How was it?
Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 6/10
Value: $
Back in the uni days, Little J and I were chattering away in class (as you do), and writing up our list of places we must eat at! And then she told me about Don Don - a tiny Japanese restaurant on Oxford St, with some awesome food - so that went on our list!
Green Tea $1 (refillable)
I've been to Don Don a few times now and it has become a favourite haunt of mine. The portions are huge, the prices are cheap and the service is so super friendly! Despite all tables being full and people clamouring to get in, they always have a smile on their face!
Udon Noodles
Most meals also come with a small complementary bowl of udon noodles. They are simple and the perfect start to a meal.
Katsu Curry $10.50
Crumbed Chicken served with Beef Curry and Rice
You can choose to have either crumbed chicken, pork or beef in the Katsu Curry. I'm normally not a huge fan of katsu, but for some reason on this particular evening Little J and I were both craving Katsu Curry! The sauce was very flavoursome, the meat was soft and the exterior was lovely and crumbly - not dry at all.
Rice
Sukiyaki-Don $9.50
Sukiyaki-Don consists of Beef, Udon Noodles & Veges
Egg to dip the beef into
Dipping beef into egg
I thought that the Sukiyaki-Don was a pretty complex dish! There is the beef, which had to be dipped into the egg, then the udon noodles plus veges plus rice! It was quite a feat. I did find it quite salty, but I think that's what the rice is for. It was satisfying and quite filling, as you can imagine.
Ebi-Don $9.50
On another visit to Don Don, El ordered the Ebi-Don. Which is crumbed prawn and egg over rice. The prawns were fat and juicy and crumbed lightly.
Tanin-Don $9.50
A closer look at the Tanin-Don
The Tanin-Don is beef and egg over rice. It was full of flavour and I loved the almost runny egg. Simply delicious!
Overall:
I love this little Japanese restaurant! If you like your Don's, then this is the place to go! The service is fast and friendly, it is quite cramped though, so be prepared to share a table with other people. It's cheap, the food is always good, the servings are huge and you'd definitely not go home hungry!
Don Don
80 Oxford St,
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9331 3544
Open Monday - Saturday 11am - 10.30pm
Posts
Hmmm good old Don Don :) I sometimes grab their Ebi Don for lunch. Apparently their management has changed and people working there rather seems friendlier!
ReplyDeleteI recently got shocked to find out what the Tanin-don means. And I'm Japanese. *gasp*
If you didn't know either, Oyako-don: Oyako means "parent & child" so Chicken & egg are relatives.. Beef & egg are not relatives, therefore that's Tanin (un-relative)!
Betty I think one day you with have the most extensive encyclopedia on all the Japanese restaurants in Sydney :) Ooh and I love my Dons so I'll have to stop by next time I'm in the area
ReplyDeleteOh my! I'm so craving that giant plate of curry katsu right now. I'll have to go find some closer to me for lunchables!
ReplyDeleteThose do look like quite good prices for the food. The crumbed chicken is calling out my name :)
ReplyDeleteI must have gone past this place so many times without realising what goodies lay inside! Will definitely stop by next time. Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteYou love your Japanese food don't you :)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm so do I!
I love Don Dons - in fact (shh) I pretty much eat there 4 out of 5 days for lunch. The thing they do better than anything else for me is the their handrolls. You can't beat the $2 handroll - generous, cheap, quick & easy and above all excellent (I think I've got a post on my love for their handrolls).
ReplyDeleteI went here a few weeks ago and I completely agree with you, the Don's are generous as well as delicious. Will definitely hit it up again to try the handrolls that Forager mentioned :)
ReplyDeleteI love my Dons! Ok I eat more of the topping than the base but I love them nevertheless. Thanks for the review-must put that in the moleskine notebook! :)
ReplyDeletei've eaten here once a few years ago and found the dish really generous. i couldn't finish it. i guess it's good value for money when your really hungry although i did find it a bit heavy. I'll have to keep in mind again for those spontaneous dinners around the area although it always seems to be packed, which is a good thing i guess. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Yas: Yep, I find them all so friendly! Hehe. Thanks for the interesting trivia! I had no idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Steph: Haha. Yes, I do enjoy my Japanese cuisine - there's more posts to come too, but I'm trying to separate them!
Hi Shez: The katsu curry was so good, it just hit the spot! Hope you found a nice one!
Hi Anita: Yep, I think it's such great value. Huge servings, tasty and super cheap!
Hi Belle: You should definitely stop by! No worries :)
Hi Brenda: Yes I do! Hehe. I can't get enough of it!
Hi Forager: Wow, you're so lucky to be so close to it! Damn, I'm jealous!! I'm always tempted to get the $2 rolls, but then I can hardly even finish 1 dish, so it'd be hard to fit in a roll. I'll try one next time though - for research purposes, of course.
Hi D: They're great, aren't they!? Me too :)
Hi Lorraine: Oh, I'm the same as you. I'll eat all the topping and have most of the base left :D No worries. Yes, I think it deserves a place in the moleskin!
Hi Simon: Yeah, I can never finish my meals there! Definitely great for a quick, spontaneous dinner and I think it's definitely a good sign when it's packed!
I've been looking to try Don Dons for a while. The food looks great..
ReplyDeleteI love katsukaree ^^! Oohh I should give this thx :)
ReplyDeleteI think katsu curry is underrated!! It looks great~~ oh bugger now i crave it,OOHHHHHHH
ReplyDeletesydneyguyrojoe
Hi Katherine: Oh, you should definitely try it soon!
ReplyDeleteHi FFichiban: It's one of those things that I crave! You should definitely get your Don Don on! haha
Hi Sydneyguyrojoe: Is it really underrated!? Most people rave about it!? It was pretty great! Sorry for starting any cravings!
That looks like a good deal. Juicy prawns and almost-runny egg both sound great!
ReplyDeleteOooo I pass this place all the time and I always wonder if it'll be any good, but now after seeing your katsu curry it's definitely on my must try list!
ReplyDeleteHi Arwen: Yep, Don Don is such great value for money :D
ReplyDeleteHi LL: Cool! The food is so good, they are generous with their servings and it's super cheap!