Thursday lockdown lunch — bara chirashi don delivered from a Japanese restaurant for $16.90. Sashimi delivery during lockdown was a risk-and-reward proposition, and a properly chilled-and-packed don bowl made it work.

We ordered:

Bara chirashi don — $16.90

Bara chirashi is the “scattered” or “diced” version of chirashi sushi. Where standard chirashi presents whole slices of sashimi over sushi rice, bara chirashi dices the fish into bite-sized cubes and mixes them together, which makes for a more spoon-friendly eating format.

The bowl came with diced:

Salmon
Tuna (maguro)
Hamachi (yellowtail)
Tamago (sweet egg)
A few pieces of cooked shrimp
Tobiko (flying fish roe) sprinkled on top
Shredded nori
Pickled ginger and wasabi on the side

All laid over a generous portion of seasoned short-grain sushi rice.

The delivery packaging was the test. The restaurant separated the wet (fish + tobiko) from the dry (rice + nori) until you got the bowl, with the fish refrigerated in a separate container. We assembled the don at the kitchen counter just before eating, which kept everything at proper temperature and avoided the rice going soggy from the fish juices.

The fish quality was solid — properly chilled, no off-notes, clean cuts. Bara chirashi by definition uses the trimmings and offcuts that don’t show up as full sashimi slices, so you’re not getting premium centre-cut tuna, but the variety more than makes up for the trim source.

The sushi rice underneath was the proper short-grain version, slightly vinegared, sticky but distinct. The eating ritual is to scoop a spoonful that combines rice, fish cubes, tobiko and a swipe of wasabi-soy.

$16.90 for a delivered bara chirashi don during lockdown is fair pricing.

Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid lockdown sashimi don — would re-order.

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