Don Don Japanese Restaurant - Trying Monjayaki, The Lesser Known Savory Pancake
I can’t believe I’ve never even heard of this dish before, and you can apparently find this in Tokyo!
I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of a “Monjayaki” until my girlfriend stumbled on a TikTok showcasing Don Don Japanese Restaurant’s Monjayaki, she shared the TikTok to me and said that we needed to go check this place out. and so we ventured to Bangkok’s Phrom Phong district and into Sukhumvit 39 road where Don Don was located.
I am no stranger to Phrom Phong, I love window shopping at Emporium and Emquartier, and the area is well known to be a hub for Japanese folk in Bangkok, with many Japanese owned businesses being opened there, in fact, a little Japan town is right under the Phrom Phong BTS station.
I thought I’ve seen it all, but apparently not because little did I know, the little unassuming Don Don Japanese Restaurant was hiding a Japanese dish that I have never even heard of before.
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What is Monjayaki Exactly?
Don Don Japanese Restaurant is the only place in Bangkok I know where you can find this elusive dish.
Monjayaki is the lesser known cousin to the Okonomiyaki, and if you didn’t know, Okonomiyakis are savory Japanese pancakes made with a mixture of vegetables, usually cabbage.
The Monjayaki is no different except that while an Okonomiyaki is condensed into a… well… pancake, the Monjayaki is spread thin across a large griddle. This allows the Monjayaki to develop a nice crunchy crust while still maintaining a soft and (cooked) gooey batter.
Don Don Japanese Restaurant is the only place I have heard that serves Monjayaki, this is because the dish is not very well known outside of Japan and even so, it’s popularity is only within the Kanto region (the region where Tokyo is at).
You’d think that you’ll be able to find it everywhere in Tokyo, but despite being popular in the Kanto region this traditional Japanese dish is very rare to find nowadays. You could imagine the surprise (and perhaps even a little bit of confusion) on my face when I found out that Don Don, a Japanese Restaurant 4,300km away from Japan, serves Monjayaki.
Don Don Japanese Restaurant’s Menu
You know this place is the real deal when their menu is covered in a thin plastic film.
Don Don Japanese Restaurant serves other things besides Monjayaki as well. The menu is quite extensive with hearty Japanese classics like Udon, Curry Rice, and Potato Salad.
You’ll find that the dishes look very rustic and filling, that’s because Don Don caters to the local Japanese community in Bangkok, so you’ll find that the food here is as authentic as can be. Authentic in the sense that there is no fancy plating or changing the taste profile to fit Thai palates. Just good wholesome, nostalgic Japanese food.
I’m not going to detail the whole menu, but what you’ll find are lunch and dinner set meals or dishes that a typical Japanese white collar worker would eat on a daily basis.
Pricing
The pricing is fair, expect to spend somewhere around 200 - 300 THB for a filling meal, the Monjayaki is only 210 THB for a pretty large serving. Don Don Japanese Restaurant is serving food to the average office Joe after all, or in this case the Japanese equivalent of a Joe, the average Sato-san probably.
Simple and Hearty Curry Rice
This is probably the most simple plate of curry rice I have ever seen.
First up on our Don Don Japanese Restaurant feast is the Curry Rice. I know it’s not the most exciting thing but I was really craving Japanese curry that day…
Anyways, I want to point out that the curry was THICK, which I like. The curry was sweet and not that spicy, it had little pieces of carrots, onions, and beef in it.
It wasn’t anything special, it was just a pretty good bowl of Curry Rice.
The price for this was a little expensive though, 270 THB and the portion wasn’t that big either.
It was alright, it did satisfy my Japanese curry cravings.
Cold and Refreshing Cha Soba
Someone please tell me how do you properly eat the raw egg with soba.
Now this is a little more interesting, the Cha Soba. Soba noodles infused with matcha to give it that green color.
The Cha Soba was served with a raw egg, which I’ve never seen served with any soba before. We didn’t know how to eat the raw egg to be honest, We tried dipping the noodles by themselves into it, and we tried dipping the noodles into the dipping sauce and then into the egg.
Both methods felt wrong, that’s probably because we were not used to having a raw egg with our soba. Any fellow Japanese readers please enlighten us.
The taste was honestly, just like regular soba. The matcha didn’t seem to add any flavor other than making the noodles look green.
Again the dish was alright, not bad, not good.
Deep Fried Corn and Pea Fritters
These are healthier than french fries right? Who cares, I’ll still eat it.
We saw the TikTokers order this Corn and Pea Fritters and of course we have to try them.
These guys actually tasted really nice, the coating was light and crunchy while the corn and peas added a flavor. You could tell that the peas were frozen however, because the texture was rough and grainy like it was freezer burnt.
I mean frozen peas aren’t bad, but here I could really tell that I was eating frozen peas.
The Corn and Pea Fritters were tasty but again it was pretty average for what it is.
I think from this point on, we should know to never trust TikTok food reviewers (except maybe Keith Lee) because honestly everything so far tasted really average.
The Monjayaki Superstar
It looks like my neighbour’s back yard.
We finally come to our star of the feast, the Monjayaki. The first thing that came out was the giant griddle, it took a while before the actual Monjaykai batter came, my girlfriend and I were waiting in quiet anticipation.
After what felt like 5… minutes. The lovely staff came by to pour the Monjayaki batter and spread it evenly across the griddle.
She then sprinkled on some seaweed flakes to close the deal.
I know it looks gross but don’t judge a Monjayaki when it’s uncooked.
I don’t know if it was the griddle, or if it was our constant stirring but it felt like the Monjayaki took forever until it was cooked and developed a nice crunch crust.
While we wait for the Monjayaki to cook, we need to talk about the sauces.
There were two sauces: Kewpie mayonnaise, and the Worcestershire-like Tonkatsu sauce. The waiter recommends we mix the two to create a rich, creamy, and salty dipping sauce.
We were given on mini spatula to scrape the Monjayaki off the griddle, and a little tiny spatula to eat it with.
Looks sort of like Senbei doesn’t it? Those Thin Japanese rice wafer snacks.
As time passed the Monjayaki starts to develop a nice crunchy crust while still retaining some of the chewiness and gooey-ness of the interior.
Although I felt like as the Monjayaki kept cooking and the moisture kept evaporating, the flavor of the Monjayaki became more salty. The crust is even worse as sometimes it can get burnt an the flavor will be very very salty.
Honestly I don’t know why they use these tiny spatulas, chopsticks work way better.
The pieces that are less… cooked, are more palate-able, and dipped into that Kewpie Mayo - Tonkatsu sauce, it just adds another extra saltiness.
The Monjayaki tastes like a saltier and crunchier version of the Okonomiyaki. A part of me thinks that we just didn’t cook this properly but it is what it is.
Conclusion
Pros
Good, hearty, and filling Japanese foods
Pricing is fair
The Monjayaki serving was big, enough to feed 3-4 people, and the price is good for what it is
Cons
Some dishes left a lot to be desired, a lot of them tasted average and nothing spectacular
Overall I say give Don Don Japanese Restaurant a try, what I like about Don Don is that they serve hearty and filling Japanese dishes without all the unnecessary frills, this means that the food tastes more authentic. The pricing is also fair, and if you come here to try the Monjayaki, the portion is really big and well worth it for the price.
However, the downside is everything is just so painfully average. I felt like my expectations were exacerbated by the hype of Don Don Japanese Restaurant in the Thai Foodie TikTok community. The end result was that I was dissapointed due to my own expectations. However, I won’t let my own disappointment skew my ratings.
In conclusion Don Don Japanese Restaurant is a good place to eat at if you just want a regular hearty Japanese meal. Plus they have Monjayaki, where else in Thailand could you find Monjayaki?
Don Don Japanese Restaurant | 7.5 / 10
Phone: 02 260 7878
Location: 1 44-45 Soi Sukhumvit 39, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Opening Hours: Mon - Sun (Closed Tue) | 11:30AM - 2:00PM and 5:00PM - 10:30PM
Pricing:
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