Ah Korean food. So spicy and so magnificent. If you are not a big fan of vegetables, you should really give Korean vegetables a chance. I am sure Korean style vegetables will help change your mind.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo was driving around Tsukuba and my wife had a hankering (that's American for craving) for some Korean cuisine. Luckily, there was a place close by to where we were that I already had on my list of places to try. Our destination was Doraji.
Doraji
When you drive up to Doraji, it feels like you drove up to someone's house. You wouldn't know it was a restaurant unless you saw the sign with all the food on it. Doraji is in the Shima area of Tsukuba. There really isn't much around that area so you might want to come by car.
Inside
First thing you do when you walk inside is take off your shoes. There are shoe lockers by the door. There are 5 tables in the restaurant and a private room by the cash register. The tables have a big hole at the bottom for your legs and you sit on a cushion on the floor. I think Doraji can fit 20 maybe 25 people. It isn't a big place but it has a nice homey feeling to it.
The Menu
The menu has a lot going on. The first part of the menu has yaki niku or BBQ. The tables all have a grill in the middle where you can BBQ your meat. After the yaki niku section, you have the different types of Korean dishes like chijimi, kimchi, bibimbap, toppgi, and a lot of other delicious looking Korean food. There is also a set menu which brings sets of different meats and Korean dishes. Sorry English speakers, menu is in Japanese and Korean only.
Makgeolli
This is my wife's jam (American for favorite thing). I was the designated driver for that night so none for me. Besides, I am not a big fan of this drink. My wife on the other hand loves this alcoholic beverage. My wife's opinion was that it was pretty damn good but she has had better. There you have it.
Kimchi
We ordered the kimchi from the menu and our plate came with three different styles of kimchi. The one on the left is regular old cabbage kimchi, which tasted fresh and delicious. The one in the middle was cucumbers marinated in kimchi, tasty but the restaurant went way overboard with the sesame seeds. Finally, the one on the right, kkakdugi kimchi, is cubed radish kimchi. This is my favorite style and Doraji did a great job. All the different kimchi styles in front of us were delicious and we couldn't stop eating them.
Yangnyeom Chicken
I implore you to order this chicken. There are so many delicious flavors swirling around this amazing chicken that it will leave you craving more when you are finished. The fried chicken is coated completely in gouchjang which is a red chili pepper paste but this one is a bit different. This paste gives it this sweet and spicy flavor that is fantastic. You also got some peanuts sprinkled on the chicken which is a nice little addition to the dish. I absolutely loved this chicken. My wife and I couldn't stop eating it. I had to practice self control and not get another three orders of this lovely fried chicken.
Chijimi
Of course we were going to order chijimi. There are two for sure things my wife orders when we go to a Korean place, makgeolli and chijimi. My wife ordered the negi (long green onion) chijimi and it brought a lot. The sauce was this sweet onion with a hint of spice flavored sauce that was perfect for this chijimi. It was a bit burned on the sides but nothing to serious. All in all, it was a tasty chijimi and my wife gives it the thumbs up.
Pig Tail Soup
Yup, you read that right. I had no idea what I was in for when my wife ordered this soup. Pig tail soup, that is something I thought I would never try but hey, I am up for anything. The soup brought negi, onions, and small pieces of pig tail. The soup was a light creamy broth that was OK. When I tried a pig tail, I found it to be not too bad. It was a nice small piece of meat that went well with the soup. Is it my favorite Korean soup? No, not even top three, but I liked it.
Bibimbap
Bibimbap is MY jam! I love this Korean dish. Whenever I go to Korea, I walk around the streets and look for a bibimbap place. Street bibimbap is the best and it is a vegetarian dish. You can add meat in there but usually it is vegetarian. You got kimchi, other cooked vegetables, a raw egg on top and the best part, gochujang which is a chili pepper paste. You pour some of that gochujang in, grab a spoon and then mix. Mixing bibimbap feels so satisfying.
After the mix
Look at that beautiful picture. All that kimchi and gochujang mixed in making the rice red, perfection. This bibimbap was in a stone bowl which keeps everything nice and hot. The bowl cooks the rice a bit more so you get crunchy rice on the bottom which is a real nice surprise. This bowl did over cook the rice a bit so I got more crunch than I would have cared for but I was still very happy. I was in heaven with my bibimbap and it reminded me of my time in Korea.
Doraji was a pretty good Korean restaurant. The Ibaraki Eats Duo enjoyed their meal and had a good time. I hope to come back and try their BBQ options in the near future. I will say that Doraiji is a bit pricey but overall a good experience.
So if you are hankering for some Korean food and are in Tsukuba, why not give Doraji a chance? Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying some BBQ and amazing bibimbap.
Enjoy!
For more information on Doraiji, check out their tablelog page:
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