With no shortage of NY food experiences, Oiji has no doubt been one of the stars. I had high hopes for the small, casual East Village restaurant founded by Jedi chefs with combined Bouley and Gramercy Tavern experience.

For starters, the newly opened 2015 Korean restaurant has an impressive cocktail menu with drinks following the boozy trends of tart, bitter, fruity and herbal. With coconut milk being a favorite of mine, I decided on the LadyBoy– a pleasant cocktail combining flavors of creamy coconut, gin, ginger juice, and the distinct flavor of kaffir lime. “Tastes like cold curry with alcohol…in a good way” – my brother. Ok, perhaps not the best way to describe this actually delicious cocktail, but the point being, Oiji cocktails are not to be overlooked.

Now on to the fun part. The majority of Oiji’s plates are smaller, meaning going with a table of 4 or so is ideal so you can order and taste test more dishes. Here’s an overview of what my table of 4 ended up ordering: beef tartare with ramp aioli, ‘chil-jeol-pan’ seven flavors, fried chicken with spicy soy vinaigrette, cold buckwheat noodle with preserved spring ramps, ‘Jang-jo-rim’ with buttered rice and soft boiled egg, handmade dumplings in white beef broth, slow cooked oxtail with root vegetables, and lastly, honey butter chips with ice cream. Yeah, wasn’t kidding about the ‘small plates mean order as much as possible’ part. But lucky for you, I’m here to guide throughout those dishes and steer you to the better ones.

Chil-Jeol-Pan was extremely interesting; unlike any other dish and for that reason I dub it high in the pecking order of must-order dishes of the night. Small, sticky pancakes arrive in the center of a plate with a rainbow of seven accompanying julienned fillings: mushroom, shredded carrot, cheese, egg yolk, ground beef, cucumber, and a honey mustard-esque sauce. The result was a fun, build-your-own-taco — Korean style. Along with this dish came the beef tartare and fried chicken. The chicken was similar to a Japanese tempura batter, and extremely tasty. The beef came with a gelatinous egg yolk on the top, which melted into rich, gooey bites. So far, we were off to a good start.

Next up, my absolute favorite dish of the night: the cold buckwheat noodle (pictured above). I can’t put my finger on what made this dish so tasty to me, but the combination of soft boiled egg, umami sauce, and perfectly cooked noodles had me wishing we had three more orders on their way. If you order one dish here, make sure it’s this one. And along that line of thinking, if you’re going to skip one dish, skip the dumplings. Although tasty, and up to dumpling par, this dish was not on par with the others, and more plain in flavor.

Making up for the dumplings was the oxtail and Jang-jo-rim. Jang-jo-rim (pictured above) was a buttery rice mixed with beef shank and a soft-boiled egg (this was like our third egg of the night). Awesome flavors, awesome result. Order it. Furthermore, aside from the oxtail (photo below) being delectable & fall-off-the-bone tender, the accompanying sauce mixed with potatoes and carrots added to the bulk of the dish, and was a great comfort food to end the meal on.

Except for the fact our meal didn’t actually end there. And I’m so glad it didn’t, because the actual piece-de-resistance was the dessert, which is also the only sweet option on the menu. I know what you’re thinking; Asian cuisine & desserts aren’t usually used in the same sentence together. But I promise I’m not leading you astray. Warm, sticky, salty chips coated in honey mix in with vanilla ice cream might just be about the best thing I’ve eaten all year.

Warning: the portion is large, so be sure to save that extra room at the beginning.

What’s more, these outstanding dishes are served at affordable prices in a contemporary, relaxed setting in the heart of the East Village. No need to worry about pretentious table service or pricey checks here – just good, neigh, outstanding, clean food. And I totally dig it.

5/5 stars.