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What is a Donburi? Japanese Rice Bowls and Where to Eat Them in Singapore

Donburi is a Japanese rice bowl topped with meat, seafood or egg. Common types such as gyudon, oyakodon and kaisendon, and how to find good ones in Singapore.

  • By the Lookup team
  • Updated
  • 2 min read

Donburi (often shortened to "don") is a Japanese dish of rice in a large bowl topped with simmered or cooked ingredients such as beef, chicken and egg, tempura or raw fish. The word also refers to the bowl itself. It is a quick, filling single-dish meal, and Singapore has plenty of donburi restaurants and food-court stalls.

What makes a donburi

A donburi has three parts: the rice, the topping and the sauce. The rice is usually plain steamed Japanese short-grain rice, though some bowls use vinegared sushi rice. The topping is either simmered in a sauce (dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar are common) or grilled, fried or served raw. The sauce soaks into the rice. Many bowls come with miso soup and pickles.

Gyudon

Thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a sweet and savoury soy-based sauce, served on rice. It is the classic fast-food bowl in Japan.

Oyakodon

Chicken and egg simmered together with onion, over rice. The name means "parent and child" in Japanese, because it uses both chicken and egg.

Katsudon

A breaded fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu) simmered with egg and onion, served on rice.

Tendon

Tempura, such as prawns and vegetables, on rice with a sweet soy-based sauce.

Kaisendon

A seafood bowl topped with slices of raw fish and other seafood. It is closely related to chirashi don, where the toppings are arranged over sushi rice. Some restaurants use the two names interchangeably, so check the menu.

Unadon

Grilled eel glazed with a sweet soy sauce, on rice.

Finding donburi in Singapore

You will find donburi at Japanese casual dining chains, food courts and standalone restaurants, especially around Orchard, Bugis, the CBD and neighbourhood malls. Menus and prices change often, so check the restaurant's current menu and opening hours before you go. Singaporean food writers and reviewers regularly publish updated lists of the best donburi spots, which are a good starting point.

Things to look for:

  • Freshness for raw-fish bowls: busy restaurants with a high turnover usually have fresher fish.
  • Portion options: many places offer regular and large rice portions.
  • Halal-friendly or vegetarian choices: ask the restaurant directly, as some sauces contain mirin, sake or fish-based dashi.