I stopped in for lunch at Danji Asian Bistro today, and my bill was under $10 (after tax but before tip) for what was a relatively massive portion of food.
Danji is in the gigantic Old Centreville Crossing Shopping center (the one with Spa World, H Mart, Honey Pig, etc.), and it’s front-and-center so you can’t really miss it.
There were only a few people dining for lunch, and one employee was easily handling all front of the house operations.
I felt like ordering something unusual, so I got the Kalchi Jorim ($8.99, $9.99 at dinner), which was translated as “Belt Fish and Vegetables.” The order came with five panchan in addition to a wonderful bowl of flavorful broth with tofu, and a fairly generous portion of Belt Fish with some vegetables and a small amount of (moderately spicy) sauce in a hot metal bowl, alongside a plain bowl of steamed rice.
Belt Fish comes across to me as a cheap, bulk fish, and I’d be very surprised to find it was on any type of endangered-species list – this was most likely frozen as well, as it had a fairly firm texture. If you’re in a hurry to eat, this is one dish you want to stay away from, as it is quite bony, both with the main spinal cord, but also with smaller, needle-like bones throughout – it would be tough (and probably not worth it) for a restaurant to filet this fish, as there wouldn’t be much meat left after you did.
Still, taken as a whole, my lunch was a bargain, and I left full and happy, only ten-dollars poorer, and probably consumed less than 1,000 calories including my bowl of steamed rice. Although I wouldn’t go out of my way to return to Danji (there are several interesting restaurants in this shopping center), I wouldn’t avoid it either – it’s worth a try, and is certainly an average to above-average Korean restaurant.
Pssst … they have Korean Fried Chicken on their menu.