Kemuri BBQ Review: Legit Texan-Japanese BBQ Donburi Under $20 By Young Chefs

Ajoomma Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant Review: Wagyu And Iberico K-BBQ With Free-Flow Sides In Telok Ayer Food at Kemuri BBQ Visit for lunch and you’ll be greeted with a smorgasbord of Texan-Japanese donburi lined up on the menu; take your pick from a whopping total of 10 flavours. Back to the food: we kicked off with a bang with the Smoked Beef Cheeks Donburi ($17.90+/$21.90+) .

These sizeable slices of beef cheeks were meltingly tender, with just the perfect amount of gelatinous layers that added texture and taste to each bite. They were also topped with a savoury pepper sauce, which I could do less of as I felt it stole some limelight from the already well-executed meat. If you want something less smoky but no less delicious, I’d recommend the Smoked Beef Curry Rice ($15.90+/$18.90+) .

Per to Davis, the Japanese curry sauce is made from the trimmings of the brisket chunks that feature in this dish. The bits are lightly smoked and then incorporated into the sauces for their curry and sukiyaki rice bowls. We noticed that this resulted in a slight smokiness that balanced out the sweetness of the curry.

The brisket chunks were also delicious and well-seasoned, though not as melt-in-the-mouth as the cheeks. The kimchi, in particular, added a much-needed tang and crunch to the rich bowls of meat and rice.

To my surprise, the Bacon Donburi ($15+/$18+) made it to the top of my list. This was a unanimous favourite at the table, solely for the thick-cut bacon that’s smoked in-house.

The smoked bacon strips were the highlight of my entire experience at Kemuri BBQ. The smoking process creates the Maillard reaction, which is responsible for the browning of food—there was a decent amount of char on each bacon strip.

If you want to go over the top like we did here, drizzle some of your broken yolk on a bacon strip for an extra shiok pairing. Besides the rice bowls, which are available from 11am to 3pm daily, there’s a separate dinner menu served from 5pm.

For both lunch and dinner, you can get Tebasaki Wings AKA crispy smoked wings at $15+ for four. BlackGoat Review: XL Fried Chicken Burger, Black Garlic Steak And More By Ex-Michelin Restaurant Chef Ambience at Kemuri BBQ Kemuri BBQ sits in an inconspicuous corner on the ground floor of Balestier Plaza, an old mall that’s rather out of the way if you’re taking public transport. The verdict Having tried Kemuri BBQ’s smoked meats before this visit, I thought I knew what I was in for.