There's only one place in town that has a wall this impressive...
At first, it looks like jars after jars of something fermented.
A closer look, they are fruit inside...
The only place that has that would be Dosi.
So, the jars hold the soju with different fruits. They have Raspberry, Lychee, Blueberry, mint, grapefruit, orange, strawberry... etc. The drink up there is Berry la Fleur, which is raspberry soju with blueberry, lavender, and lime. By the way, before 7pm, they run drinks special, which is half off of all the soju related drinks. The happy hour does not apply to food.
First we got the fried oyster. You eat that like a wrap, you do lettuce, the garlic mayo, ginger, quail egg, and oyster. That is actually pretty good.
This is Squid Kimchee Jjigae, with the sourdough toast, the hot pot with squid and kimchee in seafood broth. You put that on the toast. It was mildly spicy and I actually liked it very much.
Korean Yam Pancake, it looks really much like the Turnip cake that you get at dim sum... you're supposed to dip it in the chive soy sauce. It was accompanied with the white kimchee, but nothing to write home about.
This is my next favorite dish, the waygu beef with herb roasted allium and veggie that reminds me of one of the small side dishes you get when you go to Korean grill. I loved the beef with the veggie and the sauce... so delicious.
This is their pork belly, and again in the wrap style. The white thing is turnip, leave plus chives, and pork belly in this thick sauce. You do need the sauce in order to make the dish. But, for us, the pork belly itself is fine.
This is the red bean/green bean cake with lychee sorbet. The sorbet was awesome but the cake was underwhelming... since there was only two choices, I still would've chosen this one again.
As a send off, they give you these ginger jelee candy. It reminds me of the Turkish Delight some, but it's good.
Overall, I would say I was disappointed when our server told us that this is a Korean-American fusion, where they take Korean dishes and adapt to American taste. That, to me, said that this is the watered-down version of Korean food just in case you're a whimp. I think that somewhat insult the foodies in Houston. Since we're such a diverse city, you can say Korean inspired and be nothing like it, I wouldn't have been insulted. But true to that description, there were alot of the dishes were watered down. There are flavor palettes that are yet to be put on a plate.
To dine in this place, first of all, you need to remember the place is really tapas style. So all the dishes are meant to be small and meant to be shared. For party of two, our server suggested two on the left side and three on the right side. And he's right, it is pretty much enough for both of us. Second, they would prefer no children under 7 coming to the restaurant. Third, they are pushing their valet pretty hard... they blocked all available spots for the valet, but let me tell you, on a Saturday night, there were a few tables, but had they opened the lot, it would've accommodated everyone there. Instead, people just park on the street. I would highly suggest them to reconsider. You're not Uchi or Nara, you don't command that type of parking situation. Overall the entire experience was underwhelming, but now that I've been, I can check it off the list.
Dosi
2802 S. Shepherd
Houston, TX 77098
713-521-DOSI
http://www.dosirestaurant.com/
From reading your review, it seems that you liked most of the food. I don't understand how you concluded that you were underwhelmed. I am Korean and I love that they decided not to put Korean cuisine in a box by saucing everything in gochujang and soybean paste. Hats off to them. If I wanted traditional Korean food, I would have my mom cook some or even go to "Korea-town". I'm sure we all know that most foodies out there perceive Korean food as a short ribs bbq'ed on a table with a bunch of banchans accompanying it. There is so much more to Korean cuisine than that and I think the guys at Dosi nails it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, valet is free. I am a frequent at their restaurant and know how pack that they can get on a good weekend. It's quite a challenge to find a spot that doesn't involve a neighboring resident mean mugging you as you leave your car in front of their house. Sure they are not Nara or Uchi, but they also have been open for only a few months and each time I've gone they seem to be standing out more. Who knows, they might just be that type of restaurant soon enough.
Erik, thanks for your comment... trust me, I am not a purist that to turn my nose up because it's not 'traditional' Korean. Like you said, I'd go to someone's home or Koreatown if I want the real thing. I do judge food on it's own merit, if it didn't appeal to my pallet, that's that. If it doesn't taste good, you'd know it, and I did. I may give it another shot some time later, and do a compare like you'd mentioned. But wouldn't be out of line if there's an off night, either on their part or mine. Good to know about the valet.
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