Korean BBQ – ohdenny

Miss Korea Kitchen

May 26, 2017 Posted in Camberwell, Food Reviews, Korean, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Miss Korea Kitchen located along Burke Road in Camberwell, serves fresh, healthy and authentic Korean cuisine. They offer the typical Korean dishes such as Korean Fried Chicken, Bulgogi, Bibimbap, Korean BBQ with customers being able to choose their protein (e.g. chicken, beef, pork or veg) with many of their offerings.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The Japchae at Miss Korea Kitchen is one of the better Japchae’s in Melbourne. It’s closest competitor and reigning champion is Don-Udon‘s flavourful Japchae. Here, the Japchae has that subtle work flavour with fresh vegetables and crispy lotus root on top. The flavour is a bit more subtle overall as compared to Don-Udon’s version but it’s tasty nonetheless. You can order their Japchae with Beef, Pork, Chicken, Tofu, Veg or Seafood which are pretty much all the options you could think of.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The best Cheese Buldak or Chicken and Cheese Bulgogi Hotplate is CJ Lunch Bar‘s offering. Here, I found the chicken to be overcooked and the seasoning unbalanced with the sauce being overly salty and needing just a bit of sweetness and more depth in flavour to match CJ Lunch Bar’s. The richness of the cheese though, helps complement the spiciness so that’s a definite plus.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

I’m going to again, compare Miss Korea Kitchen’s Stone Pot Bibimbap with Don-Udon (Box Hill) where their Don-Udon has such amazing flavour to it from how they cook each of the components and the addition of the chilli paste. Miss Korea Kitchen’s Bibimbap isn’t bad, each element has flavour to it but it’s definitely not as flavourful as it could be.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

I saw this Mini Patbingsu on the menu, which is basically a Korean version of an Ice Kachang or Japanese Kakigori. Their Patbingsu comes with chopped fruit, red bean, fruit syrup, condensed milk and wafers. For $8 it’s actually quite small and flavour wise it’s quite lacking. The shaved ice is very coarse with not enough condensed milk to add that richness it needs. The whipped cream topping lacks flavour as well so the overall result is a pretty bland and expensive dessert.

Last words

Ignoring the Patbingsu dessert, I found Miss Korea Kitchen to have overall tasty Korean dishes and it’s one of the better ones I’ve been to in Melbourne.

Miss Korea Kitchen

845 Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124

BBQ Code

April 1, 2016 Posted in Food Reviews, Glen Waverley, Korean, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsBBQ Code on Springvale Road, Glen Waverley offers Korean cuisine, specifically, Korean BBQ but they also offer the more commonly known Korean dishes such as Bibimbap, Korean Fried Chicken and Kimchi Soup. There aren’t many Korean restaurants in Glen Waverley, so it’s presence in the area is much welcomed. The Bibimbap is flavourful with fresh vegetables and tasty seasoning. It’s quite good value!

Their Pork and Beef BBQ items comes with complimentary condiments like Korean pancake, Kimchi and Potato salad and the staff look after the cooking for you; unlike some Korean venues.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Their Pork and Beef items are nicely cooked, seasoned well and they come with a seasoning salt and chilli sauce for you as well. Though, price wise it’s definitely on the high end of things.

Last words

I’d probably recommend Korean BBQ places like ChangGo or Wooga in the city for taste and good value. BBQ Code is nice, but not worth the price to pay.

BBQ Code
249 Springvale Road
Glen Waverley VIC 3150

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Woo Ga Korean BBQ Restaurant

June 6, 2014 Posted in Korean, Melbourne, North MelbourneLeave a comment

Woo Ga Korean BBQ Restaurant is situated on Victoria St, North Melbourne, quite close by to the Queen Victoria Market and along a stretch of a few Korean restaurants. Korean BBQ restaurants are aplenty in Melbourne and I’ve mentioned ChangGo previously which is probably one of the most popular Korean eateries in the CBD.

We ordered the Combo B which is for 3-4 people/serves ($68) which comes with the pickled onions, bean sprouts and kimchi as starters. The sweet onions are really nice and flavourful, I’m not sure what they use to marinate it but it’s very refreshing. Combo B is beef heavy, and it comes with Premium Wagyu Chuck Eye Roll, “Top Grade” Beef Rib, marinated Beef Flank, Beef seasoned with salt and pepper and lastly Kimchi & Pork Spicy Soup.

The cabbage and carrots salad is super crunchy, and it has a light dressing that adds some flavour to it too.

Combo B is all beef so those that may not be so fond of everything beef, you may opt for some pork as extra. The beef is very tender and can cook very quickly once it’s on the heat, so be aware to move it away or turn it over so the beef isn’t overcooked. It’s like your very own cooking class.

This cut of beef is marinated with some onions and I actually quite like this cut/seasoning. Thin pieces of beef

Beef Flank was probably my least favourite cut, as it can be a bit tough when cook (and if overcooked)

Most of the cooking is DIY and the staff do switch the hot plates for different cuts of meat but I found it took longer for the meat to cook as it had to keep heating up the room temperature plates.

The Spicy Kimchi and Pork soup was again delicious with fresh mushrooms, spring onions, mushrooms and soft tofu.

The Korean seafood pancake was delicious, albeit a bit oily and very filling. The sweet and salty sauce they add on top along with the crispy outside makes for a great dish on a cold day (Not included in Combo B)

Impressions

Woo Ga does Korean food well but on a busy night, service may be a bit lacking as we had to request some things twice or it took quite a while for them to get back to us which does leave you a bit disappointed even if the food is great. I found ChangGo to be the better one of the two, better tasting soup and meat (although I am comparing beef to pork) and similar chaotic service.

Woo Ga Korean Restaurant

270 Victoria St
North Melbourne VIC

ChangGo

May 9, 2014 Posted in Korean, MelbourneLeave a comment

Melbourne is abuzz for ChangGo, one of the many Korean BBQ restaurants that have appeared in our city in recent years. The waits can be excruciatingly long and the waiting system is basically taking a ticket and writing your name down on the list and you just wait around the venue listening for your name to be called out. I guess you must suffer a bit to be able to enjoy their food.

One of ChangGo’s specialties on their menu is their 8 ways marinated Pork Belly which consist of wine, original, ginseng, garlic, herb, curry, miso paste and hot flavoured Pork Belly. For a group of two to three, the amount of pork on offer here seems to suffice. With the Pork Belly, they provide Kim Chi, an assortment of vegetables, and a spicy Seafood soup.

At night, the place can be packed and the staff are definitely challenged in assisting everyone with their cooking. So basically, it’s DIY BBQ.

The Pork Belly they provide you is on the fattier side of pork that I’ve come across but nonetheless the flavours offered are varied. The Garlic, Herb and Hot marinated Pork Belly’s were probably my favourite ones because they were flavourful but let the pork shine too.

The Spicy Seafood soup here is wonderfully tasty and best on a cold winter’s day. Not too spicy but enough to tingle your tastebuds and the soup base is exceptionally satisfying.

Impressions

ChangGo does Korean barbeque well, apart from the overly fatty Pork Belly that is. Flavours are overall tasty and for $60 (for the 8 Ways Pork Belly), I find it great value for money. Once you dine here you can see why the waits during peak times can exceed 30 mins. I’d definitely recommend dining here if you feel like some charred meats.

ChangGo
70 Little La Trobe St
Melbourne VIC 3000

Dae Jang Geum

March 9, 2012 Posted in Food Reviews, Korean, Melbourne, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ve always walked passed Dae Jang Geum in Chinatown but never had the temptation to go in. I couldn’t really gauge the popularity either because it has stairs going up. One day we suddenly though why not, I’ve always liked Korean cuisine. I’ve dined in a couple around the city (mostly Korean BBQ) but I’m not sure why I don’t jump at the chance to try another place.

Dae Jang Geum when you finally walk up all the steps is surprisingly large. I was taken aback at how many tables they had, and a large kitchen. So I’m presuming they must get a lot of customers during the night. Their Lunch menu is has quite good variety of Korean food, from Teriyaki Chicken, Bulgogi, Soup, rice and noodle dishes.

My first picture is the Bulgogi Set Menu that I ordered, and I quite enjoyed it. It is again, surprisingly filling. The rice that they give you is in these seemingly small stainless steel bowls but actually they had packed all the rice in tightly. The beef was nicely flavoured and cooked well. The chinese cabbage and capsicum made the dish overall enjoyable.

The Chicken Teryaky with vegetables is definitely not like the usual Japanese Teriyaki you’ll find. This was more akin to a Sweet and Sour Chicken dish, without much of the sour. So it was slightly disappointing, but still decent enough if you like a sweet sauced dish to go with your rice.

Dae Jang Geum also provides an assortment of sides, with the usual kimchi, fresh salad and a sweetened sliced cold potato dish (pictured at the back).

Might I add I also had a chance to try a bit of the Spicy Beef Soup and that had a fantastic punch to it. It felt so homely, having soup and rice. Homely, certainly isn’t a bad thing. Not at all.

Dae Jang Geum’s lunch experience is mostly positive. The staff are quite friendly and efficient, and the food arrives quickly (Maybe we ate before peak hour but nonetheless is was good). Although their restaurant lacks much natural lighting, it is still a welcoming atmosphere. Would I come here again? Yes definitely, there are plenty of other dishes to try for lunch and we haven’t even attempted to try their Korean BBQ.

Dae Jang Geum
235 Little Bourke St
Melbourne VIC

03 9662 9445