Shall start with a new post, since I am in the mood.
Have been to Robertson Quay twice for the past 2 weeks, because it is really a good place to chill out with friends. The usual restaurants I go to here are mostly Western, but an adventurous mood made me step into 2 oriental restaurants that I have been always wanted to visit.
(1) Damatory Korean Restaurant
Pleasant environment with open-air seating outside the restaurant, and also traditional floor seatings and chair seats available. Was tempted to try the open-air seats, but the heat in Singapore made us chose the indoor traditional seats. One of the reasons I like Korean food is because they also serve all kinds of side dishes for free, and I was expecting the same from this “supposedly authentic” restaurant. But my, was I wrong! Only 3 side dishes were served, though the good thing was, they were all refillable.
Side dishes: Traditional radish kimchi, water kimchi & little ikan bilis w/ almond
While waiting for the latecomers to come, my friends and I ordered a salad and seafood toppoki to curb our hunger. Hmm.. the bulgogi salad was good with plenty of meat, and I liked the sauce which had a slight tangy taste (maybe yuzu?). There were also bits of ginseng in the salad! The seafood toppoki (Korean rice cake) looked impressive with the mussels and prawns on top, but we were quite disappointed with the taste, as well as the miserable servings of rice cakes in the dish. The gravy was too watery, and I think we could finish counting the number of rice cakes with two hands. Wondering if we were being served seafood, or rice cake? Maybe they should rename the dish to “Spicy Seafood” instead?
Bulgogi Salad
Seafood Toppoki (Korean rice cake)
The Korean pancake was a little too thick for me, but maybe other people might like it. I still prefer to have my pancake crispy on the outside and soft inside. Still difficult to find good pancakes in most restaurants, which makes me miss the best pancake I had in Jeju Island years ago. In addition, why is there a slice of tomato on the pancake?
Half & Half Pancake: Kimchi and Spring Onion
The main dish, Boksam, came to save the day. The serving was huge, and six of us had difficulty finishing the big portion of meat. The kimchi served with the pork belly was more flavourful than the side dish ones, and it was perfect to wrap the meat into the provided leaves and gobbled them in one mouth! One thing that I would seek improvement in this dish is that, I hope the meat could be a little softer? Other than that, this is a good dish to be enjoyed and shared with your friends.
Boksam: Pork Belly served w/ vegetables
On the whole, Damatory is a Korean restaurant up to expectations, as can be seen from the huge crowds of Korean customers in the shop. A funny thing that I have to comment is, if you and your friends are not used to sitting on the floor to eat, it would be best to choose the chair seats, so that you would not need to stretch your legs every now and then to prevent leg cramps!
Worth a try, but not fantastic!
(2) Shunjuu
Have not found a satisfactory Japanese restaurant since I have been back from living in Japan for 5 years. BUT, this is the first restaurant that I am happy with the quality of food and price. Although the price is still a little high considered to the Japanese restaurant chains, the high quality food is worth every dollar that you spend. Decided to visit this restaurant, because my student from Melbourne came back to Singapore (she’s now my friend because not a student anymore) after graduation. Since I taught her Japanese, it would be nice to visit a nice Japanese restaurant, and we somehow decided to eat here after walking around the area.
Since there were only two of us, we could not order a lot of food, so we just ordered the 2 available kushiyaki sets with a sashimi salad. The sashimi salad came to us with a bomb! The sesame dressing was the usual one that you can find in the Japanese supermarkets, but the freshness of the fish made us squirm with happiness while eating and chatting throughout the meal.
Sashimi Salad
The kushiyaki sets came in batches, since different sticks required different cooking time. And to be served as soon as they were done was the best way to make sure that you can enjoy the food once done. I have to say that all the meat was grilled to perfection, and the liver was so soft that it just melted once you put it into your mouth. Never a big fan of liver, but I have to give a big round of applause for this!
Kushiyaki = Grilled sticks of whatever you like!
More sticks…
This time, I did not ordered any Japanese sake, since I did not want to drink with my “student”. But it would be perfect to enjoy sake with the kushiyaki, and I would definitely do it on my next visit.
A definite recommendation to people who want to enjoy nice grilled sticks of food at a reasonable price!
Not Just Food 