I wasn’t surprised that my friend Deb was able to find an authentic Korean restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD tucked away in an alley behind Victoria street. She knows all the hidden gems in Melbourne thanks to her sources who know good food.
This restaurant served only 4 banchan which composed of the ever present kimchi, bean sprouts, radish and potatoes.
Deb ordered dumplings for our appetizers.
The fried dumplings didn’t look appetizing since it looked overcooked but I found it curiously good. I wasn’t used to dumplings having a audible crunch.
The silky tofu was delicious with shrimp, mushroom and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
I love chap chae so I rarely find fault with any Korean restaurant’s version.
Our unanimous favorite dish was the super spicy Korean double fried chicken. It was super crunchy and it was way too spicy for me but I couldn’t stop eating it. I would either look for a piece with the least chili flakes or manually remove as much chili as I can. This dish was so much better than the fast food variety.
As expected the bulgogi was excellent. How can they go wrong with Aussie beef? Next to the chicken this was the protein I ate most. It was also one of the few non-spicy dishes we had.
My tongue took a beating from the chicken so I didn’t even try this spicy marinated pork dish.
Jaa jung meon or jajangmyeon is the Korea’s take on the Chinese zhajiangmian. The difference is in the type of fermented beans used. In the Chinese version yellow soybean paste is used while the Korean version uses dark soybean paste made from roasting soybeans and caramel.
This bowl of noodles topped with thick black beans sauce didn’t look appetizing at all but it was very, very good. I loved the chewy noodles and the mild topping. It wasn’t too salty and thankfully not spicy.
As you can see from the empty plates below my friends and I did a pretty good job.
Han Guuk Gan
13 Victoria St Melbourne, VIC 3000
telephone: (03) 9639 1747
Shoot First Eat Later 