For a college student, good food is hard to come by. Good food for a good price is even harder to find. So it's no wonder that New No Da Ji is well-known among Asian circles here at Hopkins and around Baltimore.
From its wide array of fresh sushi to its famously spicy kim-chi, New No Da Ji serves up a delicious selection of Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisine at a decent price: $9.95 lunch buffet and a more expensive dinner buffet at around $17. Its location is also convenient: the corner of 25th and North Charles is only a couple of blocks away from campus and easily accessible by foot, via the JHMI shuttle or in the evening via the Hopkins security shuttle.
When I visited New No Da Ji with my two friends, our waiter asked us to pick our own table. I first stepped into the small dining area. Past this room was a flight of stairs leading to a "second floor" that offered additional seating, though my head almost touched the low ceiling in this room. After choosing a table, we hit the buffet.
The actual buffet area was not huge, but the food definitely hit the spot. The sushi at Charles Street Market and Levering does not even come close to what is offered here, buffet style. You would spend upwards of $6 or $7 to buy campus sushi with real rather than imitation fish; however, just about every sushi and sashimi offered at New No Da Ji is made with some sort of fish or seafood.
Adjacent to the buffet was a bar where a chef prepared the sushi and a large LCD television that broadcasted the latest football scores. Along the length of the wall was a giant mirror, which reflected the television screen. This is a great place to visit to watch sports because you can see the television from just about any seat. New No Da Ji was tastefully decorated with artwork from a variety of Asian cultures. The Chinese scrolls, Japanese katanas and earthen pots add to the comfortable feel of the restaurant.
Additionally, the wasabi was out of this world. It was so hot that the first bite that I took sent me through the roof - twice. I've had many different kinds wasabi in the past, and most give me that familiar rush through the sinuses, but the wasabi here did that and more. For a moment, it felt like my brain had caught fire and my hair stood on end. Thankfully, it was just a feeling. No one likes to smell burnt hair while they eat.
In addition to the plethora of sushi offerings, New No Da Ji also offers some "normal" buffet selections, though it is clear that they are not the focus of the menu. Sweet and sour pork, fried rice, ribs and mashed potatoes were all readily available. There was also a chicken and corn tamale, which seemed rather out of place.
At the opposite end of the buffet line from the sushi was the kim-chi. A hand-written sign touted it as "One of five healthiest foods in the world." Next to the kim-chi were kim-chi style cucumbers. Both were beautifully executed and could run with the best of them, and I believe that any fan of kim-chi will enjoy New No Da Ji's offerings. The vegetables were crisp and the spices were potent.
Entering the buffet area, there were several carrying methods for the food. Besides plain old plates, there were various bento boxes (a Japanese method of containing food), which were extremely useful for sushi since the partitions helped to keep the wasabi from spreading to the rest of the food. My friends commented that the labels on the buffet were very useful and helped guide them through their selection process.
Some other notable items from New No Da Ji's buffet include fried sushi, four different soups (miso soup, a beef soup, a tofu soup and a fourth soup that was unidentifiable), at least three different noodles and a spicy beef dish that was oily compared to the rest of the meal.
However, the beef dish did include some very nice peppers and shitake mushrooms, which I've missed during the semester. Also, there were fried bananas, which were surprisingly delicious. The concept of fried sushi was new to me, but it tasted great, nice and crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. For those craving rice, embedded in the countertop was the biggest rice cooker I've ever seen, about 18 inches across.
A trip to New No Da Ji is easy and, in my opinion, worthwhile. As you leave the restaurant, be sure to grab a cup of the cinnamon drink. I find it's a great way to finish off a meal spanning multiple cultures and countries. In these coming winter months, it's good to know that there is hearty, hot food just down the street to warm you up.
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