Entree Kibbles: Sukiya (すき家) - Gyūdon Chain Restaurant now at Suntec City Mall [Singapore]

Tuesday, June 08, 2021

Sukiya (すき家) - Gyūdon Chain Restaurant now at Suntec City Mall [Singapore]

Suntec City Mall is my favourite mall in Singapore; mainly because it's huge with plenty of retail & dining options, and connected to other shopping centres like Marina Square, Millenia Walk and even to Raffles City and Citylink!

When I last visited Suntec City Mall and checked out Yenly Yours Dessert; I did notice the newly opened Sukiya (すき家), given the queue after lunch hours. A pity my cousin and I weren't blessed with extra tummy space then although I told myself I would be back.

That took three months but it's better to be late than never! Anyway, Sukiya is said to command the largest chain of gyudon (beef bowls) restaurants with over 2,500 outlets globally and counts Yoshinoya (𠮷野家) and Matsuya (松屋) as its direct competitor!

One amazing thing I noted at Sukiya was that the five type of portions you can opt for your gyudon! Want to just take a teeny weeny bite? Go for the S which is 80% of standard portion for beef and 65% of standard portion for rice. Prefer more meat and less rice? The XM is so for me with 165% of standard portion for beef and only about 75% of standard portion for rice!

Confused? Refer to the photo above! As you can see, the pricing would be friendly for your wallet, with the standard portion going for less than S$5.00. I doubt you can find gyudon at such pricing in Singapore unless Matsuya (松屋) decided to have a branch here.

And you know what ?

Tea was complimentary; extra savings for me!

Scan the online menu to see what's available; for ordering, you would have to refer to the slip of paper placed at the service-call console on the table, where there's yet another QR code. In manpower-scarce Singapore, especially during this pandemic; it's a no-choice development for many dining establishments.

Order, sent!

Half Boiled Egg Gyudon - Alex's one and in small portion as he is never known to be a big eater! One strange thing was that I expected the half boiled egg to be on the gyudon but as you can see, it came in a separate bowl and wasn't even cracked for us.

Oh well, maybe the food would taste better with some "hard work" by the diner. Alex did enjoy his gyudon, mixed in with the half boiled egg.

Gyudon with Karage Chicken Combo - my XM portion! Miso soup was normal, although there were quite a lot of seaweed within. It had to thank the rainy weather that day though as having a bowl of hot soup gave a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling!

Karage chicken - crispy with juicy meat within; they tasted quite okay but at the pricing of 3 pieces for S$4.50, which also included the miso soup, I didn't find the items spectacular enough to add this combo in the future.

Now on the signature gyudon - said to use 100% Japanese koshihikari rice and high quality beef imported from US; I can't wait to dig in!

Loads of thinly sliced beef and they were tender and so fatty on top of a bed of moist, soy-sauce-soaked rice; qualities I enjoyed very much in gyudon! The taste reminded me of my dining experience at Matsuya (松屋) in Hokkaido but with a sauce that, interestingly, had a unique flavour that's quite similar to alcohol. Nope, I didn't get drunk.

Obviously, this can't be compared to the epic gyudon from Megumi which cost more than doubled the price at Sukiya, and that was the pricing I paid at Megumi six years ago.

Yakiniku Plate - I must be crazy to order another beef dish but beef is a meat I enjoyed immensely and since the beef yakiniku looked like it's the second best thing at Matsuya; why not take the opportunity to also order a serving, without rice of course.

Compared to the gyudon, the yakiniku had a sweeter and smokier marination. It appeared to be the same thinly sliced beef in gyudon but the taste appealed to me more; except that eating them without rice was overwhelming for the palate after a while.

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To be honest, the XM was still a bit too much for me and I would strongly suggest the standard M portion. If you are ordering more dishes, you may even wish to consider downgrading to the S portion. For the price, you bet I would be back again!

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