Today is 14 degrees in the city and cold pre-autumn weathers call for warm, spicy food. WGroup has been craving for Korean food after our Oriental Spoon extravaganza near Melbourne Central, which I think is a tad expensive but food wasn't expectional or too authentic. On one of my earlier food experiences in Melbourne, Ms MNG brought me to dinner with some friends at Han Guk Kwan. Since I was relatively new to the area, I lost my bearings and forgot the name and place of the establishment. During my first time, I remembered eating everything spicy at the Korean place-- soup, appetizer, main dish (except the noodles which was exceptional). I caught myself coughing midway as of the friends asked me if the food was good. I forgot what I said exactly, but I hoped that I got the point across, that it was good Korean food I've had in a long while without hurting my wallet.
Now, back to the main story, so WGroup's craving led me to suggest the place again. I texted Ms MNG for the place and researched on how to go. There was really no plan at all on when to eat at the place, but Sunday seemed like a good idea since Thursday, the weather forecast was 14 degrees max and 7 degrees min. Nice. Cold. Korean. Spicy.
I ordered what I recalled was good: Traditional Marinated Beef Hotpot, Spicy Seafood Hotpot, Sweet and Spicy Chicken, Chap Chae and a few pots of tea (corn and green teas). As soon as the Sweet and Spicy Chicken hit the group's taste buds that immediate oohhs and aahhs came. Best fried chicken they've ever had. And I have to agree. It was everything it said: sweet and spicy fried chicken.
Carrying on, Chap Chae. This, I later learned, is not glass noodles but actually potato noodles. Whatever. It is also so damn good. Peppery, thick, sweet sauce with lots and lots of onions, leeks, carrots, and straw mushrooms. It was also simple but delicious. Not to mention that the serving was huge. The texture was crunchy, slippery, with a sudden burst of rounded soft mushrooms.
Hotpots. Oh, which one to try first. Since the beef hotpot came first and was bubbling away, everyone dug into that first. Also with lots of veggies, the beef was marinated in a light sweet sauce which cooked into the soup. I wasn't a fan of the hotpot, but this will satisfy people who don't really care for spicy hotpots and prefer the sweeter taste of it. Again, lots of onions, shitake mushrooms, leeks.
Spicy Seafood Hotpot. My favorite of the lot. They used the flaky dried chillies in making kim chi, so prepare yourself for something hot, and I do mean, really hot. The seafood paid off a bit though it wasn't all that fresh but cooking the seafood into the soup gave it a fresh and well-rounded flavor as opposed to being a bland stock. Fish, crab, mussels, clams, and squid consisted the pot of lovely soup, bubbling away until they're all gone.
Now, back to the main story, so WGroup's craving led me to suggest the place again. I texted Ms MNG for the place and researched on how to go. There was really no plan at all on when to eat at the place, but Sunday seemed like a good idea since Thursday, the weather forecast was 14 degrees max and 7 degrees min. Nice. Cold. Korean. Spicy.
I ordered what I recalled was good: Traditional Marinated Beef Hotpot, Spicy Seafood Hotpot, Sweet and Spicy Chicken, Chap Chae and a few pots of tea (corn and green teas). As soon as the Sweet and Spicy Chicken hit the group's taste buds that immediate oohhs and aahhs came. Best fried chicken they've ever had. And I have to agree. It was everything it said: sweet and spicy fried chicken.
Carrying on, Chap Chae. This, I later learned, is not glass noodles but actually potato noodles. Whatever. It is also so damn good. Peppery, thick, sweet sauce with lots and lots of onions, leeks, carrots, and straw mushrooms. It was also simple but delicious. Not to mention that the serving was huge. The texture was crunchy, slippery, with a sudden burst of rounded soft mushrooms.
Hotpots. Oh, which one to try first. Since the beef hotpot came first and was bubbling away, everyone dug into that first. Also with lots of veggies, the beef was marinated in a light sweet sauce which cooked into the soup. I wasn't a fan of the hotpot, but this will satisfy people who don't really care for spicy hotpots and prefer the sweeter taste of it. Again, lots of onions, shitake mushrooms, leeks.
Spicy Seafood Hotpot. My favorite of the lot. They used the flaky dried chillies in making kim chi, so prepare yourself for something hot, and I do mean, really hot. The seafood paid off a bit though it wasn't all that fresh but cooking the seafood into the soup gave it a fresh and well-rounded flavor as opposed to being a bland stock. Fish, crab, mussels, clams, and squid consisted the pot of lovely soup, bubbling away until they're all gone.
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