Don-Don: Japanese Dining House

A Happy New Year Experience

I’m a huge fan of Japanese food. I must confess I also enjoy a whisky highball or three, especially on a special occasion. With this in mind, myself and my fiancé decided to make Don-Don our NYE restaurant of choice.

The first thing that struck us as we walked into Don-Don was the atmosphere. The place was buzzing pleasantly with a mixture of families, friends, and couples. We were promptly seated with a menu and told by the attentive staff that a table would be ready in 5 minutes.

We ordered right away, both opting for sets from the main menu. I went for the Beef, and my fiancé the Shabu-Shabu. Both meals came with rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables and, bizarrely, pasta. These side dishes were very welcome (pasta aside), but didn’t distract from the stars of the show.

My beef was excellent. Ten thick, tender slices of prime beef, marbled nicely with fat. I was provided with a tiny charcoal grill with which to cook the beef. I really enjoyed this aspect, as I like my beef rare, so it was great to be able to choose how I cooked it. The meat was fantastic, juicy and savoury, and was fantastic dipped in some of the salt provided on the table.

My Fiancé’s Shabu-shabu didn’t go down quite as well, but it still had its merits. The meat was nice and thin, and cooked quickly in the pot of broth provided. The broth was a mixed bag. It tasted delicious, rich and salty, and complimented the meat well. However, it was very heavy on the Fishcake (Odaeng), and light on fresh vegetables. For every piece of onion or mushroom, there were four or five pieces of fishcake. This might not be a problem for some, but I thought it made the meal a little samey.

On the side, we ordered some Takoyaki, a huge favourite from our visits to Japan. It came garnished with Bonito, and was quite authentic. I found it to be a little doughy, but that didn’t stop us from ordering a second portion!

For drinks we went for a whisky Highball, and draft beer. The whisky highball was a little heavy on the lime for me, however my Fiancé prefers it that way so it worked out well.

One of the main plus point of Don-Don is the price. The beef came in at 14,000, the Shabu-Shabu 12,000, and a side of Takoyaki a mere 4,000. Drinks range from 4,000-7,000, and they have a nice selection. All in all, our meal came to less than 50,000 won, which represents excellent value for how much we enjoyed ourselves.

I will definitely return to Don-Don again, there were a lot more things on the menu I want to try. A salmon sashimi set at 12,000 won looked particularly delicious, and the Sushi selection also looked authentic and delicious. If you like Japanese food, I highly suggest you pay Don-Don a visit.

해운대에서 핫(?)하다는 일본가정식 식당 돈돈을 가다!

오늘 날씨가 유난히 추웠다. 부산에 이사오고나서 처음으로 추웠던 것같다.

우리는 뜨~끈한 국물이 땡겼고 요리하기도 귀찮고 집 앞 가까이 있는 곳으로 외식을 하기로 결정! 그러던 중 돈돈이라는 곳에 가보기로 했다. ( 가정식집? 고등어 구워주고 뭐 초밥있는건가? )

처음 들어갔을때 저녁시간이라 그런지 15분정도 웨이팅하고 앉을 수 있었다.

우리는 앉자마자 메뉴를 골랐기 때문에 바로 시킬 수 있었다.

우리가 고른 메뉴는 화로구이와 소고기 샤브샤브나베전골, 타코야끼 두 개, 맥주 그리고 하이볼(산토리위스키와탄산) . 하하 둘이 먹는 건데 많이도 시켰다.

남편이 시킨 화로구이는 개인 화로를 주어 1인이 구워먹을 수 있게 나왔다. 순간 정말 일본에 온 느낌을 받았다. 그리고 내가시킨 샤브샤브전골. 음… 사실 맛있긴 했으나 어묵이 너무 많이 들어간느낌. 어묵보다 야채가 조금 많았으면 소고기와 좀 더 깔끔하게 먹었을 수 있었을 것 같다. 그리고 함께나온 유자소스가 정말 소고기와 잘 어울렸다.

타코야끼 역시 음~ 4000원이라는 저렴한 가격에 6개씩 나왔다, 우리는 일인당6개씩~ 클리어. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

그리고 후쿠오카 여행에서 먹었던 맛이 그리워 시켰던 하이볼.

사실 일본에서는 탄산수를 넣어주는데 여기는 사이다를 함께 넣어주는 것 같았다. 술맛보다는 여자들이 딱 좋아할 맛. 달달하니 향도 좋았다. 개인적으로 돈돈스타일 하이볼이 더 맛있었다는.

아마 돈돈은 꾸준히 잘 갈 것같다. 가격도 만원대로 착함.

맛집추가용.

Directions:

Don-Don: Japanese Dining House is located just off Haeundae beach. From Haeundae subway station, come out exit 5, and walk straight down the main drag towards the beach. Just before you get to the beach take a right, and walk about 50 metres. Don-Don will be on your right, between a 7/11 and a MacDonald’s.