Skillful and generous Japanese rice bowl dishes
Donburi (丼) is a general term for rice bowl meals. Literally a bowl of rice with stuff on top. There is no rule on what goes on top, but traditional combinations are gyu don (牛丼; stewed beef slices and onion), ten don (天丼; tempura), katsu don (カツ丼; schnitzel), and unagi don (鰻丼; grilled eel).
Oddly enough, the best donburi restaurant in Toronto eschews these classic bowls and goes for modern interpretations. It’s still recognizably Japanese though.
Onnki Donburi has the elusive winning combination of taste, presentation, portion, and price. The cooking and plating is like a mid-range to top-end restaurant, yet the portion sizes are perfect and don’t leave diners wanting. It hasn’t forgotten the casual roots of donburi either and is moderately priced.
The food
The menu is fixed to 6 to 8 types of donburi. The toppings (丼物; donburi-mono) include fish, shrimp, pork, and chicken. Vegetarians need not bother.
Sake Lover Don
The Sake Lover don is most likely to sell out first. It’s Onnki’s take on chirashizushi (ちらし寿司; raw seafood on sushi rice), though salmon is the only seafood in it. Thick, luscious pieces of salmon are cut to show off their marbling. It’s finished with tempura bits (天かす; tenkasu) and flying fish eggs (とびこ; tobiko) for crunch. A scoop of wasabi and a dash of green onions add a kick to the sinuses.
I could taste every component and they melded well. The dish, like the rest of their offerings, showed restraint in number of ingredients. Any more or any less would take away from highlighting the delicate sweetness of the salmon. 8/10.
Buta Fire and Buta Red Fire Don
Along with Sake Lover, the Buta Fire dons are the signature dishes of Onnki Donburi. I recommend going for Buta Red for $1.13 more. It’s the same as the Buta, but with a spicy marinade.
The Buta Fire dons feature grilled pork. And it’s a perfect example of how grilled meats should be. The marinade permeates deep into the pork chunks. The light whiff of char and crisp edges provide the magical finishing touch. Sharp pickles add contrast to the sweet smoked meats. There is a good amount of pork as well. 8.5/10.
Ebi Don
The ebi (shrimp) don is less popular but is no less tasty. It’s distinctly Canadian-Japanese. After all, you won’t find cherry tomatoes in traditional Japanese dishes. This don is inspired more from the salad bowls of downtown health food purveyors.
The shrimps were plump and juicy. They were sauteéd in butter garlic with a light hand. It was a Mediterranean preparation. But the spring onion and nori (seaweed) reminded diners that this was a Japanese dish at heart. 7.5/10.
Unagi Don
The most expensive item on the menu is the unagi (freshwater eel) don. It’s easy to see why. It has a whole unagi in it. Easily the largest serving of eel I’ve had in Canada. Unagi is also endangered, which contributes to its price. Hopefully, captive breeding in farms will make consumption sustainable one day.
Raw unagi is toxic, so all consumer unagi is either pre-cooked and frozen, or slaughtered live in the restaurant. You will be hard-pressed to find restaurants with tanks of live unagi outside of East Asia. Virtually all unagi that diners get is the frozen variety, grilled with a sweet sticky soy sauce (うなぎのたれ; unagi no tare). Onnki Donburi is no exception. But it makes the best of it.
It was a step above everyday Japanese restaurants in its presentation. Slices were arranged in a coil, showing off grill marks in a concentric pattern. The integrity of the fish was retained so that diners could imagine how the whole eel looked like, gelatinous skin and all. An alluring brown sheen coated the eel.
The bowl came with a fried egg. The plain egg helped contrast with the intense sweet and salty flavours of the eel. It’s the best frozen unagi don I’ve had. However, compared to fresh versions in Japan and East Asia, the flavours are somewhat duller. 8/10.
The accompanying miso cabbage salad wasn’t objectionable. It was light and crunchy. An OK appetizer.
Karaage Don
The karaage don (から揚げ丼; fried chicken chunks) used to be a lunch-only item but graduated to the full menu during the COVID-19 pandemic. The non-conventional touch is the inclusion of an egg salad with corn. It felt like a Taiwanese dish to me, because of similar Japanese-Western influences.
While not the best karaage in Toronto, it was still a decent fried chicken with adequate seasoning. The pairing with the creamy salad made this a unique don. 7.5/10.
The place
Donburi places are traditionally casual and Onnki Donburi keeps it that way. The interior is bright, minimal, and neutral. The space is dominated by the open kitchen.
The restaurant is not big, with only 2 rows of seating: one along the bar and one along the wall. Even before COVID-19 struck, takeout is a big part of their business.
Verdict
Modern, causal donburi. Doesn’t skimp on meat and quality. Best donburi in Toronto. 8/10.
Practical information
- Name
- Onnki Donburi
- Rating
- 8/10
- Recommended dishes
- Buta Fire don
Sake Lovers don - Prices
- Buta Fire don: $13.45 ($11.90 excluding tax)
Sake Lovers don: $15.26 ($13.50 excluding tax)
Ebi don: $14.58 ($12.90 excluding tax)
Unagi don: $22.60 ($20.00 excluding tax) - Address
- 40 Hayden Street
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday 1100h – 1430h, 1630h – 2130h
- Date of visit
- March 2020, July 2020, January 2021