The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
I remember it like it were yesterday, however this review has been sitting in my drafts since July 2020. I will first set the scene. I had eaten Korean BBQ with my colleagues from work the night before, and my partner had gotten jealous and demanded that we eat Korean again. We had tried to secure a last minute reservation at a number of Korean restaurants in the city, however due to quite strict COVID-19 regulations the only one we could book was DonDon City.
My partner made the choice adult decision to get a bit tipsy prior to even leaving home, leaving me to be the responsible adult for the night. Above is a photo of banchan as well as the soju ($15) she consumed at the restaurant, atop of her pregame.
Korean fried chicken ($24) was not bad, but not finished. A bit on the tasty side for me, but my partner liked it and subsequently finished it the following day at home.
Seafood pancake ($19) was again, not bad, but not the best I’ve had and nothing to write home about.
Bibimbap ($18) I thought was a bit below average. Visually good but the meat was dry.
I honestly can’t remember how this short beef rib soup ($20) tasted. It was eaten and promptly forgotten.
Overall I think DonDon City was a nonmemorable and middling meal. There was nothing wrong with it in particular, but also nothing very good about it. I remember being full, but not happy. I will do my best to not return (unless I can be promised bossam).
3.5/5
DonDon City 1/636-638 George St, Sydney NSW 2000 (02) 9261 0023
Tokki is the second Korean restaurant we’ve eaten at in Surry Hills recently and older sister to Redfern’s generally disappointing Vietnamese eatery Kinhboy.
The vibe at Tokki is quite similar to that at Kinhboy. The interior design is more upclass asnd modern than your regular Asian restaurant, with pink lights providing a neon glow, wide tables, and high ceilings. We are greeted by an Asian woman at front of house, a welcome change from the predominantly Western front of house staff at our recent forays into Asian Fusion dining.
Menbosha
The Menbosha ($15) – DIY prawn yuzu sriracha mayo on brioche – is a fun deep friend entree. The dish consists of deep fried prawn, sriracha mayo, and deep fried pieces of brioche toast. The limited DIY component of the dish description consists mainly of putting the first two components onto the third – less involved than putting together an IKEA flatpack but more involved than if they had just served the toppings on top of the toast, I guess. The prawns were lovely and warm, and the sriracha mayonnaise nice and creamy. The deep fried brioche toast bits had a light taste but you could tell that they are obviously very oily. It’s a rare food that makes me feel actively guilty about my cardiovascular risk with each bite. Delicious though.
Roasted cauliflower
I did my mum, dad, and one of my gastroenterology colleagues proud by having the roasted cauliflower ($14) with miso butter glaze and furikake. The cauliflower was perfectly roasted – cooked but still juicy on the inside. The miso butter and furikake added a nice dimension of sweet umami to this share plate. Don’t let this dish’s categorisation under “SMALLS” fool you – this is something that can definitely be shared between three or four people.
Tokki BBQ Tray
The Tokki BBQ Tray ($36) is an assorted mix tray of beef short rib, pork belly, baby pork galbi, and grilled gochujang chicken. It is unfortunately much more expensive than $29 noted in some early reviews of the restaurant and even the $32 listed on Tokki’s own website, however we did not argue this point at the time. The pork ribs were nice, tender and flavourful. The pork belly, similar to what you get in bossam, was light and melted easily in the mouth. The griled gochujang chicken was surprisingly tender and delicious, so much so that my partner enjoyed it much more than she expected. The beef short rib was disappointing and nothing to write home about. Overall a good dish with lots of variety, but a shame about the continual price hikes.
Korean fried chicken – chilli gochu
The chilli gochujang korean fried chicken ($26) was a small mountain in size, quite good for the price, especially keeping in mind the location and general vibe of the place. The chicken was good when fresh, however a bit too tasty for my liking. I enjoyed the sides of radish and red cabbage and thought that they provided a good foil to the oversauced chicken, however was disappointed when they weren’t packed into the takeaway box.
Like Kinhboy, Tokki provides an extensive beverage list. My partner enjoyed this sake sake cocktail ($18), and so did I.
VERDICT
It is extremely loud inside Tokki and the venue is not really fit for a first date or any other activity that requires some actual conversation. Aside from this, the food is good and the service from their adequately multicultural cast is as well. I can recommend Tokki but not for your next business lunch.
This is not a criticism of Amuze at all, but as I was driving to Amuze in one of Sydney CBD’s many 40 km/hr zones a man in a white Porsche Cayenne aggressively tailgated me, beeped his horn at me, then ultimately did an illegal U-turn through double lines. As I was looking for parking near Amuze I once again saw this man, still in his car, parked adjacent to one of the only free spots directly outside the restaurant. As I didn’t want to be assaulted by this bad man I had to keep driving and eventually park around the corner.
Amuze salmon steak
I had the salmon steak ($19.50) consisting of a piece of pan-fried salmon atop salad with spiralised zuchini, sun dried tomatoes and carrot and a side of potato. The salmon itself was delicious, with crispy skin and a partially cooked inside. I’m surprised how much I enjoyed the spiralised zucchini salad – it was really tasty with its zesty flavours. The potatoes had a nice fried exterior however I felt the interior was too starchy.
While I ate outside, the interior of the restaurant looked really nice. There’s plenty more on the menu that I’d like to try – the cafe pride itself on a number of Korean inspired dishes, and has a few Korean chefs.
Will come back soon I hope.
UPDATE 15/11/2020
So I did come back, five days after my initial meal – this time with my partner and one of our emergency medicine friends.
Amuze cream cheese pancakes
The cream cheese pancakes ($17.50) were good. The pancakes themselves were soft with a complex slightly sourdough-like flavour, and not too sweet (yum). There was a huge serving of cream cheese topping (yum), compote (yum), and fresh strawberries and blueberries (standard).
Amuze spaghetti white truffle ragu
The spaghetti white truffle ragu ($19.50) was delicious! The sauce was creamy and flavourful. The sausage mince added additional bursts of flavour atop the sauce. The spaghetti was cooked a bit too al dente for me, but still yummy.
Coffee ($3.80 for a latte), was unfaultable – very good.
Closing comments – while Amuze bills itself as Korean-Italian fusion, my impression is that their menu consists of either Korean or Italian dishes. The three dishes that we’ve tried (and the chicken parma that my ED colleague tried – not pictured or reviewed) were all firmly in the Italian camp of things, with no real Korean touches. I wonder if the other half of the menu – which consists of kimchi ramen and bibimbap among other things – have more Western elements in them. Not a complaint – just an observation.
This is a review of the Soul Dining modern Korean tasting menu as at 13th November 2020. All portions shown were served for 3 people, at $65 per person.
Our first dish was Kingfish in kimchi water with avocado puree, white kimchi. We had six pieces between the three of us to be eaten in one mouthful each. The kingfish sashimi was tender and fresh. The avocado puree added a surprising dimension of creamy umami. The kimchi water added a mild tanginess that was not too kimchi for my partner (an anti-kimchi individual) to eat and enjoy.
wagyu tartare with singo pear and egg yolk (yukhoe) served on tempura seaweed
The wagyu tartare with singo pear and egg yolk (yukhoe) served on tempura seaweed was special. The wagyu was soft and minced and the egg yolk mixed in expertly by my partner coated it with a level of umami. The tempura seaweed provided a nice crunch for a fun mix of textures. A great dish.
Kim’s grilled eggplant with anchovy paste, tomato jam, manchego
Kim’s grilled eggplant with anchovy paste, tomato jam, manchego was in my opinion the weakest dish of the meal . I guess I’m not a big fan of eggplant and the histamine feeling in the mouth and throat to begin with. I could not at all identify the anchovy paste. The manchego shaved over the eggplant provided a nice sweetness, and melted by the end of the dish.
Lamb backstrap in potato bun with cabbage salad, green tomato relish, cumin
The Lamb backstrap in potato bun with cabbage salad, green tomato relish, cumin was also a bit weak. The lamb backstrap was steak-form, not minced, and crumbed. It didn’t really feel like more than your standard burger. I wonder if our three person serving was the same size as the two person servings, but just cut in 3 pieces. My partner took a fork and picked up the middle piece first. She thought it was a bit too lamby and could’ve used more cumin, however both myself and her brother thought that the lambiness was just fine. This was one of the favourite courses for my partner’s brother.
Half free range chicken ‘traditional way’ with Korean chilli glaze
The Half free range chicken ‘traditional way’ with Korean chilli glaze is basically Korean fried chicken with a twist. The chicken was fried but not battered. The meat was tender and juicy, and my partner thought it was more tender and juicy than the crispy chicken at Khoi’s Vietnamese in Surry Hills that we had had the previous night. The presentation was really nice with a nice mix of colours. A good dish.
Cinnamon Churros with espresso glaze, salted caramel ice cream, sea salt and coffee peanuts
The Cinnamon Churros with espresso glaze, salted caramel ice cream, sea salt and coffee peanuts would be my pick of dessert. The churros were nice and crunchy. I am not normally a fan of salted caramels and while it was true again today I did not mind it. I liked the difference in temperatures between the churros and cold ice cream.
Snow bingsoo with baked mango, mango sorbet, milk snow, honey and nutmeg
As a non-fan of honey, I actually quite enjoyed the honey in this Snow bingsoo with baked mango, mango sorbet, milk snow, honey and nutmeg. What I didn’t enjoy so much was the sheer volume of baked mango which added too strong a concentrated, sticky, and dry mangoness to this mango dessert. Despite this I enjoyed this bingsoo more than the last time I had bingsoo at Hello Happy in Strathfield.
The house provided this Green tea panna cotta with chantilly cream & strawberries, dango, rice syrup dessert for us for free. It was very generous of them to allow us to try all three desserts, as normally with two diners only one dessert is provided. It’s hard to judge this dessert as it was served last, after our palates had been sweetened by the previous two. The green tea panna cotta was not sweet.
yuzu iced tea (L), omija with five berries spritz (R)
The omija with five berries spritz was good. Not too sweet. The yuzu iced tea I thought was a bit too sweet, and not iced enough on serving. It could’ve done with a few more shakes to cool the liquid down a bit.
Overall we had a great meal at Soul Dining. Service from one of the Caucasian front of house staff was also very good. She was very friendly. $65 per person for a tasting menu of this caliber is also a very good price. I’d love to come back for a few more things on the a la carte menu, for example their octopus.
I was really excited to get Oppa Pocha for work lunch. Their menu lokoed quite good, and it is rare to find Korean restaurants that deliver in our area.
I had the Hot Stone Wagyu M9 Bibimbap ($16.90, pictured). I was quite excited to try it as visually it looked quite good, with such a wide complement of toppings and soup. Unfortunately I found the beef to be a bit chewy and a bit overcooked – perhaps unavoidable in the setting of delivery. I was not very impressed, and neither was my colleague at his Hot Stone Kimchi Pork Bibimbap ($15.90). To be very fair, neither of our dishes were actually served in hot stone.
While I wouldn’t get delivery from Oppa Pocha again I would consider trying to eat in. I think their food has potential which sadly doesn’t translate well to UberEats. 2.5/5.
