Carrington Street

Gangnam Station is one of the few Korean restaurants in Box Hill. Located on Carrington Street, it’s just across the road from Box Hill Central and from the notorious parking lot. They serve your Korean resaurant staples such as Bibimbap, Bulgogi, Korean Pancakes, and of course KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), however most dishes do lean towards the pricier side of things but I believe they also offer a few special dishes for lunch on weekdays.

Gangnam’s Stone Bowl Bibimbap, has all the ingredients for a tasty Bibimbap. I love the stone pot cooked rice, with it’s crispy and crunchy exterior. Flavourwise, it was severely lacking and the chilli sauce accompaniment was much needed to bring it all together. Don-Udon’s Stone Pot Bibimbap is excellent in comparison, with just enough seasoning and flavour.

I haven’t found a Korean restaurant that can do a Jap Chae like Don-Udon, or even close. Here it lacks the that certain “wok flavour” that is much needed for the potato noodles, otherwise it tastes just like a simple soy sauce stir fry. This was probably one of the more disappointing versions (the overpriced Guhng is another) I’ve tried.

Their Spicy Chicken Broth was probably one of the better soups I’ve had. However, haven’t come across a bad one yet! On a cold winters day, this will be very satisfying.

Impressions
Gangnam Station is probably not one of the best Korean restaurants but I’ve had a few decent meals here apart from their Jap Chae and Bibimbap. However, there are a few other Korean restaurants in Box Hill that are more bang for the buck and tastier like Don-Udon and Yami Yami.

Gangnam Station
5 Carrington Road
Box Hill VIC 3128

In the Box Hill hub, there are quite a few Vietnamese restaurants on Carrington Street. Indochine is probably the largest and most popular one,. I’ve tried Indochine, and couldn’t understand the appeal, so off to the next one on the street. Tan Tan is just a few doors down from Indochine and now being so far away from Springvale, I’ve still yet to find a great Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice dish, so for every new Vietnamese restaurant I try, I always seek out this dish which has yet to be topped.

Tan Tan’s Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice lacks the highs of a great dish, the tomato rice is devoid of tomato flavour, and seems overly soft. I prefer a bit of bite to my rice when it is fried, and a great Tomato rice in my eyes also adds egg. The chicken also lacks flavour, just salt and unfortunately, too dry. The sweet and sour sauce is much needed to bring flavour to this dish that is dry and lacking in taste. A real shame

The Lemongrass Chicken and Stir Fry with Rice, is an especially fragrant dish with the lemongrass but again, nothing really stood out. The chicken cooked well, and the capsicum adds depth of flavour, apart from that it could be a little forgettable.

Beef and Chicken Combination Pho is a staple at every Vietnamese restaurant, however the soup here isn’t too flash. Lacking in flavour as compared with the popular and local favourite Pho places such as I Love Pho 264 in Richmond, and Pho Hung Vuong in Springvale. The soup is the star of a Pho dish so it’s disappointing that it is very average here.

Impressions

I can’t say that I found Tan Tan to be memorable for its dishes which I really did hope it would be. One of the pluses was that the staff were very friendly, and the dishes weren’t too expensive but I’m not too sure that would be enough to get me to go back there again for sometime.

Tan Tan
9 Carrington Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

ohdenny

Tag: Carrington Street

Gangnam Station

Tan Tan