Korean food has become one of my comfort food in recent years especially when my entertainment titles are full of Korean titles. I visited this particular Korean restaurant many years back and have not visited since then. I remember them as having very cosy home-cooked Korean meals.
I had a chance to drop by during lunch recently and the outlet is filled with the typical office crowd. The restaurant itself is quite small and can only accommodate 20 persons. The in house TV which provides the background music was playing Kpop non-stop which is so typical of all Korean casual dining outlets.
They served some very affordable lunch sets at SGD 9.90 ( before tax) and the options are also quite wide including soups, stews, rice, noodles and hot plate bulgogi meats.
A variety of side dishes were served; kimchi, soy-braised potatoes, seaweed
They also served fried Ikan Bilis with chilli, soy fish cake strips and macaroni and ham salad. Out of all the side dishes, the kimchi was very nicely favoured and aged and the potatoes were also balanced in flavours and taste. The rest of the side dishes were good but nothing too spectacular.
We had the kimchi pancake which was quite charred on the outside and in an unusually dark colour compared to the usual pancakes. The Kimchi pancakes were also quite thin so it was fried till crispy and the batter had nice chunks of kimchi but personally I felt that the flavours of kimchi were not strong enough.
My hotplate chicken bulgogi came with rice and soup as per of the lunch set
The bulgogi hotplate serving was quite generous with shredded cabbage and beansprouts lied on the bottom of the hot plate. The chicken has huge amounts if gochujang and cut chilli so it is slightly spicy. The chicken was very slightly dry but still tasty.
The kimchi stew was thick and flavourful and packed with aged kimchi cabbage. The lunch set also came together with rice but without the soup. The flavours are very homely and comforting and taste like something you would cook at home.
The ramen came with a meat topping of your choice as well as an egg. The noodles were chewy and springy which is cooked to the right consistency and the soup also packed enough flavours. While Korean instant noodles can be easily cooked at home, many restaurants still offer it as part of their menu as they top up the noodles with extra kimchi or meat.
The spicy beef soup Yugaejang is one of the favourites for Koreans as it provides a warm and familiar taste of home. According to my colleague, the soup packs a nice spicy punch and the beef is cooked tender and flavourful.
Overall, Doong Ji is a fuss-free family restaurant with very affordable lunch specials set meals. The food is really like a simple meal cooked in a typical Korean family and nothing too fancy. For those looking for affordable and flavourful Korean meals, can try Doong Ji.
Address: 222 E Coast Rd, Singapore 428919
Operating hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm
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