Our Story

Hi and welcome to DORAJI!

I’m Shawn, and together with my older sister, Janyce, we co-founded DORAJI which means bellflower in Korean (a key ingredient in our dishes).

Our journey began with a shared love for delicious Korean cuisine and a deep desire to share our heritage with others.

Growing up in Toronto, we spent countless hours helping out in our family’s restaurant (as good Asian kids…), where we learned from our parents the art of serving others with incredible food and genuine care. It was always our dream to one day open a restaurant together, combining our passion for Korean cuisine with the invaluable lessons passed down from our parents. In 2021, that dream became a reality as we seized the opportunity to bring DORAJI to life.

Our Mission

As a brother-and-sister duo, we are thrilled to embark on this mission to serve you the best-tasting Korean food and provide an authentic experience that is both enjoyable and educational. Our goal is to inspire curiosity and happiness through our food and share the rich culture and history of Korea.

Thank you for joining us on this journey, and we look forward to sharing our passion with you at DORAJI.

FAQ

  • Doraji (도라지) in Korean means bellflower root, a key ingredient in bibimbap. It is savory, slightly bitter, and has a nice crunch. Koreans incorporate doraji into their cuisine because of its great health benefits. We named our restaurant after this iconic flower due to its cultural importance in Korean cuisine and the resemblance of our bibimbap to the flower.

  • All our bibimbap bowls come with 7 pre-set vegetables, including bean sprouts, spinach, doraji, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, pickled radish, and zucchini. All of our vegetables are seasoned with only vegetable oil, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Customers can choose their base from white rice, purple rice, or quinoa, and their choice of protein. Each bibimbap bowl is topped with a fried egg and served with our house-made gochujang sauce on the side.

    All our dupbap bowls come with glass noodles, pan-fried kimchi, and shredded cabbage. Customers can select their base from white rice, purple rice, or quinoa.

  • Both dishes are rice-based bowls. Bibimbap, which means "mix rice" in Korean, comes with a pre-set assortment of fresh vegetables, your choice of protein, a fried egg, and gochujang sauce. Bibimbap is a great choice for those looking for a balanced and nutritious bowl.

    Dupbap, which means "over rice" in Korean, comes with three Korean side dishes over the rice bowl: japchae (glass noodles), pan-fried kimchi, and shredded cabbage. Customers can select up to two sauces to add on top of their dupbap bowl for additional flavor. Dupbap is perfect for those looking for a hearty, savory dish.

  • Purple rice is Korean multi-grain rice that includes a combination of white rice, long-grain rice, and black rice. When cooked together, it gives the rice a purple-ish color!

  • For our vegetarian & vegan friends, we recommend the following:

    • Fried Tofu Bibimbap (for vegans, no egg)

    • Fried Tofu Dupbap (kimchi can be substituted with a vegetable since it includes fish sauce)

    • Vegetarian Bibimbap (for vegans, no egg)

    • Japchae Dupbap (kimchi can be substituted with a vegetable since it includes fish sauce)

    For our gluten-free friends, we recommend the following:

    • Vegetarian Bibimbap

    • Japchae Dupbap (made to order; wait time can be a bit longer)

  • None of our rice bowls contain any peanuts or tree nuts. We do use sesame seed and sesame oil in our ingredients.

  • All of our sauces are vegetarian! Those looking for a vegan option:

    • Doraji Soy Sauce

    • Gochujang Sauce

    • Smoky BBQ Sauce

    Those looking for a gluten-free option:

    • Miso Sesame Mayo

    • Doraji Signature Sauce

Dietary restrictions? Click Here to Learn More About Our Menu