I’ve been dying to try this place out since a Korean acquaintance said it was his favourite Korean restaurant in Sydney. He said that the selection of appetizers (that come free with your meal) was unusual, and I’d agree with that: the coleslaw, salad, seaweed and fish with potato salad were all a bit different than what I’ve had before. It wasn’t outstanding in terms of flavour though.
I ordered too much. Three main dishes between the two of us, all of them about $15 (corkage was $3 each, though I think beer would have been a better match for the fried chicken).
Korean food still sometimes feels foreign to me, sticky, sweet and earthy flavours, quite rich with sometimes a bit of a gummy texture. Still, the pork belly and squid dish, was quite good, and interesting.
The beef bulgogi, a standard Korean dish was less interesting, but I do like the mix of textures between the noodles (yam noodles I think) and the beef.
Of course, the chicken was going to be the standout and it was tasty and crisp and we forced ourselves to split the half-portion between us, a lot of chicken, as it would not be nearly as nice for leftovers. They didn’t seem to offer the half-portion of the chicken with various spicy sauces, and I would have liked to try those. This was tasty but a bit bland.
Doraji is tucked at the back of a row of Asian restaurants and a grocery store. Mostly Korean. We did love sitting in a completely enclosed booth, with a ringer to call the waiter, and jaunty K-Pop music playing.
I think I’d have to recommend going to this restaurant with more than two people, to try more of the curious-sounding and looking dishes.
Not expensive and if you’re in the area, why not? I think I’ve had slightly better Korean food in Chinatown though.
