Doma
offers an array of dishes they describe as "Korean with French inspiration
or French with Korean influences". To keep things fresh, their menu changes
monthly and only a few favourites from the previous month are carried forward.
It’s a pretty democratic way to create a menu; as staff ask diners about their favourite dishes, the menu should be curated around the taste of customers.
Most
people partake in their tasting menu where for $65 a person you try everything.
In reality, for the sake of fairness, it’s really your democratic duty to sample it all so you can give a well-informed opinion on your favourite dish. If you’re not up for the task, the prices per dish have also been included in
this post.
Within
a short while of ordering, an amuse bouche is brought out. Being an acorn
jelly, the actual jelly is neutral, so you’re greeted with a hit of spice from
the finely diced kimchi and pickled onions with a slight saltiness added by the
soy dashi. A refreshing summery start.
Meanwhile,
the yook hwae ($18), a beef tartare
that’s spiked with the spicy gochujang,
is filled with flavours: of course there’s a bit of heat, but this is fairly
delicate and balanced with sweet pear gel and pickled honey; black garlic
aioli adds a lovely savoury creaminess.
The long strips of beef,
instead of the customary diced pieces, takes getting used to as it’s difficult
to scoop the tartare and causes the entire pile of meat to come off in one
bite. Hence, you’ll need the aid of a fork and it’s best to break the rice and
seaweed chips into smaller pieces to create one-bite portions. Nonetheless,
the tartare tastes good and I enjoy the little pieces of cauliflower and
broccoli mixed in for crunch. The chips are also kept neutral so they add
texture without competing on flavours.
More
than one staff member told us their grilled octopus ($20) is the sole dish
that’s been on every menu since the start. In my opinion, this needs to be
tweaked or retired. Sure, the slaw of cabbage, bell peppers, cucumber, pear
jelly, and seaweed is good – it’s that mix of sweet, sour, and spicy flavours
that’s synonymous with Korean flavours. Even the pickled grainy mustard on top
really adds a pop to the salad. But then, the actual octopus, although
meaty and tender is just SO sweet. If
octopus can be rendered into a chewy candy, it’d resemble what Doma serves.
Instead,
they should keep the sam gye tang
($24), a great rendition of the French chicken roulade where medallions of dark
meat is stuffed, rolled, and then baked until the skin crisps up. The Asian
flavours are brought in with the stuffing: a mix of ginseng, dates, and more
meat. It’s tender and flavourful, and with a dollop of fragrant ginger and
scallion paste even better. White and black fungus is added for crunch and also
helps to soak up the oriental herb infused chicken veloute sauce in all its
crevices. Of all the dishes, this was the greatest at amalgamating the French
and Asian flavours in one plate.
If
Doma doesn’t keep the uhsun mandoo
($26) forever on their menu, I’ll be seriously mad. What a seafood lover’s
delight with a piece of wonderfully cooked white fish (could be pickerel), a
large sweet prawn, and the best part, a mandoo, which is a Korean dumpling
filled with crab encapsulated in a ravioli pasta. Each of the individual
proteins already have sufficient flavours, but then you smear on onion or pea
puree and the ingredients change again.
While
the sweet potato rice cakes ($16) were good – a base of chewy Korean rice cakes
filled with a creamy sweet potato puree - it could have been the dish that
French flavours are featured more prominently. The European influence was in
there with a light sprinkling of parmigian, but it didn’t really add much and
everything else was more Korean focused. The tofu and pork belly ragout spooned
onto the rice cakes is similar to the sweet bean paste sauce found in ja jang mein. In lieu of the ragout, it
would be interesting to pair the rice cakes with a creamy sauce or replace it
with a thicker beef bourguignon instead.
For
being glazed in gochujang, I would
have expected the pork belly ($26) to be spicier. Instead, it merely tastes
sweet and savoury, especially with the grilled nectarines accompanying the
dish. Overall, the flavour that was missing from Doma’s dishes is something
spicy. Indeed, there was a bit of it from the kimchi in the amuse bouche, but
afterwards everything else was void of the taste that is so popular in Korean
cuisine. The pork belly could have been the opportunity to showcase spice, even
if it was merely incorporated into a side dish with the meat.
Nonetheless, I’m
glad Doma invested in using a premium part of the pork belly where the meat and
fat alternates in layers (rather than having one thick piece of each), it makes
the pork belly less heavy and the flavours better-rounded.
When
it came to dessert, the Korean influence flew out the window. The first
dessert, an ode to corn ($10) wasn’t even French and instead best described as North
American. Sweet corn ice cream is combined with salted caramel popcorn, sponge
cake, and corn kernels. The sweet and salty dessert was good and the honey
truffle sponge cake an interesting pulled fluffy texture. Nonetheless, it was a
bit disappointing that it had nothing to do with Doma’s vision.
While
the apple tarte tatin ($10) is definitely a nod in the French direction, it
once again has no Korean influences (unless the country loves marshmallows).
The dessert was just so sugary ... when there’s caramel sauce one doesn’t need marshmallows on top. Despite looking decent, it was just too
sweet and even the fruit was overpowered.
While
Korean cuisine isn’t known for desserts, there are still some notable dishes.
Chewy glutinous rice creations, similar to mocha, could have been filled with
fruit and topped with Chantilly cream to make a Doma appropriate sweet. With so
many renditions of red bean paste encapsulated desserts (whether it be pan
fried, baked, or deep fried), surely something French could have been
incorporated into the pastries to give it a fusion twist.
Don’t
get me wrong, with the exception of the octopus and apple tarte tatin, I was
pleased with the taste of Doma’s August menu. If our waiter didn’t feel the
need to explain that restaurant is known for French and Korean inspired creations,
I could have just accepted the dishes as presented. But, if they really want to
be known for marrying the two cultures, more dedication is required at ensuring
every dish (not sure some) really showcase the spirit of each culture’s
cuisine. Otherwise, it’d just be another mixed continental restaurant , which are a
dime a dozen.
