Technique gets in the way of good ideas
DOMA
(out of 4) POOR Address: 50 Clinton St. (at College Ave.), 416-551-1550, domatoronto.com Chef: Paul Kim Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations: Yes Wheelchair access: No Price: Dinner for two with cocktails, tax and tips: $140
Doma is a good idea in desperate need of better execution.
It is a “French-inspired Korean restaurant, or a Korean-inspired French restaurant,” as the servers repeat. That combination is a first for Toronto, brimming with possibilities.
“I want to show my customers the variety of Korean food out there, not just tofu soup or pork bone soup,” says chef and owner Paul Kim, 31, who trained at Ottawa’s Cordon Bleu and George Brown College cooking schools. He worked at country clubs and in catering before launching Doma (Korean for “cutting board”).
He has a few good ideas. The opening salvo is one, an egg cup of frothy sweet potato bisque topped with a taro chip. It says: We are serious about fusion.
But wobbly cooking technique quickly subverts the cause.
The vibe
Doma opened last October in what was once Acadia’s out-of-sight spot off College St.
The paper-covered tables and plain walls give no hint of either the ethnicity or complexity of the food. It could be a Swedish café. Even midweek, diners of all ages fill the room, sharing the small plates.
The cocktail list ($13) lays down the fusion gauntlet with its Asian ingredients. The Old Boy sounds like a nod to Park Chan-wook’s thriller and tastes like a Pimm’s cup by way of Seoul, with rice vinegar and a sliced daikon garnish.
Fussy food
Doma’s service is fine, the food fussy.
Menu descriptions are lengthy — 18 words for what turns out to be oily cauliflower ($16) — and most of what’s printed barely registers on the palate. Ginger in the poaching liquid for the $26 lobster? If you say so.
“I just want the aroma. I don’t want to taste the ginger,” Kim says.
The lobster tail is rubbery one night, tender the next. It comes with bisque that devolves from lovely the first visit to iodine on the second. Such inconsistency is just one sign of a kitchen stretched beyond its skills.
Overblown plates are another. Take the tofu-seon ($12), a steamed tofu boudin that comes with many bells and whistles, all mute. Only the red chili registers.
High points
Doma has its high points, such as a salad that combines namul with coleslaw ($20). I like the way fried mugwort leaves resemble rapini. But the Korean dumplings stuffed with duck confit? Even chewier than the duck breast ($26) alongside, and that’s saying something.
Petits fours
In response to customer requests, Doma added a quartet of purely Korean desserts ($11) to the monthly changing menu. The green tea glutinous rice cake, black sesame jelly and cinnamon star are pleasant; crunchy rice gelato, not so much.
There’s also an inconsistent bread pudding ($10), souffléd or dense, depending on the night. It comes with a small glass pitcher of crème anglaise infused with Job’s tears, an Asian grain. The combination pleasantly recalls roasted barley tea. But the custard is overcooked, one step removed from scrambled egg.
Another example of bad technique getting in the way of good ideas. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki