Ruby Chan
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Many friends in Jersey City told me Ondo is their favorite restaurant. It is a modern, upscale korean restaurant located just next to the harborside. So I took my boyfriend here for his birthday dinner.
We loved Konban, so I had high hopes going into their sister restaurant and it didn’t disappoint.
* Hwe Muchim $21
We accidentally started with a pretty spicy dish. It was a sashimi salad with salmon, tuna, fluke, and tobiko. It came dressed in a gochujang sauce that honestly was a bit overwhelming. We were expecting something lighter and more citrusy to let the sashimi shine, but the heat kind of stole the show.
* Galbi Jjim $38 ***
Literally everyone recommended this and I got the hype! It was braised beef short rib served with chestnut puree and korean omija dressing sauce. The portion was more generous than I thought (8 oz!!), and the tender meat melted in my mouth.
*Bulgogi Cream Perilla Pasta $23 **
My top pick of the night. I love korean style perilla-based dishes, so this was right up my alley. The noodles were al dente, tossed in a creamy, nutty perilla sauce, and topped with a generous handful of fresh perilla leaves (which I LOVED). There was a surprisingly good portion of bulgogi mixed in.
*Bossam $27
It was served with a sweet garlic sauce that made the meat garlicky but still refreshing. However, the housemade kimchi was a miss for us. It lacked the depth we were hoping for.
*Injeolmi Tart $14 *
It was a mousse tart made with soybean powder, red bean cocoa puree, and a graham cracker base. It was huge irl but yes, we still cleaned the plate.
*Yuzu Lemon Sorbet $9
Light, citrusy, and super refreshing, drizzled with a yuzu sauce that had real bits of yuzu peel.