da moim

da moim
7106 columbia pike, annandale, VA 22003
tel: 703) 354-3211
hours: sunday-thursday 11am-11pm, friday-saturday 11am-2pm

what was consumed: galbi tacos (korean barbecue tacos are served on warm tortillas with sesame-chili salsa, a slaw of julienne lettuce and scallions, and a sprinkle of crushed sesame seeds), kimchee quesedilla (caramelized kimchi and perilla leaves with cheddar and jack cheeses), ddukbokki (rice pasta, (gnocchi-like), sauteed with vegetables in spicy sauce), korean fried chicken (wings)

i have a soft spot in my heart for bars, restaurants, and all other things korean-style-esque (despite my "harsh" criticism of them, of course). as much as i kick and scream about not wanting to go to "those" kind of places, it's just a part of who i am, figuratively and literally, and i really love it. then again, what's more awesome than eating and drinking all at the same time?

i heard about da moim and tagged along with friends who were going to check it out. in particular, they mentioned da moim doing their rendition of tex-mex/korean fusion - kogi tacos, kimchee quesedillas, that sort of thing. so exciting! friends and i were quickly seated (in any empty place, by the way. admittedly, we got there pretty early - way before drinkin' time. mind you, we were there to try their tex-mex/korean fusion more than the booze) in their main dining area (i think they also had a few private rooms towards the back ... or maybe i'm getting this place confused with some place else). da moim has the same "look and feel" that you get from a lot of other korean/korean american places. anyway, da moim's server was really attentive and did his best to answer all of our pesky questions (and, per usual, we had quite a few).

the korean fare at da moim was pretty tasty. nothing is as good as the food you get in korea (of course), but if you have a hankering for ddukbokki, go for it! nicely chewy dduk in a spicy spicy sauce - yum. i wished there was soon-dae to go along with it. ahhh~ their tex-mex/korean fusion, however, left much to be desired, unfortunately. the kogi in the taco was marinated well and was quite fitting for such a fusion dish, but i was a bit disappointed with the "mission tortilla"-esque flour tortilla (i like corn tortillas better), though perhaps the flour tortilla was intentional (???). but now that i've had the tacos at the kogi truck, and have made home-style versions of kogi tacos (in super yummy cork cakes!), really, my bar has been set much higher. my expectations were pretty high, which definitely affects my opinion of the place. i did really enjoy the kimchee quesedilla. i want to pull one of those "oh, i could totally make that," which may be true (and has already been done), but da moim's was still pretty tasty. when i visit again, i will order it! oh, and their korean-fried-chicken was pretty good, but took a long time to come out (which they warned us about, so we were ready for it). but really, what compares with bonchon? very little. no offense, of course.

i will add da moim to my list of places to visit when out in annandale (it is on that annandale strip 'o places, more or less) for imbibing and consuming, korean style and recommend you try it out and draw your own conclusions. but remember - you can never really have too many korean places to visit!

online: http://www.damoimrestaurant.com/