Food, Lifestyle, Travel & Photography: Maruhachi Donburi & Curry

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Maruhachi Donburi & Curry

Posted 19 May 2021

By word of mouth and social media, Maruhachi has gone popular over the weeks. This Japanese stall is located in one of the coffee shops in the HDB estates of Punggol. The stall was opened by the Ex-Head Chef of Tonkatsu Restaurant located at Ion, selling Kurobuta Pork Dishes.

Japanese Stall

Apparently, Maruhachi is the only stall in the coffee shop that had drawn so many willing customers even though the queue is so long. At the glance of the other stalls in the same coffee shop, they look bored standing in front of the counter watching the forming of a long queue of Maruhachi's.

We queued for about 1.5 hours to order our food but a lot of items were already sold out even though we join the queue when the operating hours for the evening starts. After placing our orders, we still have to wait for about 15 minutes for our food.

Buzzer

Pork Katsu Don was deliciously good. Don was served with onsen egg and seaweed. The taste of the Pork Katsu was commendable and addictive.

Pork Katsu Don - $9.80

Maruhachi offers a range of curry udon on their menu. However, they do have plain hot udon too especially for little kinds who prefer soup and noodle dishes without being spicy.

Plain Udon (Hot) - $6.80

The set reminds me of some quality pork katsu set from one of the restaurants. It comes with shredded cabbages by the side of the breaded Pork katsu with mustard sauce, roasted sesame sauce, and a lemon wedge. The Miso soup looks more interesting with not just seaweed.

Pork Katsu Set - $11.80

Close up

The cross-section of the pork katsu was distinct enough. The first layer was covered thoroughly and evenly with the crumbs. In the middle section, the mean was lean and tender too.

Close up of Pork Katsu

For restaurant quality and standard but at the price of a coffee shop, it is simply worthwhile. On a personal thought, if I need to queue long hours for the food, I don't mind topping up a few dollars more to dine in a more comfortable place without standing in queue for so long. Moreover, the place was not very convenient for me but it's really worth the try.

Updated 11th November 2021

No doubt that Maruhachi has opened another branch, I'm still revisiting the place where I first went to order the food that I had failed to order before. We do not have to wait as long as the other time and the customer service is still as friendly despite the busy queue. The service is commendable as they are patient in answering the question on the food when I asked them the difference.

Black Pig Katsu Set - $14.80

The quality and consistency of food remain and the top layer of the Katsu was coated with crispy crumbs that added texture to the delicious Black Pig Meat. The meat was even and easy to chew on and goes well with the fluffy bowl of white rice.

Yummy Black Pig Katsu

He explained that the difference between the Special and the normal Pork Katsu Don consists of more ingredients with an onsen egg. Indeed, compared to my previous order of Pork Katsu Don, the slab of meat was slightly smaller in size.

Special Pork Katsu Don - $12.80

Look at the thickness of the meat, isn't the proportion of batter of right amount to it? Upon typing out this, I'm already drooling and thinking if I should head down to one of their outlet and have it for my next meal.