#27 Koreana BBQ (58 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Craig, Annabel, Joe, Penny, Andrew, Niki and Zac

This week we diversify with another cuisine, Korean BBQ. The sign on the door tells us the restaurant is new and the décor has a homely feel with lots of light brown wood, colourful banners and roll-down bamboo blinds sectioning off the back area.

With our group of eight that’s where we are tonight. With the boys lined up on one side and the girls on the other we have a Japanese style table, where the table is level with the platform floor and there is a pit below for your legs. Flexy wooden seat with a cushion are provided and it makes for a comfortable dining experience. The waitresses kneel down to serve out the food and drinks. It is not until the end of the meal that we notice there is doorbell at the end of the table. Little wonder I was having problems getting their attention by waving my arms when they were patiently waiting for the bell.

The only disappointment is that our table does not have its own grill (like the tables in the main area). This seems to take away one of the main joys of Korean BBQ – paying to cook it yourself. Instead the dishes come out from the back on sizzling plates and, with Korean BBQ being particularly predisposed to communal dining, the large group makes it fun and expands the variety we can sample.

There is a selection of teas, beers and even Korean sake. Annabel and Joe sample Korean beers and they are quite different to the ones we brew here, one having a particularly metallic after taste.

In fact we are struck by how similar Korean is to Japanese and it reminds me that probably the last time I had Korean BBQ was in Japan. With no standard dishes for Korean we go with the closest entrees – dumplings (gyoza) and spring rolls. The dumplings are delicate and juicy, perfectly pan-fried on one side. The spring rolls are crunchy and piping hot and come with a plum dipping sauce – something a little different.

Next we have the BBQ meat platter A – beef bulgogi, pork bulgogi and chicken bulgogi. With a couple of people on our table fearing spice, we ask for two to be of the mild variety. Each bulgogi taste quite different. The beef is thinly sliced with aromatic flavours of garlic and soy. The pork is saucy and has a reddish tinge and though it is the hotter one, it's still not very spicy. The chicken is on the sweeter side and similar to teriyaki. Each comes on a bed of bean shoots. The house chilli sauce is a great addition – like a tomato sauce with a vague chilli flavour, which can be used in large quantites.

The BBQ comes with little sides of candied potato, kim chi, cucumber and a salad of iceberg lettuce with creamy dressing. I’m not usually a fan of kim chi (a fermented chilli cabbage) as I have often found an oddly off-tasting pickled flavour but this is one of the best ones I’ve had.

The pork ribs come out in a sizzling frenzy but the piece I have is disappointing – more than a little on the chewy side I’m still chewing away a minute later and not making much progress.

As a nod to the Chopstick Chowdown formula we get number 27 - the mushroom BBQ. It comes with a huge variety of mushrooms including field, enoki, shimeji and a large unidenifiable slice that takes up of the grill plate. I end up eating it whole as the spoon wont cut it. The dish depends largely on the mushroom flavours without another other sauces or spices.

Not quite satisfied we order another round of food. I delegate the ordering to Joe and some people think he’s joking when he says he got the ox tongue and pork belly.

But sure enough, here it comes. The ox tongue is thinly sliced and spread out in a fan formation with a drizzle of sweet soy sauce. Andrew comments that it is a bit like chewing on your own tongue. However, Joe (the one with the most ox tongue experiences) says it’s exceptionally tender and some of the best he’s had. He gives it a high rating to redeem it from the low ratings from less experienced members of the table

The pork belly looks delicious. It is thinly sliced with speckles of pepper and lightly browned. Although it is not quite as flavoursome as it looks, the pork belly is very tender and only requires a couple of bites to get it down the hatch.

Koreana BBQ provides a convivial atmosphere combined with overall tasty food and good service.

Ratings

Gyoza 7.3/10

Spring rolls 6.4/10

Pork bulgogi 6.9/10

Chicken bulgogi 7/10

Beef bulgogi 7.2/10

#27 (mushroom BBQ) 7.1/10

Ribs BBQ 4.5/10

Ox tongue BBQ 6.1/10

Pork belly 7.3/10

#26 Tho Tho (66 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Steph, Craig, Rob

Tho Tho is massive and one of the more commercialised establishments along Victoria St. A full bar goes around the corner and smiling waiters in branded starched white shirts circulate with efficiency.

It’s popular too. The large dining room is almost full when we settle in at 7.30pm. However within half an hour it has cleared.

Strains of "happy birthday to you" sound out on more than one occasion that evening. The birthday person is presented with a fried banana and balls of ice cream dessert complete with sparklers. Surely some of these birthdays are fabrications just for the novelty factor of a phallic sparking dessert landing on your table.

The service is excellent on the night we go. The food comes out in record time and in no particular order.

First up we have the rice paper rolls which are exceptionally long and floppy leading to some interesting analogies. We must have phalluses on the brain. The skin of rice paper roll is rather thick and the pork part of the filling overwhelming.

Next comes one of the specials – deep fried soft shell crab with a spicy sauce. It comes out smelling delightful (of aromatic chilli) and looking great, infused with rich golden and red hues. The shell is malleable with a light crunch and the combination of spices makes this a memorable dish but still stands in the shadow of the soft shell crab at Thanh Thanh.

We can never go past dumplings so we choose the fried pork and prawn dumplings also from the specials. More like deep fried wontons they come with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Number 27 is rice with garlic lamb. The rice is coloured brown and has a tasty sweet soy flavour to it with a fried egg on top. The lamb is good, with a slight chargrilled flavour and not too chewy.

The pho broth is very tasty but I mark it down since the noodles and beef are not as soft as we have previously experienced.

Finally comes a seafood Vietnamese pancake. It doesn't stay together very well and while the pancake is light and crispy, its innards are rather plain.

Overall a very satisfying dining experience, as we add another nationality to the Chopstick Chowdown crew - Welsh.

Ratings

Rice paper rolls 6.1/10

Beef pho 7.8/10

#27 (garlic lamb with rice) 7.3/10

Special (deep fried soft shell crab with chilli) 8.3/10

Special (dumplings) 7/10

Seafood vietnamese pancake 7.5/10