Archive for the 'Korean' Category

28
Jan
12

Hwa Ro Korean Restaurant, Northbridge

By natashalam Leave a Comment
Categories: Korean
Tags:

Hwa Ro is a fairly new korean restaurant located on Aberdeen Street in Northbridge.  I was introduced to this restaurant by my hairdresser (Neo from K Three G) who is Korean.  He signed on the menu saying “show this and you’ll get 10% off”.  Cool!  With my sister (same hairdresser!), not only did he give the 10% discount but also marked on the menu which dishes are good.  With this recommendation in tow, we decided to try it out for dinner.

Hwa Ro is quite a big restaurant with alfresco dining at the front and spacious indoor seating.  It has a modern outlook with a casual atmosphere.  The first thing I noticed as soon as I walked in was the array of adjustable exhaust chutes hanging above each table.  Very nice!  No more smelly clothing after all the BBQing and cooking.  (The first time I saw these exhaust chutes was in a korean bbq house in Seoul.  I thought it was a brilliant idea.  Very glad to see this in Perth too!).  The second thing I noticed was the numerous koreans dining at this place.  Looking good by the minute!

 

One thing I must mention is their great calling system – a touch of button at the side and your table number is displayed on the wall near the drinks area indicating service is required.  No more yelling or frantic hand waving when one needs to get the attention of the waitstaff.  I like.  They were very prompt to react as well once the button is pressed.

 

I’d always wanted to try out korean alcohol (mainly influenced by watching korean series as they seem to enjoy it so much!) so I picked a nice looking one from the menu but unfortunately they ran out.  The girl recommended a Chum-Churum ($14) instead, which is a type of soju.  I tried asking her what it tasted like etc but did not get a good reply.  Tried another way of asking but still didn’t get anything.  I ordered it anyways, no harm trying plus the name sounded nice.  WRONG DECISION!  Chum-Churum is made of just alcali water and contains 19.5% alcohol, drank unmixed in a shot glass.  Such a wrong drink for a softy like me, I’m more the Toblerone / Mojito / Espresso Martini type of drinker.  Forced myself to down 2 shots and couldn’t take it anymore.  And the bottle is huge.  Eeks.  And Korean series are liars! Hahaha :p

For food, we ordered the following:

  • Ori Jumulluk ($25) – stir fry duck marinated in spicy and sweet sauce with seasonal vegetables
  • Kimchi Jjeem ($30) – boiled sliced pork in pork bone soup with a special sauce seasoned kimchi

Before the food came, the usual side dishes arrived with the rice.  Very nice, and great that they are refillable too.

 

The dishes came not too long after and they were quite big, reasonable though for the price.  The Ori Jumulluk was quite spicy, tasted good but I thought the duck meat itself was very fatty.  I had to keep on separating the fat from the duck before eating which became tedious at the end.  Maybe that is how it’s meant to be consumed, fat and all, but it didn’t feel too healthy for me.

The Kimichi Jjeem looked awesome.  It was placed on the gas burner as it arrived so we started eating not thinking too much of it as I thought the flames were there just to keep it warm.  However we were stopped by the manager who told us that we needed to wait for the dish to cook further before eating.  What?! It would have been nice for the waitstaff to inform us when she first put down the dish.  Now we were left wondering how long we needed to wait before we can start eating.  That aside, the dish itself is very tasty, tender sliced pieces of pork soaked in seasoned soup blended with the sourish kimchi taste.  Appetizing!  My sister liked it so much that she went back another day for it!

Overall it was a nice meal and I would be back again to try their Kkochi set, assortment of meat on skewers which you can bbq on the table.  The service was ok although I think the waitstaff needs to be more proactive in explaining the dishes especially to people not familiar with korean food.  That would definitely be a big help!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rating by: N.L.

Hwa Ro Korean Restaurant
Telephone: 08 9228 8823
Address: 118 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge

Hwa Ro Korean Restuarant on Urbanspoon

14
Jan
12

Myoung Ga, Perth

By natashalam Leave a Comment
Categories: Korean
Tags:

As good, quick and reasonably priced places for lunch is not common in the East Perth area where I work, I’m always on the look out for cafes/restaurants to visit.  I walked into our office kitchen one day and spied my colleague eating a nice looking chicken bulgogi (marinated and bbqed) lunch set.  I pounced on him and enquired about his lunch – it was korean, tasted good and was only $10 came the reply.  That was enough to set me off on a lunch quest to try the place out.

Myoung Ga is located on the quieter area of Hay Street, near where Croissant Express, Canton Lounge Bar and Shot Espresso Bar are.  I vaguely recollect visiting this restaurant a few years back but it was a different one then with what I remembered was a mixture of Korean and Japanese food.  Same place but different owner now.

The restaurant can be easily missed as it is so small that it is hardly noticeable, almost like a hole in the wall.  The inside contained 4 – 5 small tables and the outside another 4 small tables.  We sat on the outside.

The menu is quite simple – only two pages, and has the usual BBQ meats and a few traditional korean dishes.

 

We had the following for lunch:

  • BBQ Beef – $13
  • BBQ Ohsam (consisted of pork and squid) – $15
  • Ja-jang-myun (noodles in a sweet black bean sauce with marinated pork and vegetables with pickles) – $12
  • Bi-bim-bap (steamed rice and vegetables, slices of beef, topped with fried egg & chilli sauce) – $10

 

The BBQ dishes came in a sizzling pig plate which were very cute :p, and were accompanied with rice, miso soup, kimchi and two side dishes.  They were quite generous servings and filling to say the least.  I especially liked their side dishes of lotus roots and bean sprouts.  I ate most of them as my colleagues didn’t like the side dishes.  The meat were tender and tasty.

 

The Ja-jang-myun was my colleague’s favourite and he frequents this place so often for this dish that even the owner recognises him.  For myself, I’m not too sure about eating noodles in a black bean sauce (not one of my favourite sauce) but I may give it a try next time.  It must be good though if he comes here that often to eat this.  The regular size for this dish is $10 (the pic is of the large).

 

The Bi-bim-bap was my order and it was so-so in terms of taste, it seems to be missing the ‘punch’ as what I have tasted in places like Seoul BBQ Cafe or Took Begi.  Not that it’s a bad dish but it was not the best.  You can order it in a stone pot as well for an extra $3, not sure whether that would make a difference to the taste.  Maybe I will try that next time.

The service was extremely good, the owner was very polite and extremely friendly, and catered to our needs in terms of water, efficient order and prompt food service.  I like!  I will definitely be back again.  A great place for a casual lunch, and not to forget their take-away lunch packs as well!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Rating by: N.L.

Myoung Ga
Telephone: N/A
Address: 536 Hay Street, Perth

Myoung Ga on Urbanspoon

08
Apr
10

Charm Restaurant, Perth

By natashalam 3 Comments
Categories: Japanese and Korean
Tags:

The springing up of numerous luxury apartments in the city brought about various small cafes/restaurants being opened up for business, much to the delight of workers in the city like myself.  One such is Charm, a restaurant serving Korean/Japanese cuisine, located on Hay Street towards the East Perth end near the Perth Mint.  I was introduced to this restaurant by a friend who recently just moved office to the building opposite mine and discovered this during one of her lunch outing with her colleagues.  She took no time to bring me there and introduced me to the specialty of the restaurant, their very own home made noodles!

This is the second time I’d been to the restaurant - I didn’t manage to take any photos the first time round as I had a busy day at work and was in no mood for a review (I gasped in horror as I read this comment myself – how could you Miss L!).  However, I found the food to be so good (loving the idea of their own home made noodles) that I went back two weeks later just so I can take some photos and blog about it, so here goes =).

The restaurant itself is quite small but very neat and tidy (obviously as it’s brand new!), simple yet comfortable.  It was very quiet both times I was there, not a prime location for a restaurant as the pedestrian traffic is minimal but hopefully it will gain more exposure as time goes by.

 

A peak inside their lunch menu…

 

A big sign advertising their home made noodle…

For lunch we had the Seafood Noodle with Egg Sauce ($12) and Chicken Dop Bup ($9.50).  At lunch time, there are certain items in the menu labelled LUNCH SPECIAL (in red) which automatically means a discounted price of $9.50 if you order them.  Not a bad price for a lunch dish so do take note!

 

I don’t know about you guys but anything ‘home made’ immediately gets a BIG tick in my books especially noodles – think of all the extra time and effort they go through!  I had the Seafood Noodle which came with mixed seafood, cabbage, cucumber and onions stirfried with egg sauce.  The noodles were soft and smooth - the sauce, just the right consistency, neither too runny or too thick – a pleasant experience to the palate.  A delicious dish! 

The Chicken Dop Bup is a stirfried chicken dish with cabbage, onion, carrot served in a light chilli sauce with rice.  I didn’t manage to try this dish but thought it looked quite ordinary.  Comment from my friend was good – I forgot to extract more comments from her so I might have to try their rice dishes there myself next time. 

A great place for lunch!  I had the Gyoza the first time round and remembered it as being good too!  Definitely a place to try – not much service (not that I expect it anyways) but the waitstaff was friendly enough when he took our order.  Incidentally, one of my friend just moved into the apartment upstairs and told me that they charge an arm and a leg for dinner.  I haven’t tried their dinner menu yet but maybe I’ll just stick to their lunch dishes for now after their report. 

Needless to say, I have been ‘Charm-ed’.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Rating by: N.L.  

Charm Restaurant

Telephone: 08 9218 8803

Address: 2/369 Hay Street, Perth

Charm on Urbanspoon

08
Feb
10

Cori Anna, Northbridge

By S.M. Leave a Comment
Categories: Korean
Tags:

This little Korean establishment sits right in the heart of Northbridge’s ever famous William Street and is quite a sight as you drive past the more dilapidated stores around it. With a nice white signboard, you can hardly miss it.

Good ol’ mom and myself were shopping around Northbridge one day and was initially thinking of heading to Tak Chee for some Chicken Rice, but we both got I’m-so-sick-of-chicken-rice vibes from each other, and as we looked around, mom suggested we try this little place. The food engineer in me was up for some new stuff!

We had a look at the menu outside first before going in because we wanted to be sure there was stuff for both of us to eat. Mom’s a great fan of the traditional bibimbap dish which is rice mixed with vegetables (and beef), with a nice fried egg on top, served in a really hot stone pot.

Just glancing at the menu was enough to make me drool, so we waltzed in.

The interior of the restaurant was as simple as its signboard outside. You’re wondering why there wasn’t a single soul in the restaurant?? My family has a tradition of eating very very early. We eat lunches at 11.30am when people are really having their brunch, and we have dinner at 6pm, when people are just settling down after tea. So if you’re wondering why Miss Egg’s photos are full of empty restaurants, it has absolutely nothing to do with how good they are!! :)

So, as we skimmed through the menu one more time, Mom was quite clear as to what she would like to order.

As for me, I took the time to just decide between the two soup based dishes. In the end, here was our order:

  • Bibimbap (beef)
  • Kimchi Soup with Rice
  • Korean vegetarian pancake

Both dishes came with some decent side dishes and a bowl of miso soup.

In the light of being really random, we decided to also try the korean pancake – something we’re both all too familiar with because we would buy the flour mix from korean oriental stores and do our own!

The bibimbap came out looking rather appetising! Mom was very happy she got her stone pot (she loves her food piping hot!). There was a nice generous serving of vegetables, but a rather pitiful amount of beef (which came by way of beef balls). Not too worth the increase in price if you asked us (comparing with the standard bibimbap which consists of just vegetables). The chilli always comes as an accompaniment to the dish, but for spicy lovers, ask for more when the waitress serves the dish!! The one serve is not enough for sure.

Like what I have always been taught, when it comes to dishes like that, the chilli is really what drives the difference between average and really good. In this case, it was really quite the average dish.

I do give them kudos for the sesame seeds on top! I haven’t seen this before. And I love, absolutely love those sesame seeds!

The kimchi soup smelled lovely when it was served, and yes, it did make me drool even more than I already was!

The kimchi soup is meant to have pork and tofu, and unlike the bibimbap, the soup had a rather generous serving of the meat, in which I didn’t really finish because I’m not a fan of pork – just love the taste it gives to soups and gravy, etc.

I loved the taste of the soup, although I have tasted better. Not quite spicy enough, but then again, we wouldn’t want to be suffering all the way through the pot of soup, would we now?

Overall, this dish was pretty good, albeit the presence of better kimchi soups around Perth.

The korean pancake looked exactly like how we would do it at home… the only difference is in its texture. It’s got a softer and wetter texture than what mom and myself would cook at home… and was actually rather oily. That said, it was lovely to know we were doing the right thing after so long!

The pancake was served with a nice sauce, in which I have no idea what it was made of… great accompaniment! Absolutely loved the sauce. :)

This is a lovely dish for those of you who like to munch on snacks. It’s got that kind of charm.

We enjoyed this pancake! So much so the next time we went there, we went one step further to try the kimchi pancake, which is really just the same thing, except in a colour resembling the kimchi soup. And of course, the taste is a tad to the sour side, as opposed to the default salty taste.

The waitress who served us during this lunch was a lovely sweet young lady, who was very accommodating to our requests and needs. Clean environment, with a nice simple ambience that will stretch to the arms of family dinners. :)

I would definitely be visiting this place again, reasonable prices for their food!

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg

Cori Anna Restaurant
Telephone: (08) 9227 7299
Address: 5/347 William Street, Northbridge

Cori Anna Restaurant on Urbanspoon

07
Apr
09

Ninniku Jip, Victoria Park

By natashalam Leave a Comment
Categories: Korean and Use your Entertainment Book!
Tags:

Outside RestaurantSignWebsite: www.ninniku.com.au 

Entertainment Card: 25% off the total bill (up to $25 value)

Ninniku Jip is predominantly a Korean restaurant located in the lower end (south) of Albany Highway in Victoria Park.  I say predominantly as it is not quite totally korean - some of their dishes have a strong Japanese and Italian influence! (quite unique and fusiony isn’t it?)

Ninniku means “garlic” in Japanese and Jip means “house” in Korean, which when directly translated gives us Garlic House.  I’m glad they stuck to the ‘asian’ name rather than the english – I’m not sure whether I will be attracted to eat at a restaurant named garlic…

Back to the restaurant itself, it is very modern and spacious, decorated tastefully with bold colours of red, white and black and abstract paintings on the wall (an avenue for unknown artists to exhibit their works).  What they pride themselves in is also their Children Playground facilities right in the middle of the restaurant (check out the pics in their website) - a great way to entertain the kids while the parents chat over their meal.

Interior Japanese piece of art Painting pieces Colour coordinated menus

We had the following for lunch:

  • Latte and Iced Lemon Tea
  • Bento Plate Lunch Special - Beef Bulgogi ($10.80)
  • Bento Plate Lunch Special - Baby Octopus ($10.80)

Drinks - Latte & Iced Lemon Tea Beef Bulgogi Baby Octopus set

Their lunch specials are served with rice, salad, a bowl of soup and namul (seasoned bean sprout and cucumber dish in this case).  The baby octopus is a ‘fairly spicy small baby octopus in hot spicy sauce with vegies’ (as described in the menu) and BOY, did they mean it with the hot spicy sauce!  Without knowing what is coming with the sauce, I started mixing the sauce with the rice and regretted it after – my tongue was burning after each bite (this is taking into account that I can’t eat spicy food normally) and I had to soothe it with lots and lots of water.  Seeing my suffering, my friend was kind enough to offer half the rice from the beef bulgogi set so I had something to eat (that’s what friends are for!).  Onto the beef bulgogi, a ‘thinly sliced and marinated beef stir fried with vegies’, I would have to say that I have tasted better ones – this tasted more like ordinary stir-fry beef and not the authentic beef bulgogi that I have had at other places (maybe catering to the fusion theme?).

This is the second time I have been to the restaurant and the food both times were quite ordinary – maybe I’m after more of the authentic Korean taste rather than the fusion taste.  As for service, the waitperson was polite and the drinks and dishes came out promptly.  It could be a place to drop by for some fusion Korean food when you are in the area. 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Rating by: N.L.

Ninniku Jip
Telephone: 08 9355 1988
Address: 867 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park     

Ninniku Jip on Urbanspoon

21
Jan
09

Seoul BBQ Cafe, Perth

By natashalam 9 Comments
Categories: Korean
Tags:
 
Tables
Tables
Kiosk
Kiosk

Seoul BBQ Cafe is a fast food Korean eatery located next to the Immigration Office in the city.  It operates as a kiosk with tables set alongside the Imm Office as seen on the photo on the right.  The number of tables have grown since the first day it opened which proved its popularity.   I found out about this place through a friend who knew the owner and having tasted the food at the actual Seoul Restaurant in Northbridge (same owner), I was sure this would be as nice.  Please note that during the busy lunch period, it is sometimes hard to get a free table – one has to be quick on the feet and observant to grab a table before it is snatched up by the person next to you!  

The menu offered is pretty simple but covers the main Korean specialties such as the Bibimbap, Bulgogi, Kimchi etc.  Some dishes come on its own but they are mainly as a a set menu which includes the main meal with rice, two types of salad and soup.  The price is quite reasonable but has gone up since it first opened – averaging about $9.50 per meal.  (It used to be $7.50 which was a bargain!).  It is also self-service, food has to be ordered and picked up at the counter.

On this occasion, I ordered the Crispy Chicken while my friend had the Dakgogi (which translated to marinated barbequed chicken).  The cook actually cooks the food in front of you at the counter.

Crispy Chicken

Crispy Chicken

Chicken Dak Gogi
Chicken Dak Gogi

 

The Crispy Chicken meal is one of my favourite as it comes in a fairly generous serve of crunchy chicken pieces with a creamy dipping sauce.  The Dakgogi is very tasty too, they use a special type of marinade with the meat which differs from what you normally have in other places – a must try.

One thing I thought was very clever of them is how they have a caricature on their dishes, bowls etc of the owner!  56

Seoul BBQ Cafe is a must try if you are after a quick, reasonably priced and yummy Korean food in the city. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Rating by: N.L.

Seoul BBQ Cafe
Telephone: 08 9221 1862
Address: Shop 2/166 Murray Street, Perth

Seoul BBQ Cafe on Urbanspoon

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