Category: Korean

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Korean

BBQ Biwon – Strathfield NSW Korean Restaurant Review

There was neither rhyme nor reason behind our choice to eat at BBQ Biwon amongst the 50 other Korean restaurants in Strathfield earlier this week. We just happened to luck into a good one with good prices.

Banchan selection was extensive. I was today years old when I discovered that I am allergic to all forms of raw crustacean – I ended up cooking the Yangnyeom Gejang on the grill instead.

The steamed egg was something I was keen to spend a few dollars on, but surprisingly came free with the BBQ meats. It was light and fluffy on the top, with the internal components just a little bit more textured. It felt warming and wholesome and reminded me of the steamed egg that I would make as a Asian child in Western Sydney.

While I’m told that BBQ Biwon’s BBQ sets are quite good value, we found that no set had a range that encompassed all three main animals – beef, pork, and chicken. As such we decided to order our portions individually. We had the Wagyu Rib Fingers ($27), Pork Belly (6 pieces for $21) and Soy Marinated Chicken Thigh ($22). Our first three slices of pork belly were placed onto our grill and following that we were essentially left to our own devices. The meat was of a normal quality for the price – the fact that the rib finger came from an alleged Wagyu cow made no difference to its taste. The pork belly was served with leaves, garlic, and green chilli pepper for wrapping.

The Beef Rib and Cabbage Stew ($18) was very large and filling. There was a huge amount of meat that we weren’t even able to finish. The flavour of the soup was good, and it was very nice and warming. It made me think of the difference between what Korean kids and non-Korean kids must think when their parents tell them they’re having soup for dinner. Korean soup is just four steps above a standard soup. I could totally recommend this soup alone as a quick and cheap and very filling meal.

VERDICT
4/5. I can recommend BBQ Biwon . We had a good and reasonably priced meal.

BBQ Biwon
42 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135
(02) 8068 1221

Categories
Asian Fusion Café Korean

Cafe Elation – Gladesville NSW Cafe Review

Though moving to Western Sydney has greatly limited our pegfeed options, Gladesville’s Cafe Elation had been kept in the back of my mind as a sort of consolation prize to the loss of easy access to high-feed areas. Cafe Elation’s core offering of what is essentially Asian Fusion Brunch fit well with this blog’s focus, and so the 25 minute drive down A3 was made.

Pork Belly Poke Bowl + Slow Egg

The Pork Belly Poke Bowl with Slow Egg ($21) was an unfortunate let down. The execution of such a poke bowl with meat rather than raw fish was far more like a bibimbap than a poke bowl. The carrot, kimchi, cucumber, cabbage and enoki mixed with the quinoa, brown rice and gochujang in exactly the same way a bibimbap would, though we felt that it was too wet. We like our bibimbap dry and crispy, served in a claypot, and felt that though this was a bibimbap was all but in name the texture and consistency of it left something to be desired. We were also disappointed by the pork belly, as we had expected cubes but instead got strips. I think we were just envisioning something completely different to what we got.

The Eel on Egg ($24) was actually quite good. Though the serving size of the omelette, eel and nori could have been larger, the taste and contrasting mouthfeels of these elements were quite pleasing. The crispy nori was a particular delight, followed by the delicate French omelette. The soy glazed eel wasn’t as oily and melt-in-your-mouth as the eel that we had had the previous day at Hukuya, but still up to standard. Quinoa and brown rice once again made an appearance – ingredients that I don’t usually expect or like in Asian dining, where white rice reigns supreme.

For drinks we had a fairly run-of-the-mill soy cappuccino ($5) and an Iced Choco Meme ($8). The meme was ordered based on name alone, and I was not at all expecting this huge monstrosity of whipped cream and chocolate and sesame flavours. I also didn’t expect for our waitress to pronounce it “me-me”, which is the memey way to pronounce meme.

VERDICT A hit and miss 3.75 Asian brunch affair. I wouldn’t go too far out of your way, unless you’re also going to the Ryde City Council public toilets that are helpfully co-located.

Cafe Elation
226 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW 2111
02) 8592 7188

Categories
Korean

Yasiktak (Late Night Table) – North Strathfield NSW Restaurant Review

Our visit to Yasiktak in North Strathfield’s Bakehouse Quarter really challenged me and my identity as an Asian who enjoys Asian foods. Though lots of money was spent on what was apparently authentic Korean cuisine, nothing we had really hit the spot at all, and in fact their signature dish was actively disliked by all four Asians around the table.

Yasiktak’s signature dish, grilled large intestines ($55), are apparently a traditional Korean dish usually eaten with an alcoholic beverage or two. Presented with a choice of spicy or non spicy and a choice of carbohydrate, we ordered the spicy intestines on fried rice. The intestines had a very strong taste, and were extremely oily and fatty. The internal texture of the intestines did not please the tongue, and they were far too rich, in my opinion, to have more than a couple of. The serving was huge, but so was the price. None of us four Asians liked it enough to have more than a couple of pieces each. There was lots left over that we just didn’t want to eat, and also didn’t want to take home (a rare occurrence).

The Pane Cream Pasta ($29) was a much more normal and palatable dish. It is essentially a semi-sweet, cheesy pasta served inside a big piece of bread, topped with further cheese, prawns, and mushrooms. The sauce coated the pasta strands perfectly, and while very rich the flavour was good. The top piece of bread was buttered and a crispy golden similar to garlic bread, whilst the rest of the loaf was quite boring. Again a very rich and fatty dish, but one of the better ones on Yasitak’s menu.

The Burrata cheese salad ($19), as expected, was a ball of burrata cheese surrounded by some minimally leafy greens and cherry tomatoes. It was quite standard, but still end up being the healthiest, most wholesome, and fresh tasting dish of the night.

VERDICT Unless you’re a big fan of eating large bowel, or if you are Korean and able to appreciate this food more than I am able to I would advise you to skip Yasiktak all together. I think they focus more on drinks than food.

Yasiktak (Late Night Table)
5 George St, North Strathfield NSW 2137
0435 353 128

Categories
Korean

Bibimbar – Chippendale NSW Restaurant Review

My partner and I love us some Korean food, and Chippendale’s recently opened Bibimbar, with its delightful play on play on words, broad menu, and inner city location was just the restaurant we were looking for for a quick but filling lunch.

It’s kind of difficult being in a relationship with someone who has a different taste in Korean fried chicken than your own. Nine times out of ten my partner will want to have sweet and spicy fried chicken (Dakgangjeong – 닭강정), and at restaurants that don’t offer two flavours in one serving that’s normally what we will get. We were glad that while Bibmbar doesn’t offer half and half on their half fried chicken, this choice was in fact available on their Wing Wing ($19) – a serving of twelve pieces of fried chicken wings and drumsticks.

I thought the chicken wings were well fried and flavoured, with the honey garlic wings taking the top spot in my heart. I actually did also enjoy the sweet and spicy fried chicken, more than I expected, and I think this has to do with Bibimbar’s careful attention to detail and making sure that the sauce was not so strong to be overpowering. We did also get a special creamy onion sauce for dipping ($2) though I think it is absolutely not a critical component of the meal and you’re not really missing out on anything without it. The chicken was very good as is.

The last time I had kimbab was probably back in 2003, out of my fourth grade friend Soo Hon Lee’s lunchbox. (This will be an exciting throwback for him if he has a Google alert set up for his name). No disrespect to Soo Hon and Soo Chan’s mother, but Bibimbar’s version of Kimbab (with bulgogi beef) ($14) was both better and more elaborate than what I remember. I really loved the fresh taste of the included vegetables, and the nice crunch in the mouth whilst chewing through them. This extreme freshness complimented the umami flavours of the mayonnaise, egg, and bulgogi beef very well. The ratio of fillings to rice was very good, ensuring entertainment throughout the entire mouthful. The “addicting soy sauce”, as mentioned on the menu, was actually quite a bit different to normal soy sauce, though I don’t know what exactly is in it (perhaps cocaine). I have no real barometer for kimbab except for home cooking for a nine year old’s packed lunch, but I can tell you that this was a good dish.

Jjapaguri, popularised by the Academy Award winning film Parasite, is a usually humble mixture of chapagetti and neoguri noodles – essentially a ramen and udon with spicy and black bean flavours. Bibimbar’s Jjapaguri ($34) is a little less humble – a large 30cm dish of noodles, fried tofu, some kind of fried dough cruller, cabbage, enoki, wood ear fungus, and beef brisket in a black bean sauce that’s cooked on a portable butane stove at the table. It was a really huge and delicious dish, though I’m not too sure what the actual benefit of being cooked at the table was. It was wholesome, hearty, and filling, great value with great flavours. I can really recommend this.

VERDICT
Bibimbar’s wholesome, hearty meals were an absolute delight. I can really recommend them to anyone looking for a reasonably priced and authentic Korean meal.

Bibimbar
69 Abercrombie St, Chippendale NSW 2008
(02) 8964 0900

Categories
Korean

Hanok Korean BBQ – Wollongong NSW Restaurant Review

The state opening up hospitality and businesses to COVID-19 vaccinated patrons only really makes sense if these venues are doing their due diligence in checking that their patrons are indeed vaccinaed. It always makes me feel uncomfortable a venue, which has reopened under strict legal conditions to minimise the spread and harm of COVID-19 within the community fails to check my vaccine status on entry. It’s not that checking would affect whether or not I myself would be let it, it’s that it introduces the possibility that those dining around me might have slipped in unvaccinated. The imaginary bubble of safety has burst.

Banchan was served with our waitress naming each individual side dish, something I’d not experienced before. Unfortunately no moves were made to refill these, despite them sitting empty for some time.

The marinated beef short rib was rock solid, as were the wagyu intercostals and pork jowl. While I can’t fault the quality of the meat on offer, it was clear looking at the prices that they were charging a bit more than you would expect to pay at the average Korean BBQ restaurant in Sydney.

The steamed egg rated low on my list of previously eaten steamed eggs. I didn’t feel like it was as soft as it could’ve been, but my partner could not pick the difference.

OVERALL VIBE
I think the overall vibe of the place is that the food is fine, but you would expect to either pay less or get more from a comparable restaurant in Sydney. In fact, BBQ Biwon in Strathfield (link will go live in like March 2022, the review is queued) will actually give you your steamed egg on the house if you order enough BBQ. Either way, I’m not pleased about the lack of COVID-19 safety.

Hanok Korean BBQ Wollongong
W119/200 Keira St, Wollongong NSW 2500, Australia
+61 433 962 959