would love to have okonomiyaki together with the umeshu as they create a perfect balance as a combo. If you’re looking for a place to grab some drinks whilst having some small quick bites, this will be the perfect place for you.
