Ondo City

Ondo is all about serving Korean dishes that you can’t easily find – even in Korea. Co-owner and chef Levi Eun’s (Quay, Longrain, Igni) goal is to keep it approachable and affordable, so as many people as possible can get to experience the lesser-known flavours of South Korea.

That means it’s not all fried chicken and Korean barbeque here. Highlights include yukhoe bibimbap: raw beef tartare teamed with garlic rice, cucumber and crispy seaweed; and mandu-guk – juicy prawn dumplings in a clean, deeply savoury anchovy broth. The menu runs the gamut of flavours and textures, from fermented and fiery to crisp, cool and refreshing.

Drinks specialties include herbal mugwort and black sesame lattes, and house-made punches flavoured with ginger and cinnamon. The chilled butternut sikhye – fermented malt and rice punch – is a particular standout. The drinks list comprises local wines, Japanese sakes and Korea’s rice wines – soju and makgeolli.

Eun co-owns Ondo with business partners Crush Yang, Ryan Kim and Andy Park. The group is also behind Ondo Armadale, a cafe that specialises in bansang, a meal format similar to the modularity of Japanese bento dining, that combines proteins such as beef, pork, chicken and seafood with a selection of banchan (small side dishes) – along with kimchi.