dotori

the wall paper at dotori

dotori is an anomaly in its neighbourhood for the area around finsbury park is well known only for its fried chicken and fastfood. i've lived around arsenal since two thousand and eight and wasn't inclined to try dotori until a year ago when my friend i recommended it. somehow, the combination of korean and japanese cuisine on the same menu struck me as a bit odd. o and i have been to dotori several times now and have stuck to the korean side of the menu. we even brought my dad to dotori when he visited last year. and i'm willing to hedge my bets on his knowledge of korean food as a) he has always loved it b) he has worked with a korean company so not only has he eaten the food with them, he has also been to korea and eaten it there. as it goes, he said that dotori was fairly authentic. 

i don't profess much knowledge about korean food but what i do know is that i have my pet favourites which include bibimbap, bulgogi, kimchee and paejon. o and i ordered a bindaetteok (mung bean pancake with kimchee) and oikimchi to start with. the mung bean pancake was a real disappointment and i was a bit confused by the sliced mushrooms lightly pressed into the surface of the pancake. the kimchee was non-existent. however the oikimchi and salad with miso and apple vinegar dressing made up for the disappointment. 

for entrees i had the bulgogi bibimbap and o the seafood bibimbap. i love the bibimbap for its gutsy flavours, for the contrast of textures and the heat of both the chili and the dol sot (hot ceramic bowl itself). at dotori they marinate the beef in a pear marinade which gives it a fruity note. o's seafood bibimbap had subtler flavours to allow the prawns to shine through. he wasn't very pleased because he felt his prawns were large enough despite me having explained to him that prawns shrink a little when barbecued. as always he prefers what i order for myself (the joys of being married!). i was more than happy to share with him anyway. the miso soup on the side was just the right warmth for a rather cold and windy summer night. we ended dinner on a shared green tea ice-cream, and a segment each of a sweet navel orange.