There is something oh-so-magical about the hustle and bustle of fast-paced Dotonbori, an iconic street in Osaka that is packed with a never-ending array of things to see and do. If you’re an unashamed foodie like us, you’ll also be glad to know that the area is a fantastic place to try some authentic Japanese fare.

However, the crowd does sometimes get to us and some of the prices for food here can be rather steep as Dotonbori is, at the end of the day, still a tourist hotspot. Many a time, we wished that there was somewhere we could settle down for a quiet meal to get away from the crowd for a bit.

We are glad to say that if you search hard enough, you can actually find some gems that are a little less hectic than the places in the main area of Dotonbori. That was how we came across Wakasaya Nankai Namba along a random street. This humble restaurant is great for people who love raw seafood as they specialise in wholesome sashimi bowls at wallet-friendly prices.

Located in an obscure, quiet street of Dotonbori away from the massive crowds, the restaurant is your typical Japanese dining establishment with its narrow, cramped interior. One side of the eatery is lined with a long table with around eight seats while the other has three four-seater tables.

They have a very extensive menu, packed with every conceivable combination of sashimi bowls out there. While we were spoilt for choice, we decided to go back to the basics and ordered ourselves a Salmon Bowl (720 Yen)

The dish featured a bed of warm rice that was generously blanketed with thick strips of salmon sashimi. Each piece of salmon was fresh and evenly sliced, and we liked how each cut was thick enough for you to get a good mouthfeel of the fish without it being too cloying. We also loved how buttery the salmon was; it simply melts away in your mouth!

If you’re an indecisive person who enjoys sampling a little bit of everything, we recommend getting bowls that come with a variety of different toppings. We ourselves opted for the Negitoro, Sea Urchin & Ikura Don (1320 Yen) and were pretty impressed by it.

The dish came embellished with a generous, fresh smothering of negitoro (minced tuna), creamy uni and juicy salmon roe served once again atop a bed of warm rice.

We liked how the negitoro managed to add some richness and saltiness to the dish without being too fishy or overpowering. When mixed in with the rice, it also added a little stickiness that helped to gel the various components together.

The uni, on the other hand, had a more buttery texture that too helped enhance the dish by giving it an addictive creaminess. It also provided the dish with a subtle sweetness as well as a briny touch.

Finally, the explosive ikura (salmon roe) tied everything together by giving us little sensational pops of flavour with every mouthful.

If you’re in Dotonbori, be sure to check out Wakasaya Nankai Namba. They don’t have the best sashimi bowls in town, but we find that for the price point and the location, this spot is really worth visiting.

Wakasaya Nankai Namba
Japan, 542-0075 Osaka, Chuo Ward
Nanbasennichimae, 12?34
Tel: +81 6-6556-9508
Daily: 11am – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Osaka-Namba

Polished, elegant and intimate, Kaunta is a new Japanese restaurant in Tanjong Pagar that aims to provide diners with an authentic and lavish dining experience that’ll leave a lasting, memorable impression.

The modern 20-seater Japanese restaurant is by the same team behind The Sushi Bar—the popular sushi joint that first started at Far East Plaza.

The Sushi Bar is a restaurant for casual dining on a daily basis, but Kaunta, on the other hand, is more upmarket and made for occasions. They pride themselves on using only the freshest and most premium produce from Japan available to create their gastronomic masterpieces.

Allow the skilled chefs to take you on a multi-sensory journey; each and every bite of their meticulously crafted creations will open your eyes to the world of food from their point of view

You know that a meal visually exceeds its expectations when you dread tucking into the dish. It was almost too decadent to eat, especially after watching the chef painstakingly and meticulously assemble the entire dish.

That is how we felt before we began eating these bowls of art; each and every dish was created with so much poise and precision that it almost felt sinful to so much as move a single piece of uni.

Seafood aficionados will appreciate Bara (S$35)—a bara chirashi don featuring a medley of cubed seasonal fish, scallops, anago, unagi and ikura atop a bed of burdock gobo sushi rice.

This vibrant assemble was as pleasing to the palate as it was to the eyes and we love how the kaleidoscopic colours of the fish were further enhanced by a speckling of edible flowers and greens which made the dish almost too pretty to eat.

The seasonal fish, as promised, were exceptionally fresh, and every component provided its own unique element to the dish. Each bubble of ikura also added a lovely burst of flavour while complementing the tastes and textures of the other ingredients.  We also love how the sweetness of raw fish and ikura also paired contrastingly well with the earthiness of the burdock gobo sushi rice.

A special menu item that is available during lunch for a limited period is their A5 Wagyu Beef Bowl (S$50). This divine creation features perfectly seared chunks of the Rolls Royce of all beef, buttery foie gras, white truffle shavings and creamy uni that was balanced on a soft-boiled egg.

The impeccably tender beef paired well with the melt-in-your-mouth foie gras, creating a decadent combination of flavours that were packed full of umami. The uni added a nice briny touch to the dish without overwhelming its other components and together with the soft boiled egg, it provided the entire dish with a creamy texture that pulled all the dishes different elements together.

Kaunta Singapore
11 Kee Seng Street #01-12
Singapore 089218
Tel: +65 8788 3535
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar