Ryori by Sushiro Review: New Donburi Restaurant With Nett Prices At Upper Thomson

Ryori serves tasty rice bowls at reasonable quotations, and is a welcomed addition to the Upper Thomson food scene. Food at Ryori by Sushiro Unagi gets us excited, so of course we had to order Unatama Don ($15) at Ryori.

A cut of unagi was served on a layer of simmered egg, with sweet dashi stock spooned over steaming hot Japanese rice. The unagi tasted fresh and the sauce it was covered in didn’t overwhelm the taste of the eel.

The most affordable item here is Tokyo Gyuniku Don ($12) , which has extra thin slices of beef simmered with onions, and an onsen egg over Japanese rice. It’s one of the most affordable beef bowls you can get at a Japanese eatery in Singapore, and they didn’t skimp on the serving size.

Even with how thin the slices of beef were, they remained super juicy and tender, thanks to the streaks of fat running through the meat. The meat had the mildly sweet taste of its accompanying sauce, which dissipated into the savoury, meaty flavour of beef.

Between the heap of beef and bed of rice rested a thin layer of seaweed, which added more texture and saltiness to each spoonful. For extra hungry diners, treat your growling tummy to Mount Gyuniku Don ($22) , which is essentially an up-sized version of Tokyo Gyuniku Don with more beef. Ryori as well serves a selection of daily specials and Salmon Mentaiyaki Don ($13) caught our eye.

Unlike most other salmon bowls where salmon is served in slices, at Ryori it came as a pan-seared salmon steak with torched mentaiko sauce over the top. The slab of salmon was luxuriously thick and flaked into strips when we tried to pick it up with our chopsticks. The salmon had a rich, savoury taste enhanced by the salty umami of mentaiko sauce.

Unlike the other rice bowls we ordered, which had sauce spooned over the rice, this had plain rice. If you’re lucky enough to find Salmon Mentaiyaki Don on your visit, it’s a must-order.

Ambience at Ryori by Sushiro Ryori occupies a small area on the first storey of Thomson Plaza and there are few tables available. The verdict Every dish we tried at Ryori was delicious, made with fresh components, and came in pretty large portions, but the restaurant doesn’t stand out from other Japanese eateries in terms of quotation or taste.

I wouldn’t go out the way to dine here, but if you’re in the area, it’s worth a visit even over the attractive cafes at Upper Thomson.