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Northerners you’re in luck, as Don Don Donki has officially opened in Northpoint City! This will be the popular Japanese specialty store’s 13th outlet, with its most recent being at Waterway Point. Don Don Donki is known for its affordable Japanese products which range from food to lifestyle and fashion.
Since Northpoint City is located nearby Mandai Wildlife Reserves (which houses Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari), Don Don Donki at Northpoint City has adopted a safari theme. This is evident throughout the store’s designs and decorations, and come complete with the brand’s mascots “Donpen” and “Donko” dressed in explorer costumes!
Don Don Donki’s Northpoint City outlet will exclusively sell food products, including a wide variety of delicatessen items. The food lineup includes sukiyaki, sushi, rice balls, chicken, mackerel, salmon teriyaki, soba, and other authentic Japanese dishes that you can grab on-the-go to work or school.
I decided to visit Don Don Donki at Northpoint City on its opening day (6 Oct 2022) at around 11am and was impressed by the size of the queue. There were people from all walks of life, ranging from the elderly to secondary school students.
I tried their Salmon Belly Don (S$8.90), Hokkaido Crab Cream Croquette (S$4.90) and Taiyaki Custard (S$4.90). Don Don Donki also had premium wagyu cuts and fresh seafood.
Don Don Donki’s Salmon Belly Don came with three pieces of cooked salmon belly drizzled with mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce. It also had half of an onsen egg. The salmon belly tasted fresh without having that ‘fishy’ taste. The flesh was also juicy and tender, and it went well with the firm sushi rice that they used.
I was also surprised at how well the onsen egg went with the rice and fish. It added an extra layer of umami that I’d never expect would come from an egg. I just wished I had been given a whole egg instead of half. Overall, I would recommend this dish as it filled my stomach, was really convenient to eat and didn’t sacrifice on the quality of ingredients.
Next, I had the Hokkaido Cream Cheese Croquette. I was intrigued by this dish, as it claimed to have real crab meat. I didn’t taste much of crab, in fact, it tasted like clam chowder. As I expected, the crust wasn’t crispy despite looking otherwise.
The creamy taste got quite muak (overpowering) after a few bites, and the lack of any crab meat or even flavour made me skip the other piece. With the plethora of dishes available at Don Don Donki, you’d do yourself a favour by not choosing this one.
Lastly, I had the Taiyaki Custard. Initially, I thought it was just normal bread filled with custard, but the outer layer actually reminded me of mochi skin where it’s more chewy without much flavour.
The custard filling tasted like melted vanilla ice cream and wasn’t as sweet as I had anticipated. This was a pretty straightforward dessert item which tasted average to me, so you might be better off choosing other dessert options with good value such as the Warabi Mochi Soy Bean (S$5.90).
With its adorable safari-themed decor, authentic Japanese food and affordable prices, Don Don Donki at Northpoint City is definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re a foodie.
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