Lunch @ Don Don, Bangkok

After reading about Don Don in several Thai blogs, I decided to try it out myself. Don Don is a little Japanese restaurant which specializes in their fresh homemade Udon and is situated at Sukhumvit 39. The restaurant itself has two levels, in which I personally preferred the top level as there was a more Japanese kick to it. We were kindly brought to the traditional Japanese type of seatings where we had to sit on the floors instead of on the chairs. It was fun at first as it really added an authentic Japanese touch to it, but I eventually got pins and needles half way through the meal.

We ordered several appetizers to nibble on while we were waiting for our mains.

Cheese Wontons

I've heard ravings about this, but I didn't find them to be that fantastic. The wontons were quite hollow, without much cheese to be found.

Japanese Dumplings

Okonomiyaki
This was really good with the extra mayo

In the blogs I've read, I was told about Don Don's Monjayaki, which is a Japanese pan-fried batter similar to Okonomiyaki, but with a lot more runnier texture than Okonomiyaki. There were a lot of flavors to choose from, and I wasn't sure which one was good, so we went with the cheese flavor. Although it wasn't very authentic, but it did sound sinful and that was what got me convinced. The batter was first poured into a hot plate and delivered to our table, then we had to wait anxiously while it was cooking before we could dig in with our spatula.

The adorable little spatulas to aid in scraping the Monjayaki


The Monjayaki bubbling in the hot plate


The cooked Monjayaki
After it's cooked, we flipped it over using the large spatula. The crispy texture is lovely!

Since Don Don was also famous for their Udon, we tried out several of their Udon.

Deep Fried Vegetables Udon
I thought the soup tasted pretty good, but the deep fried vegetables were a bit too salty


My brother found the soup a bit bland, but the Udon itself was good.


Cold Udon with Tempura

I think the texture of the homemade Udon was really brought out in this dish. You could really taste the springy and chewy texture of the noodles. Something that you can't get from those ready made ones!

If you are a fan of good quality Udon, do try Don Don out when you have a chance! I had fun eating there, and the owner and staff were friendly. I do hope they improve the flavor of their soup for their Udon though.