Don by TSF @ Setapak

When I first learned about Don by TSF (by AirAsia) from phonghongbakes, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I tried since she sang praises of the food.

Don by TSF, located in Taman Danau Kota, specialises in Japanese inspired donburi (or rice bowls) infused with some of our favourite local ingredients.  My initial order was made via AirAsia Food Delivery.

The don that stood out the most, the one that looked most inviting, was the Chicken Karaage Don @ RM17 and that was my very first order.  This chicken karaage (or Japanese fried chicken as we know) came with boneless fried chicken (7 good-sized pieces), juicy diced mangoes, finely julienned cucumber and red chillies on Japanese rice.

Even though the karaage chicken were no longer crispy when they arrived, the mildly spicy, boneless bite-sized pieces of chicken thigh, finished with togarashi spice (a Japanese 7-spice blend), were juicy and tasty (and still lightly crisp on the outside).  Sometimes an overly crispy karaage = a dry kaarage (more often than not), so I'm one who doesn't mind one bit a slightly less crispy karaage as long as it tastes good...and this one tastes good! ^.^

The rice, sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) flakes, with garlic soy dressing was also full of flavour while the mango salsa, together with the pickled cucumber salad and a slight hint of heat from the shredded pickled red chillies, perked up my taste buds and provided a mouthful of freshness.

Their karaage chicken is a recipe inspired by Malaysian-born Masterchef Australia winner, Adam Liaw, apparently.  For me, it was the inclusion of fresh, juicy mangoes that set it apart from the usual chicken karaage don.  Good stuff!

The Soy Glazed Eggplant @ RM10 was one of phonghong's favourite sides and I knew it would be mine too coz what other conclusion can there be since I'm a lover of eggplant too.  The soy-glazed eggplant gave the super soft (albeit slightly oily but can't be helped), well charred eggplant loads of flavour from the shoyu reduction with spring onions and shallots with a whisper of sweetness from the Japanese mayo.  It was the flavoursome sauce coating the eggplant that made me love this dish.

I wasn't sure what those lightly crisp shreds on top were at first (they turned out to be finely shredded fried leeks) but it had a mild hint of heat and savouriness from the togarashi spice.  This, together with the sauce, worked in unison to make the dish that more appetising.  I loved, loved, loved this dish (and I agree with her that we should order two portions next time...lol).

As for the enoki tempura, they arrived fully crispy, so that was a bonus!  If not, you can easily fix that by toasting them in a toaster oven for a few minutes (I did that as I had some leftover and they came out super crispy again).  The enoki was well seasoned and I could taste the salt in between the crevices of the enoki strands but wished a separate dipping sauce was included for the enoki.

You can turn this soy-glazed eggplant side dish into a donburi by ordering The Nasu Donburi for RM17 with an extra soy-braised egg.  I suppose you can cook your own rice and egg (if you really wanted to) without having to pay an extra RM7 for it...kekeke!) since the serving portion of this side dish is rather generous and can be a bit too flavourful eaten on its own.  If you crave eggplant, you'll be utterly satisfied with this side dish or donburi.

As for phonghong's other favourite side, Don's Chilli Tofu @ RM10, it (unfortunately) didn't turn out to be mine.  You get 8 pcs of deep-fried bean curd cooked with sweetish onions and a chilli bean sauce that tastes different from a typical sambal.

The soft tofu cubes are topped with thinly shredded crispy leeks, pickled chillies and spring onions. The description also mentioned a kombu vinaigrette giving the dish a lightly tart finish.

I detected a taste in the tofu that I didn't quite like but couldn't pinpoint what it was...until I re-read the dish's description which mentioned that the tofu was aromatically fried with Shaoxing wine.  That's it.....that's the weird taste which I didn't expect to find in the tofu.

Don't get me wrong...I do like Shaoxing wine that's frequently used in many Chinese dishes but one has to be careful with the amount used and how it's treated.  That's why it's often suggested that we add the Shaoxing wine right at the end and cook it off so as to give the food a fragrant aftertaste instead of a boozy one.  I think I could taste the wine because too much was used or it was absorbed by the tofu.  I once used that in a braised mushroom dish and I didn't like the outcome as I could taste the wine which the mushrooms absorbed.

For my second order, I wanted to try the Soy Glazed Salmon Don @ RM18.  This consisted of a piece of soy-marinated salmon on rice, served with onsen egg, pickled cucumbers, nori, spring onions, togarashi spice and wasabi mayo.

I had to say the soy-marinated salmon (not that I detected much soy flavour), though fully cooked all the way through, was nicely flaky and wasn't dry to the bite. 

Perhaps it was helped a bit by the luscious, creamy, egg yolk which, unfortunately, broke during the course of delivery.  Can't really fault the rider since the runny yolk is of such delicate nature.

There was also this drizzle of wasabi mayo over the rice but, thankfully, it was only a light drizzle.  I don't care for wasabi (I must have missed it in the description) due to its very pungent aftertaste but, luckily, this version was tolerable due to its pungency being very much reduced as it was infused with mayo.  Still, I'd rather have none of it (must remember to ask them to omit it in future re-orders).

I also tried the Nam Yue Pork Belly Don @ RM16 featuring nam yue (Chinese fermented bean curd) marinated deep fried pork belly (with a request for less fatty meat) on rice served with a sour cabbage slaw, pickled chillies, spicy sriracha mayo and a wedge of lime.

When I opened up this donburi, I was very happy to see the generous amount of nam yue pork belly chunks covering more than half the rice bowl but my happiness was short-lived as the pork belly turned out to be not sufficiently tender enough + the fatty parts were also very chewy.  Yes, there were still fatty parts (even after assuring me that they'll give me leaner parts) through no fault of theirs (what was I thinking, this is what pork belly should be like after all!).  The nam yue marination also did not stand out as I could hardly taste the nam yue.

I think the nam yue pork belly fell short because they were (in my opinion) cut into too thick chunks.  I think the marination would have been absorbed better if they were in smaller pieces which would have resulted in crispier bites.  I have eaten my fair share of nam yue pork belly from Chinese restaurants (even chap fan stalls) that I had to say tasted a lot better than this.

If you can't see the zesty, hot sriracha mayo, that's because it was hidden beneath the nam yue pork belly pieces...and there was just too little of it.  The cabbage slaw (similar to what's usually served with tonkatsu, only shredded much finer) could use with a drizzle of the sriracha mayo too so as not to make it feel like we were just eating raw cabbage.  Overall, the whole dish felt dry (perhaps if a little tub of sriracha mayo was given, it wouldn't have been so dry).  Since the nam yue pork belly didn't work for me, I think I can safely say no to their miso pork belly don too.

I paid RM7.99 for delivery (by AirAsia Food for my first order) but this was compensated by a 20% discount that was running then which came up to RM8).  When it comes to food delivery by any platforms, I'd prefer a delivery fee of RM5 (which I think is the most reasonable) and would be willing to go up to RM8 if the food was good but RM10 is the max I'd be willing to pay no matter how good the food.  So I was aghast when I learned that phonghong paid RM20 for delivery! O_o  It would take a lot of convincing for me to pay that amount for delivery.  RM8 may not sound like much but if I'm ordering only two dons, that simply means each rice bowl just cost me an additional RM4, so (in that sense) I feel it's not that worth it! >_<

The second time though I ordered directly from Don by TSF (via whatsapp) coz I couldn't fine their listing on AirAsia Food.  I was later told that they had not renewed their plan with them as they were waiting to see what the new terms were.  Anyway, the delivery charges ended up to be the same (RM8, free if you make 6 orders) but the prices (for each don) were cheaper by about RM2.  So, it's up to you whether ordering direct from Don by TSF or from AirAsia Food (when they do renew their plan with them) works better for you.  Obviously for me, if there are no promotions on AirAsia Food, then ordering direct would be the better option.  P/S: Please know that you can request for "no cutlery" (I didn't know that was an option the first time round but was asked in my second order, so I dutifully opted for none).

My Personal Opinion

Don by TSF turned out to be a wonderful recommendation....and I'm grateful to phonghongbakes for her wonderful discovery.  And yes, the portions are just right for me (actually they're pretty generous) and one donburi is good enough for average-sized appetites (it was more than sufficient to fill me up)! ^_~

The soy glazed eggplant is right there at the very top in terms of favourites for me followed closely by the chicken karaage.  These two are certainly deserving of mention (and repeats, for sure).  I wouldn't mind having the soy glazed salmon again either.....but hold the wasabi mayo, please! ;P

There will be repeat orders from them.....definitely! ^o^  In fact, I've already done so.....and I foresee there'll be more to come in the days and months ahead....but I won't be coming near any pork belly related donburi anytime soon...as there's no such thing as leaner pork belly...lol!

Don by TSF (Taste Some Food)

Danau Kota Suite Apartment

Danau Kota Komersial

No 1 Jalan 6A/6 Off Jalan Taman Ibu Kota

Taman Danau Kota Setapak

53300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 010-422 3607