“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

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If your dearest wish is to listen to some lovely piano music while you eat but have a hankering for Korean food, then I’ve got this little dilemma sorted for you. In the middle of Circular Quay, in a tall grey office building sits a small Korean restaurant serving delicious food alongside some wonderful classical piano pieces played by the muscly Korean owner! Not something you’d expect at all.

Finding it is a little tricky, its tucked away in the building and even though I rang ahead and the owner gave me very specific directions, we still find ourselves wandering around a little until my husband spies their sign. We’re greeted by the friendly waitress and even though we’ve come a bit earlier than when they’re officially open (as we need to make a movie at the nearby Dendy Opera Quays), she’s friendly and accommodating and assures us that the pressed time will not be an issue.

The restaurant is all sleek black backed chairs, shiny spotless wooden floorboards and of course, a glossy black baby grand right in the middle of the restaurant. The walls echo what I’ve been told: that I should definitely order the Chicken and Ginseng soup-a dish that Koreans are said to partake of in the hot summer to help invigorate themselves and give them the “strength of a bear”. Browsing through the other items, I see Dolsot Bibimbab, one of my favourite dishes with rice, beef, vegetables, chili and raw egg yolk served in a hot stone bowl so that the egg yolk cooks while being stirred around with the other ingredients.

Shortly after we order the owner arrives and he is chatty, friendly and charming and makes you feel even more welcome. We get our side dishes of kimchi, shredded potato, konyakku with chili and soy, sesame bean sprouts, and pickled radish. He tells us that they’re all made fresh in the morning and anything not eaten is discarded so that its fresh every day. The shredded potato is firm and buttery, the konyakku is fabulously soft and luscious (and impossible to pick up with chopsticks!), the pickled radish is similar to Kimchi but with a different texture and the sesame bean sprouts are good although they could be more sesame-y. I leave the Kimchi as I am not a big Kimchi eater after overdosing on it one evening only to have ferocious nightmares all night.

Chicken and Ginseng soup $25 (whole small chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng root, chestnut and jujube in chicken and ginseng broth)

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