{November 30, 2014}

Outside building

Kimchi: We had the pleasure of being invited to Dami Sushi & Izakaya’s complimentary grand opening media tasting. I was very excited for the event, and it did not disappoint! Thank you Edmond and Dami for kindly inviting us! It was a fantastic experience and I’m very grateful I was able to experience all of Dami!

Please note that most of the dishes pictured here are samples that were prepared for us. I do have a few full-sized dishes they brought around for viewing and I will indicate in the captions as such 🙂

Inside

Inside

Kimchi: Everything was so nicely presented. Even our water came in a nice jug and some classy cups. I’m always a fan of places that let you go wild with your own water jug. ;P

Water jug

Jawanmushi – full size

Samples of the Jawanmushi, Whole Grain Salad, and Siraegi

Jawanmushi:

Kimchi: The steamed egg was very savory and paired with the shrimp, mushroom, and ginko nut, it felt like a perfect match.

Whole grain salad:

Kimchi: The soy vinaigrette gave it a good flavor, and I liked the mix of beans/lettuce/rice. I think if I were to get the full-sized dish, it’s definitely best to share as an appetizer, otherwise I’d get a little tired of it.

Siraegi:

Kimchi: This was my least favorite of the three. The radish added a good crunch and a sweet/sour taste, but otherwise, this dish seemed a bit plain.

Oyster Shooter

Oyster shooter nicely presented

Oyster shooter:

Kimchi: I was a little bit wary when I saw the oyster shooter. I never had one before, and I was a bit iffy about eating raw oyster/egg/etc in “shot” form. But I decided, “today I would try every single thing that Dami presents to me!” I’m glad I gave the oyster shot a chance! The liquid was very sweet, the egg added creaminess, and the whole thing was just very palatable to me. I would definitely get this again!

Beautiful sushi set

Individual shots of each plate

Dami seafood box:

Kimchi: The seafood box was a feast for both my stomach and my EYES. It was so beautifully presented. Each of the 8 sections was platformed on top of different plates/bowls, and most of the sushi rested on top of a cut radish. Normally I don’t like tuna – all the sushi places I’ve eaten at have either bad or mediocre tuna – but Dami’s thick-cut tuna tasted very soft and fresh! The yellow tail and salmon were my favorites. I feel like albalone is definitely an acquired taste and I haven’t acquired it yet, so I wasn’t able to appreciate it as much, but it was an enlightening experience being able to try it 😛

Dami roll and Love roll

Dami roll and love roll:

Kimchi: The Dami roll is very fresh (cucumber instead of rice), although nothing new. The better of the two rolls we sampled, in my opinion, was the Love Roll. It had a bit of a citrusy sauce that made the roll very tasty. It had a bit of sushi rice but it wasn’t overloaded with rice at all – it had the perfect amount of rice and fish in the center.

Chicken breast & wasabi

Enoki mushroom maki

Asparagus maki

Yakitori & maki:

Kimchi: I found the combination of wasabi and chicken to be very interesting – I like it. It’s like eating chicken sushi. I, however, wish the chicken was more moist and less dry. The bacon-wrapped asparagus had very crispy bacon on the outside, which I really liked, but besides the crispiness I didn’t find anything too memorable about it. I enjoyed the bacon-wrapped enoki mushroom more. The mushroom gave it a more interesting texture.

Fried Oyster

Oyster tempura:

Kimchi: I kind of felt like the oyster tempura had too much tempura batter? Nevertheless, I liked it, and the ponzu sauce it was in was good.

Ssam-bab set

Ssam-bab set:

Kimchi: I feel like if you had to pick a fool-proof entree to eat, it would be the Ssam-bab set. Martini and I like to make korean spicy pork (Doeji bulgolgi), so this dish was very familiar to us 🙂 Wrapping up the spicy pork belly/onions with rice and veggies into lettuce is both a fun and delicious experience!

Oshinko

Oshinko:

Kimchi: Their Japanese pickled veggies are fantastic! The waiter told us the oshinko is used as a palate cleanser. It’s yummy! I started eating it between bites as a palate cleanser, but Martini and I ended up just continually eating the oshinko just because we really liked it!

Marinated shrimp (saewoojang), miso chilean sea bass, sea snail salad

Miso chilean sea bass:

Kimchi: I fell in LOVE with the sea bass! The miso/sake marinade was so mouth watering, and the fish was deliciously moist. It melted in my mouth, tasted deliciously buttery, and the flavor made me drool. I would definitely get this again. Apparently it is marinated for 24 hours.

Sea snail salad (golbang yi muchim) – Full Size

Sea snail salad:

Kimchi: I’ve never eaten snail before so I was a bit nervous. The spicy chili pepper sauce was very tasty! As for tasting snail…it is kind of very chewy and has a seafood aftertaste. I don’t think I’m used to eating snails quite yet, but I do have to say the chili pepper sauce is really good.

Marinated shrimp (saewoojang) – Full size

Preserved shrimp:

Kimchi: Another item I was wary about. I get super wary when it comes to raw shrimp, but I decided to give it a try regardless since I wanted to stay true to keeping an open mind to all food! I was right…I don’t think I could dig raw shrimp. I was impressed that the shrimp was marinated for 7 days though. If you like raw shrimp I’d definitely give it a try, especially since you can tell people you ate shrimp that was marinated for 7 days.

Matcha green tea creme brulee

Matcha green tea creme brulee:

Kimchi: This was one of my favorite dishes…I have never heard of matcha green tea creme brulee before. Now that I have discovered it, I have to say, WHY HASN’T THIS GOTTEN POPULAR IN ALL PLACES YET??? I loooove green tea desserts… I like creme brulee but not as much as the average person to be honest. Green tea creme brulee, though? I could eat 5 bowls of these…

Decor where they kept their utensils/etc

Kimchi: The staff here was super friendly and very happy to answer any questions you may have. I really like that some of their dishes are very nontraditional and require a bit of an open mind. The restaurant itself is a cozy little place with an industrial/natural/trendy feel and with very catchy & hip music. I’m not sure how older folks might feel about the music, but Martini and I were really digging it. Apparently they dim the lights and turn up the music at night to enhance the night lounge experience. As for prices, they have quite a bit of variety on their menu with all kinds of price ranges to fit your budget, but if you want to experience a lot of it at once it will be a bit pricy. I would consider Dami as a place to slowly but surely enjoy all of their menu items over time, but if you have the funds it would also be quite the experience to try a lot of it at once as well. They have everything including skewers, sushi, cooked seafood, many appetizers, alcohol, and exotic dishes.

I’m so happy we had the opportunity to give Dami a try! We are definitely coming back! My taste buds demand it!