Danji- NYC

Danji is a fabulous little place serving Korean tapas in midtown New York. Korean tapas are certainly not two words you would expect to hear together, but it works wonderfully at Danji and it would be a great place to go for a first date due to its warm, intimate atmosphere. (not that I would know, I went with my whole family and we ate awkwardly amongst romantic diners.)

Tofu with ginger scallion dressing $8

There are two dinner menus at Danji- the "traditional" one and the "modern" one, each with a variety of tapas-sized dishes. We ordered from both, and the tofu above is from the modern menu. Soft, silky melt-in-the-mouth consistency, with delicate breadcrumb-like topping and a deliciously tangy dressing.

Spicy KFC "korean fire chicken" wings with honey, garlic and four chilli $12

The spicy KFC wings were certainly a modern take on traditional Korean barbecue dishes, and these were absolutely heavenly- wonderfully sticky and spicy, with that lovely honey crust on the tender chicken.

Bulgogi beef sliders with spicy pickled cucumber and scallion salsa $12

So these "sliders" were actually little bite-sized burgers- so cute! These were the bulgogi beef ones, and I really do have to commend Danji's creativity by managing to turn such quintessential Korean dishes into innovative and exciting modern ones, which still embrace the original flavours.

These little babies had the beautiful tender beef nestled along with pickled cucumber, which gave texture to the dish as well as flavour. This is apparently one of Danji's most popular dishes, so I would definitely give these a try!

Spicy beef fat rice cakes and fish cakes (dduk-bokki) $10

Back to the traditional menu with these spicy rice and fish cakes. I remember the flavour of this dish so well- spot on with the texture which was pleasantly chewy, and the spicy element of the dish didn't overpower the gorgeous beef flavour which seeped through your taste buds.

(foreground) Poached sablefish with spicy daikon (eun-dae-gu-jjo-rim) $18

Also from the traditional menu was this poached sablefish dish. Not a highlight of the meal but very tasty nevertheless.

Spicy pork belly sliders with scallions, cucumber julienne and gochujang $12

Now onto the pork belly burgers! From the modern menu, we decided why the hell not try both of the famous burger dishes at Danji. My family were split between which one we preferred- the pork belly texture was absolutely heavenly and the gochujang complemented all the elements of the dish so well. 

I would have to say the beef bulgogi one is still my favourite however, but only because I love beef bulgogi anyway. These burger dishes are a definite must-have if you go to Danji- one or the other, you choose!

Vermicelli noodles with beef and korean peppers (sogogi gochu japchae) $10

And here we have the famous japchae, or korean-style grass noodles. Transparent with a jelly-like texture, these noodles are a common staple in every Korean restaurant you go to nowadays. I thought Danji's were a bit too soft for my liking, but the lovely beef and flavours of the dish compensated for the overly limp texture.

For some reason, I found it extremely endearing how the menus were stored in little drawers on your table.

(note: sorry about the random shadows in all of the food pictures- its the shadow of my camera lens as I had to use flash because of dim lighting.)

Unfortunately due to the dim lighting and yellow glow of Danji, my camera wouldn't photograph the lovely atmosphere very well, so this is the only decent photo I've managed to get of the interior! The whole place is quite small and compact, and the glowy filament bulbs give the whole place a very intimate, romantic feel. There's also a small bar which serves cocktails, which are pretty good from what I've heard from others.

Because of Danji's small size (36 seats!) I would strongly recommend making a reservation, especially for dinner as it does get very busy.

When I go back to NYC I will definitely try out their lunch menu!

4.5/5

www.danjinyc.com