Ding Dong Dang is a cheap(but good) karaōke joint next to Central Station. To clarify, this is a private room type karaōke joint and not one where you get up front and centre and sing to the public. The décor is a bit outdated and tacky. There is a smell of industrial grade cleaning fluid being used(maybe a good thing?). And each room comes with multiple TV screens to spit out the lyrics. The actual audio track seems a bit MIDI driven(i, e synthesised) with the most random video clips playing in the background(80s and 90s sports footage, Korean love clips, flowers blooming, animals in the wild to name a few). They have bottled beers, wines and canned mixers. Additionally they have snack food such as chips and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they now have sausage rolls and meat pies. The song selection is decent and random. The downside is you are missing a lot of Aussie classics(really wanted to sing«The Boys Light Up» and«Khe Sahn»). Also there were only 3 David Bowie songs, but 5 Keira Knightley songs??? But they seem to carry a lot of modern pop songs(which I don’t sing) and your usual 80s and 90s tracks(which I do). There are books in each room, usually one that sorts songs by the artist name and one by the song name. The song selection system is electronic via a remote control: very intuitive to use. We had a small room booked for 6 people, and the price was $ 10 per person per hour, probably the cheapest rate you are going to get from any karaōke joint in Sydney. Ding Dong Dang is a last minute go to joint for a lot of people, so expect a crowd of drunken revellers trying to get in late night on Fridays and Saturdays. It doesn’t hurt to book a room, but there is still a decent chance you can get in. The staff are friendly. And divulging a little anecdote, a couple of years ago I rocked up here with a room for 4 booked and about 15 minutes in we had to abort the session. I insisted the lady that runs the joint keep the money. A couple of months later when I came in with friends, she recognised me and gave me 2 hours for free. I think it is a great blast on the weekend to get down and dirty. But if you are one that prefers upmarket, then this is not the place for you.
Kirstie J.
Place rating: 1 Sydney, Australia
Dirty place, rude staff, poor song choices.
Veronica C.
Place rating: 4 Paddington, Sydney, Australia
I went here with a large group pretty late on a Friday night and they put us in the large room. It was $ 200 for 2 hours; I’m not sure what the going rate is for other places, but it seemed reasonable. The drinks are reasonably priced. I agree with the review that says the woman who runs the place is the equivalent of the soup nazi. I respect it, though, since they deal with loud groups of drunk people every night. I think it’s funny they stamp your hand with your room number. I assume this is to help you remember what room you’re in, but for all I know it serves some other research purpose, like tagging wild animals. One problem we had was that some of the numbers we put into the machine came up as the wrong songs. Alas, we never got to sing Nena’s «99 Luftballoons». All in all it was a fun experience, and I would come back for another special occasion.
Joanne C.
Place rating: 3 Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia
The woman here is the karaōke version of the soup nazi. No seeing friends and joining them! Your friends can’t come in even though you’re expecting them! Also– worse song selection ever– barely a cm thick compared to bricks of other joints. Other than that it’s close to Surry Hills so it has that going for it.
Benjamin B.
Place rating: 5 Sydney, Australia
I don’t like karaōke. Never have. And it stems from having poor eyesight back in the day, where I’d be forced up on stage by drunk friends, whereupon I wouldn’t be able to read the lyrics on the TV and mumble my way through a truly awful rendition of whatever I was meant to be singing before being booed and heckled off stage. Ding Dong Dang(got name?) changed all that. This place is a dive and I love it. You get a bunch of friends, book a room at the front desk, fill your arms with cheap booze from the fridge in reception, then go to a dark room filled with UV paint, black lights, and green lasers. And get drunk. And sing. And stand on chairs and tables. This is what karaōke was meant to be.
Alecia W.
Place rating: 4 Sydney, Australia
Though karaōke is not exactly a favoured pastime of mine(a traumatising experience involving getting boo-ed off stage is largely to blame) I’ll admit that it’s pretty difficult not to enjoy yourself at Ding Dong Dang. This is karaōke, Japan style — none of that getting up on stage and making a fool of yourself in front of a crowd. Here, you’ll get a private room that can fit up to about fifteen people for a hilarious evening of serenades among friends. Granted, you’d probably want to be a bit boozed already before you arrive — just to warm up the vocal chords, if nothing else — but they do stock a decent number of wine bottles at the front counter that you can pick up pretty cheaply and carry down to your booth. DDD is one of those places that true karaōke fans know about — it’s a crappy looking place just up the road from Central Station, with an unassuming door and it’s open extremely late, until about four in the morning. There was a distinct smell of industrial cleaning products when I visited, but hey, at least they’re keeping those delightfully squeaky pleather lounges clean.
