“Chocolate Whaaat?” my sister asks when I tell her the name of the restaurant we are going to. This will be a familiar phrase repeated also when I tell M, her boys and my husband the restaurant name. This is our second attempt at dining at Chocolate Kkomz. Last week a staff member had taken our reservation and we had shown up at 1pm only to find the restaurant closed and the staff member waiting outside for us apologising profusely for taking our booking when the restaurant wasn’t open. So when we are running 5 minutes late, M texts us that she is sitting down at our booth and let us know that “Yes, it’s open!”.
Another booth
The booths are unusual, ours is like a train dining carriage and the decor is full of dark woods. Other booths bear a more home spun look with embroidered patterned cream fabric and ties. There’s an assortment of Christmas tunes playing in the background to get us in the Christmas mood. Prices change after 5.30pm by roughly 20% .
The menu is full of reasonably priced options along with some more expensive items like the $80 Pumpkin Fondue special which is poured into a whole steamed pumpkin and needs to be ordered in advance as it takes 2 hours. It’s said to be Korean fusion and indeed some of the dishes are. The waitress is lovely and patient with our umming and ahhing but we don’t see the bell on the table which we are supposed to use to get service throughout the evening.
The rules…
One thing we do notice is the list of rules (we get a hint of these when we walk into the restaurant and see a sign that says “No Prams, No Skateboards”). They emphasise that they are not a library, school or private office. There’s a minimum of 1 dish per person rule and kids that climb under and over the tables are not permitted. The boys are a bit scared of being ejected from the premises which serves to quieten them when their volume levels reach too high. Useful! 
Appletise $4.50
Complimentary sides
There’s a selection of 4 sides that are constantly replenished for us consisting of Konnyaku, the mysterious jelly that Japanese and Korean women eat to help lose weight as it’s calorie free and high in fibre. It’s like a flavourless thick jelly with the flavour coming from the chili sauce it’s topped with-and despite that rather unappealing description, it’s quite good. There is also lovely crispy sweet sesame potatoes, kim chee and thin fried fish strips.
Dumplings $10
In’s excited about the dumplings, one of his favourite foods. The pork and vegetable dumplings are a rectangular shape and fried. The taste is quite nice but it’s not particularly out of this world, but they are still grabbed up quickly.
Chilli Bolognese with rice$12
The waitress pushes a two tiered trolley carrying our food which adds to the train feel. The Chilli Bolognese sauce with a cascade of cheese showered on the peak is a delicious version of spaghetti bolognese with a spicy kick to it and surprisingly it goes well with rice.
Cheesy Kimchi Rice gratin $14
Our rice gratin is served in a hot bowl, much like Bibimbap and is filled with small ham pieces, diced capcisum and topped with cream cheese, cheese and dried nori strips. The capsicum gives it a bit of a frozen pizza taste which Blythe and I don’t really like although the rest of the table likes this dish.
King Grill for 2 $46
The King grill is an enormous, impressive looking platter of meat, with Kkomz butterflied drumsticks, Bulgogi skewers, Kalbi patties, spicy pork ribs, sausage and a mayonnaise dressed salad and comes with two bowls of rice. All of the meat is juicy, flavoursome and delicious. The serve is plentiful and just this would be a more than complete meal for 2 people, especially with the salad and rice.
Tofu steak $14
The tofu steak with the thick caramel soy glaze is irresistable, the tofu pan-fried crisp on the outside, yet soft and yielding inside. The fried whole shiitake mushrooms are a lovely accompaniment and it is probably my favourite dish of the night.
Fruit Patbingsoo $18
After a bit of a break, we order the dish that had us intrigued, the Fruit Patbingsoo (apparently there is also a King Patbingsoo for 4 people for $40!). It’s similar to Singapore’s Ice Kacang although the flavours are a little different. Certainly impressive looking it’s a large glass packed with shaved ice and surrounded with lots of fruit (banana, strawberry, kiwifruit and rockmelon) , a scoop of red beans, a scoop of ice cream sprinkled with hundreds and thousands and underneath the mountain of red streaked and sesame powder coated ice, there’s a melange of all sorts of little beans and other morsels. If you like your flavours mixed you’ll like this although this was a bit too mixed for me.
And M asks the question that everyone else has asked, what is the story behind name Chocolate Kkomz? Apparently Chocolate is because everyone loves chocolate and Kkomz is the name of the owner’s daughter!
Interesting warning sign outside!
Chocolate Kkomz
Shop 2/4A Hillview Road Eastwood Sydney
Open 7 days
Monday to Thursday 12pm-10:30pm
Friday and Saturday 12pm-11pm
Sunday 5pm-10pm
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22 Comments | Add your own
I didn’t know that about the Korean jelly dish! Bonus
Oh I wish it was easier to get to on the bus!
It looks like a feast that I would love!
Lovely photos as always!
I eat at Eastwood frequently and have never come across this place – I’ll look out for it next time.
Now you’ve broken your Eastwood cherry, so to speak, I really insist you try Zenya ramen and noodle bar. I would love to read your review of what is one of my favourite restaurants.
And while you’re there, get some duck at BBQ One – it’s the best BBQ duck I’ve ever tasted and I’ve bought this everywhere in Sydney!
The rice gratin is an interesting fusion. The tofu and mushrooms sounds yummier though.
Interesting concept, I like the idea of the private booths. Are all the tables like this ?
I want that King Grill when I visit!
Has to be ordered 2 hours ahead? Whew, doggies! That’s a fancy place.
What a bizarre combination of food available! Seems like you could be very confused when reading the menu! The tofu does look lovely though
Great photos! Sounds like a meal to remember.
What a bizarre place, Lorraine! From the furnishings, to the rules, and the menu. I think I’d still go there, despite some of your misgivings, because it sounds quite entertaining!
Looks like a fun evening! The pumpkin fondue sounds rather fascinating, but way out of my price range. Konnyaku sounds like something that I will need a lot of after Christmas – an interesting concept!
$80 fondue? dang!
meanwhile, i must say that the fruit patbingsoo looks pretty fantastic. i’m easily attracted to such things.
I didn’t know that jelly-like side was Konnyaku! I’ve always wondered what it is, but as all the waiters are Korean, they barely understand what I’m asking…
I make Konnnyaku jelly myself, and I must say it’s less firm than this one, maybe it’s a different consistency.
$80 fondue! Oh my.
Hi flapflap-Yeah it’s pretty interesting stuff! No calories and lots of fibre. Pity it sometimes has a funny fishy smell to it although I had one in Tokyo that was just like spaghetti.
Hi Cappucino-Ahhh yes it might be easier by car or train? Thankyou so much!
Hi SydneyGal-Aha well I went to Zenya after your recommendation after the first Chocolate Kkmoz attempt. I’ll publish the story soon! I think I know the BBQ One place -it’s the place with the huge queues outside!
Hi Arwen-Yep that tofu and mushroom dish was soo good. I can still taste it!
Hi Howard-The booths are nice and apparently they’re just for people who eat meals, rather than drinks or sweets. There are regular tables too. The King Grill is great!
Hi Blond Duck-I guess they stick the pumpkin in the oven as soon as you order it
Hi Annie-It’s very varied isn’t it!
The tofu is definitely worth a try 
Hi maris-Thanks so much-it was indeed!
Hi Y-Haha yes it’s certainly different. The rules really threw me especially!
Hi Cakelaw-Yes I’d want it to be am amazing fondue. I am not sure where the $80 worth comes into it as a whole pumpkin is relatively inexpensive. But still I’m curious!
Hi grace-The fruit patbingsoo looks lovely and huge but there were too many flavours for me. It was spectacular looking though!
Hi Su-yin-They also call it Yam root. I admit ours couldn’t really explain it but I ate so much of it when I lived in Japan
Wow, you make it yourself? That’s amazing! 
Well done! 
Oohh the first part of the name had me fooolllleeedd!!!! Hahahhaha while the second part reminds me of a place I keep seeing in the city but never tried – dduckki & bbocki or something like that
This place does look pretty good especially the King grill mmmmmmm ^^!
What an unusual combo. All the dishes look good though:-) BTW I think the jelly dish may have been Nokdumuk which is made from mung bean starch.
Hmm. I’m really not sure about this one. I may just be grumpy due to illness, BUT… while I understand that they wish to create a certain ambience in the restaurant, the House Rules run pretty close to being offensive to many patrons. (I know you always have the risk of being ejected from a restaurant, but this seems really… oppressive and I’m not sure I could eat there without worrying if I was being too loud or otherwise breaking a rule.)
And how many people must have visited, lured in by “chocolate” and then been sorely disappointed?
Aside from that, the food did look good! The fruit Patbingsoo looks immense (can’t believe there’s an even bigger one!!)
Hi FFichiban-Hehe another oddly named restaurant hey!? Can’t wait to read about that if you go there
Haha yes the King Grill was rather good-some fond memories there 
Hi Marc-Oh yes you’re right! But it’s that high fibre no calorie stuff though I think
Hi Angela-I have to agree about the rules. I once stayed at a supposed 4.5 star serviced apartment/hotel that put a warning in the compendium that if you didn’t wash all of the glasses and plates then you would be charged $100 and $100 for a lost keycard. I could never relax there! The waitress was really nice though and when we read the rules she said the boys were totally ok.
They do have chocolate fondue although there seemed to be not a lot of chocolate dishes given the very chocolate-y name!
We’ve found a few restaurants recently where “Korean fusion” means “adding melted cheese.”
Though I have to admit that I’ve never complained about it while eating the Spicy Chicken with Cheese at the Korean fusion place in the Mandarin Centre in Chatswood. I cannot however comment on its authenticity.
Hi Amanda-Haha it seemed that way here! Some of the most “wrong” combinations end up being the tastiest! Like mayo on sushi-I couldn’t have sushi without mayo but I’m sure there is not much of a history of mayo in Japan
i love eating at this place!!
all the food is made really well
the spaghetti, the special is really nice =]
i dont like the wait sometimes though <.<
Mysterious jelly is what koreans call MOOK. There are many types of mooks. Most commonly used ingredients for mook are: buckwheat or acorn in Korea and in Australia, chestnut(in your pic, it’s made of chestnut grounds). It’s a labour-intensive to make this coz you have to stir the liquid in the low heat for few hours.
Hi vivian-Fabulous! It was interesting although I think it’s best if you know what to pick
Hi Thomas-I don’t imagine that I could make that myself but it’s good to know!
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