Dookki Korean Topokki Buffet, IOI City Mall Putrajaya & R&F Mall Johor Bahru

Fans of Korean fare, do keep Dookki in mind: You'll find a feast here with this Korean-born brand, serving up two types of meals for the price of one - an all-you-can-eat buffet of topokki (the popular stir-fried rice cakes) with other Korean specialities like fried chicken, fish cakes and seaweed rolls, followed by a special kimchi fried rice to thrill the table. This is one of Malaysia's most distinctive Korean dining experiences, available exclusively so far at IOI City Mall Putrajaya and R&F Mall Johor Bahru.

Dookki's buffet promises excellent value, at RM35.80 nett for adults and RM18.80 nett for children under 140 centimetres tall; each customer is entitled to 90 minutes upon entry. Bargain-hunters can check out the weekday lunch (11:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday), when the adult rate is RM29.80. Students, meanwhile, can enjoy the spread for RM29.80 (excluding weekends and public holidays).

Dookki prides itself on being a restaurant that caters to all customers in Malaysia, by serving no pork or lard. It also offers a free flow of beverages to complement the meal.

This is Malaysia's most extensive assortment of topokki, a total of six different varieties, all flown in from South Korea. Whether you prefer your rice cakes slim or plump, take your pick from the buffet counters by grabbing a metal bowl and filling it up, hotpot-style. The topokki even comes in fun flavours like sweet potato, cheese or corn cheese - perfect for the families and the young at heart.

The topokki can be enjoyed together with a wide range of noodles - we spied ramyeon, yee mee and glass noodles, as well as two notable Korean imports: QQ noodles, a rice noodle that evokes spaghetti, and fish noodles, long strips of silky-smooth fish paste.

Accompanying the toppoki and noodles is an ensemble of vegetables and protein - Japanese leeks, cabbage, corn, hard-boiled eggs (a staple to pair with toppoki), mushrooms, mussels, clams, chicken fillets (spicy and non-spicy), prawn balls, crab balls, beef balls, and much more.

Once you've packed your bowl to the brim, select a sauce, also Korean-imported - the variety is equally commendable in this section, with choices like the signature Dookki sauce, topokki sauce, flame sauce, jajang sauce, gungjung sauce, and chicken soup sauce. Dookki's friendly crew can help explain their recommendations, based on your preferences - would you prefer a spicier soup, or maybe something tangy with a kimchi base, or keep it clean and clear with the chicken soup sauce?

Your combination will be cooked at your table, for irresistible freshness. It's a hot and hearty meal, filled with an abundance of flavours and textures. The topokki makes for a pleasurably chewy cornerstone of the meal, with an addictively firm bite. All the other accompaniments add up to a lip-smacking meal from the first spoonful of the tender seafood to the final sip of the tantalising broth.

If you'd like to make your topokki pot even more decadent, you can opt for a double-cheese ring (RM16.80 surcharge), a melted mix of mozzarella and cheddar, for stretchy-savoury playfulness to dunk in some of the food goodies.

The buffet goes beyond the topokki pot - customers can also dig into unlimited fried chicken, done in three ways: a crispy 'original,' the sweet-spicy yangnyeom chicken, and 'snowing-cheese' chicken coated in light cheese powder. The chicken is crunchy to the bite and juicy to the chew, with rich, robust flavours. Other highlights span prawn balls to kimnari seaweed rolls to mandu vegetable dumplings.

Snacks surface in the form of unique fish cake skewers known as eomuk, as well as rice rolls with tuna, kimchi or chicken ham.

After you've completed your main buffet, the meal wraps up with kimchi fried rice.

Customers can choose their portion of rice, corn, seaweed and various condiments, bringing everything back to the table to be fried up with what remains of the topokki sauce, for a fragrant, fulfilling conclusion. You can also choose an add-on of snow cheese (finely shredded cheese) to be mixed into the rice for a surcharge of RM9.80.

For patrons with sufficient stomach space for a third meal, Dookki has you covered with Ottogi ramyeon. These are thick, full-bodied noodles for merry munching, a big hit in Korea and abroad, in flavours that include kimchi, mild, and spicy.

Dookki is also available in R&F Mall in Johor Bahru, and is scheduled to come to 1 Utama and MyTOWN Shopping Centre soon. Many thanks to Dookki for having us here.

Note: This visit and all photos taken were from early March 2020.

Dookki
L1-12B, IOI City Mall, Putrajaya, Sepang, Malaysia. Daily, 1130am-10pm. Tel: 03-8685-4439

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com