Walk into a Japanese rice bowl shop in Singapore and the menu may offer a kaisendon, a chirashi don and a bara chirashi, all of which look like raw fish on rice. They are close cousins rather than twins, and the names are used loosely. This guide explains the difference, then lists eight places to try each style with the prices we have on record.
The short answer
Kaisendon means seafood bowl: a rice bowl topped with several kinds of raw seafood, often with salmon roe. Chirashi means scattered: sashimi and garnishes scattered over seasoned sushi rice. Bara chirashi is the loose version, where the fish is cut into small pieces so every spoonful holds a bit of everything. In practice, shops borrow each other's words, so read the description rather than the name.
The three bowls side by side
| Style | The idea | The fish | Prices on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaisendon | A seafood bowl, often with a theme such as salmon, scallop or unagi | Sashimi slices or cubes, usually with ikura | Kei Kaisendon from $14.90++ to $28.90++, MUKAI from $28.90++ |
| Chirashi don | Sashimi scattered over sushi rice, closer to sushi in a bowl | Mixed cuts, often with tamago and garnishes | Omote $18.80 to $38.80, Ninja Chirashi from $9.90 |
| Bara chirashi | The loose chirashi, mixed so each bite is varied | Diced or cubed fish, sometimes tossed in sauce | Hokkaido-ya from $13.90++, Sushi Dorobo $21.90 |
The rice also matters. Kei Kaisendon describes its bowls as sashimi grade seafood over vinegared rice, and Tora-San and Sushi Dorobo both serve their raw fish bowls on sushi rice, so in Singapore the base is usually seasoned rather than plain. Prices marked ++ have service charge and GST added.
Why the names blur
Singapore menus mix the three words freely. Kei Kaisendon sells a "Chirashi Kaisendon" as the top bowl of its range, so one dish carries two names. Tanuki Raw at Funan lists a Chirashi Don and a Bara Chirashi Don at the same $17.80 in older listings, the first with salmon, tuna, seasonal fish, ikura and scallop and the second with cubed fish tossed in a house umami sauce. Tora-San separates its "kaisen san" bowls of diced sashimi from its chirashi don with whole sashimi cuts. The practical rule is to look at the description: whole slices point to chirashi, cubes tossed together point to bara, and a bowl built around one theme, with roe on top, is usually sold as kaisendon.
Where to try kaisendon
Kei Kaisendon at VivoCity is the easiest first stop. The signature bowl of mixed sashimi cubes and ikura starts at $14.90++, with mentaiyaki and salmon bowls at $19.90++, unagi at $21.90++ and a Chirashi Kaisendon at $28.90++, as of May 2026. It opens 11am to 9:30pm daily, and the chain has 23 outlets.
MUKAI at Plaza Singapura is a Shibuya kaisendon restaurant whose first overseas outlet opened in August 2026. Its Kaiho Don stacks chopped seafood into tall mounds, from the Nami at $28.90++ up to the limited Goku Goku at $79.90++, and warm dashi is poured over the remainder to turn it into ochazuke. It is not halal certified.
Tsukiji Kaisendon on level 2 of Holland Road Shopping Centre is a roughly 30 seat restaurant. Eatbook's February 2026 review praised the salmon in the $22.90++ Tokusen Salmon Bowl, and the Aburi Chirashi Don is $16.90++.
Where to try chirashi don
Omote at Thomson Plaza built its name on chirashi. The original Omote Chirashi is $18.80 and the ikura version is $32.80, and the chain says its marinated seafood blend is the signature. The flagship is closed Monday and Tuesday and open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.
Ninja Chirashi on Tampines Street 81 serves the Ninja Chirashi Don, with sashimi, cucumber, tamago and ebiko, at $9.90, and a Truffle Chirashi Don at $11.90. It opened in January 2021, is closed on Thursdays and opens 11:30am to 2pm and 6pm to 9:30pm on most days. It is one of the lowest priced raw fish bowls we hold.
Where to try bara chirashi
Hokkaido-ya is a fast casual eatery whose bara chirashi bowls are its draw, known for overflowing ikura. The Bara Chirashi Don is $13.90++ and the Aburi Mentai version, with diced Hokkaido scallop, Norwegian salmon, tuna, tamago and roe, is $14.90++. Besides VivoCity, you will find it at Thomson Plaza and Punggol Coast Mall, open 11:30am to 10pm daily.
Sushi Dorobo at Bugis Cube is a ten seat counter that serves donburi at lunch from 11:30am to 2pm and omakase at night. Its Bara Chirashi Don is $21.90, and a Salmon Don is $16.90. It is closed on Mondays.
Tora-San at The Centrepoint has a Tora-King Bara Chirashi Don at $20.90 on its online menu, alongside kaisen san bowls of diced sashimi and a Signature Chirashi Don at $24.90. The online prices may differ slightly from dine in.
What each style costs
Laid end to end, the raw fish bowls on this page form a ladder. Ninja Chirashi starts at $9.90, Hokkaido-ya at $13.90++, Kei Kaisendon at $14.90++ for the small, and Sushi Dorobo at $16.90 for a salmon don. Omote begins at $18.80, Tora-San at $19.90 for a kaisen san, and Tsukiji Kaisendon at $16.90++ for the aburi chirashi. At the top, MUKAI runs from $28.90++ to $79.90++, with the most expensive bowl capped at 30 servings a day. Most of the entry bowls here sit between $14 and $25.
Tips for ordering
Check the size before the price. Kei Kaisendon sells its signature in small, regular and large, so the $14.90++ entry price is for the small, and the regular is $18.90++. Check what the extras cost: Sushi Dorobo adds $8 for salad, miso soup, tea, onsen tamago and dessert. Check opening hours too, because several of the more interesting places keep split or lunch only hours. And remember that none of these shops is flagged halal in our data, so if that matters see our halal donburi guide.
Which should you order?
If you want a rich, topping heavy bowl with ikura, order a kaisendon. If you want something closer to sushi, with seasoned rice and a spread of cuts, order a chirashi. If you want every bite to taste of everything, or want the lowest price, order a bara chirashi. For the full picture of seafood bowls, see our kaisen don guide, browse every kaisen don shop, or compare the chains in our chain guide. If budget is the limit, our list of bowls under $12 includes a chirashi, and you can filter by neighbourhood from the area index.