Let me be clear.
Out of all the food out there, the Japanese-style Unagi eel dish has been my favorite and it's never really been close.
It's been my favorite dish since when I was 8 years old.
So I need my dose of Unagi here and there. Even though I'm living in Singapore.
I obviously have a lot of experience under my belt when it comes to Unagi as well.
Ideally, I'll go to an Unagi shop. But sometimes I'll have to resort to settling with something at the supermarket.
Which is what I did this time around.
This time it's the promotion unagi (eel) M 3 pieces by Don Don Donki at $45.80 SGD.
This means it's around $15 SGD per piece.
I suppose all Don Don Donki eel would be the same? But anyways, this one is from the JEM outlet at Jurong East.
Unagi from DonDonDonki at JEM
Website: https://www.dondondonki.com/sg/
Let's get right into it!
The eel size are pretty large. As written in the label, it's 3 pieces of unagi in the package.
It also has the unagi sauce inside.
They don't include the Sansho or the Japanese Pepper in the package. I find it an absolute must. I strongly suggest you buy Japanese Pepper before you make any Unagi at home.
This is not a cooking blog, so I won't go over the steps. But due to my limited equipment (I don't have a charcoal grill at home), I'll be taking the common method of pan-frying the Unagi.
It actually looks really decent. Smells decent too.
So here it is.
I've put this on Japanese rice - although you can't see the rice in the picture.
And of course, must sprinkle the Sansho (Japanese pepper).
Yes, I sprinkle a lot.
Conclusion - hey, it's not bad! Not bad at all.
The thing I fear about the most is the "muddy" or "fishy" taste.
It's usually very difficult to avoid this for supermarket unagi. I find it kind of inevitable it gets mixed in.
I wouldn't say this Don Don Donki unagi was 100% clear of it, but it was really close.
I think there was an area that had a fishiness to it, but outside of that was mostly solid.
Good soft meat, a little bony but that too wasn't too bad.
The taste of the sauce works too.
I do recommend a lot of Sansho to enhance the taste. (Which I wouldn't do if I were to go to a high-end unagi restaurant)
But much better than I was expecting honestly. at $15 per piece, it's okay.
How is it compared to a true authentic unagi shop?
Of course there's a gap there. But It's really not fair to compare.
I miss the charcoal-grilled scent. The texture is not there - it's overall soft. It should be crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside. The sauce can be better. The rice is absolutely critical. It should have a osuimono soup to balance. Yes all of that is lacking when you make unagi at home.
But I must say, this is still a really decent compromise. I like it.
I wouldn't really recommend this if you're new to the Japanese unagi experience. Let the authentic restaurants do that for you. I think this is more of a pacifier for the unagi cravings you might have.
Guru Rating
for the unagi: 6.8 / 10
I'll may go for this again if I can't go to an unagi restaurant and still have the uncontrollable unagi cravings. The relatively low price is a plus considering the quality.
If I were asked for a good place to get unagi, this wouldn't be high on my recommendation list. That's just because I'd recommend the full unagi experience at a restaurant over something you cook at home. But as a home cooked unagi, it'll be something I would recommend.