That Grillin' Feelin' at Dona Dona Korean BBQ, Makati Avenue

Saturday night and no idea where to eat dinner. Just had shabu shabu last week so that's out. In the mood for grilling, we settled on trying out the Korean restaurant next door to David's. 

To Makati Ave we went. 

Dona Dona Korean BBQ, Makati Ave

The road was wet from the early rain but thankfully, there was no traffic. We soon found ourselves at the doorstep of Dona Dona. First impression? We were the only ones there at 7pm. Uh oh. Not a good sign. 

Simple and clean, that was what they were going for. The only decors I saw were these ones, minimal at that. 

Wooden tables & chairs

Every table had a grill on top so we ordered from their to-grill section.

They give you these 6 mini-appetizers while you wait. From what I can identify going from the upper left to right, it's sitaw, dilis, sweet potatoes, eggplant, egg rolls & veggies. The basics of any Korean restaurant. I'm just balking on the serving though. We were 4 people eating the same serving they give 1 person. Okay in my opinion, that's just bad math.

Each one had their own dipping sauce set at least. The brown one is for the marinated meats, the next one was a garlicky dip for the non-marinated and the red one was their version of hot sauce in paste form. Wet towels were also provided for messy hands. :)

Grill at the ready!

Dona Dona's grill was too cool! The charcoal was on the sides instead of the usual center position. Couldn't wait to begin.

And surprise, you have your own personal table chef, she cooks for you. Now that's a definite thumbs up! 

Now I can concentrate on my favorite part of dining out.... eating! :p

For the complete menu, click here!

Sam Gyup Sal (Php 330)

This is "pork belly strips served with a perfect combination of side dishes". Okay... where's the so-called perfect side dishes? All they gave us were these chopped garlic. I'm sensing something's amiss here. Serving was good for at most 2 people. 

Ju Mool Ruk (Php 500)

On the right side is the "best quality beef imported from U.S. marinaded". I'm not kidding, that's exactly how it was written. I actually liked the beef, especially when you dip it in the brown sauce. One gripe though, it was a bit tough to chew... overcooked maybe?

All cooked and ready to go!

Dwe Ji Gal Bi (Php 390)

We also had 2 orders of marinated pork with bone, another dish that promised side dishes but alas none were in sight. Oversight or plain sinadya? You decide. The left side was the remnants of the previous beef order.

They cut up the pork once they're cooked. They look like this. 

Done!

I personally preferred the non-marinated one but the consensus of the table was this was much better. Didn't like how this tasted with the brown sauce so tried eating it as is. No difference.

Plain Rice

Aside from the rice, we also had lettuce for wrapping.

Jap Chae (Php 300)

MIL was craving for noodles and wanted to try this one out. The problem was she forgot to have them leave the beef out. Result? Hubby & I were tasked to finish this one. This was sweet and the noodles slides delicately on the tongue. Liked it just because it was sweet. :P Other than that, this was nothing special. 

Chicken BBQ (Php 600)

You can have this spicy or very spicy, we opted for the milder version. Served on a sizzling plate, the wonderful aroma soon tickled our senses. Looked yummy, I couldn't wait to dig in. The chicken was tender & well coated. The sauce was the highlight of the night. With that said this was already the best of the lot but still lacked the wow factor. Better luck next time Dona Dona.

FS Verdict? The service was okay. I'm just concerned about the missing side dishes (false advertising?). Once is an oversight, but thrice? No excuse for that.

Will we come back? Most probably not.

SERVICE:

TASTE:

VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:

'Til our next Good Eat!

Follow us on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

♥ FoodStars

"make us your daily habit!"