The Donburi House, Adelaide | SA Weekend restaurant review

The menu at this Japanese restaurant might be daunting, but talk to your waiter – and don’t be afraid to take risks. You’ll end up in a very happy place, writes Simon Wilkinson.

Interior of The Donburi House, Sturt St, Adelaide.

Stick with me here. The Donburi House is a city restaurant specialising in “don”, a Japanese word for bowls of rice that can be finished with various toppings. Pour a “dashi” soup over the top and that becomes “chazuke”, a combination that goes particularly well with seafood. Make that seafood “unagi”, or grilled eel, and you have a dish that will take you to a very happy place.

Yes, unless you are a walking glossary of Japanese culinary terms the Donburi menu can be daunting, particularly when it runs over multiple pages and has close to 100 choices. Fortunately, good help is at hand.

Our waiter has patiently explained how the hot dashi and green tea broth in the chazuke enhances the eel when it is poured over the top. He is spot on. The deeply lacquered soy-brushed fillets are impressive enough alongside rice that has been mixed with filaments of nori (seaweed) and egg, as well as the occasional sour plum surprise. Add the savoury notes of the broth, however, and it is like a magic potion made specially for the rich, sweet eel meat.

Unagi chazuke (eel rice bowl with dashi soup) at The Donburi House, Adelaide.

Traditional pork gyoza at The Donburi House, Adelaide.

As it turns out, the waiter in question has some inside knowledge. His father, businessman Ping Liew, is the owner of Donburi, which he opened on the ground floor of an apartment block in Sturt St four years ago.

The design is simple, with a bar and closed off kitchen at the hub and the dining arranged in an L-shape, following the line of windows that look out to the footpath and a paved walkway through the estate. Exposed airconditioning ducts and other utilities have been sprayed black to match the ceiling, while a few Japanese-themed prints and a chiller cabinet filled with bottles of sake are the only real decoration.

Donburi’s family connection goes beyond father and son. This is Ping’s first restaurant but hospitality experience comes from his fiancee Jialu He, who is the head chef.

Pan seared salmon with salted egg sauce at The Donburi House, Adelaide.

While the rice bowls that give the restaurant its name are an obvious specialty, Donburi has a crack at most of the popular types of Japanese eating, including yakitori and sashimi, as well as lesser known items such as the “hanjuku” soft-boiled egg, soaked in a soy-based sauce.

The traditional gyoza dumplings are a good starting point, their pork filling not too finely ground and properly seasoned, their wrappers a lovely contrast of the supple steamed top and toasty crispness of the base where it has sat in the pan. You can almost see the prints where dexterous fingertips have crimped the two edges together.

Pieces of king oyster mushroom have the right amount of spring and meaty texture to be fried karaage-style in place of chicken. In fact, given the choice, I think I prefer the fungi.

Seeking a point of difference, we skip the safer wagyu steak donburi and opt for the beef tongue. Finely sliced and grilled, this particular cut can be magnificent (at Bar Lune, for example) but this time our sense of adventure backfires, as the meat is rather chewy and dull flavoured, a sweet barbecue sauce not helping.

Beef tongue donburi at The Donburi House, Adelaide.

Matcha shiratama (matcha gelato, adzuki beans, mandarin) at The Donburi House, Adelaide.

Another bowl with seared salmon, edamame, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, that soy-soaked egg and a touch of special salted egg sauce works best like a poke bowl. The fish is nothing remarkable by itself but, broken up and mixed through the rice with the other components, it all comes together nicely. Still, I’ve no doubt adding a hot broth chazuke style would make it even better.

From a dessert list, we have the matcha shiratama – a textural playground of glutinous rice cake, a clear jelly, (canned) mandarin segments and, on top of the ice-cream, a healthy dollop of adzuki beans in a dark syrup. Think of it as a slightly weird Japanese sundae.

An acquired taste, perhaps, but given Donburi’s prices – most larger serves are under $25, nothing over $30 – this is a place where you can afford to take a few risks. And spend time becoming familiar with a new food vocabulary.

For more reviews visit delicious.com.au/eatout